At this year’s New York Auto Forum, media partner CBT News’ anchor Jim Fitzpatrick met with Brian MacDonald, CEO and President of CDK Global, to discuss the critical role digital technology is playing in improving the car buying experience.
Key Takeaways
1. Brian McDonald discussed the launch of the CDK Automotive Commerce Collab, an initiative aimed at simplifying the car buying process. This effort is designed to integrate OEM and dealer systems seamlessly, allowing for consistent pricing and inventory data across platforms. This will improve the consumer experience and bring it closer to the direct-to-consumer model exemplified by Tesla.
2. McDonald highlighted the complex ecosystem of the auto industry, which includes numerous brands, manufacturers, and dealerships, each with its own set of technologies and processes. This complexity makes it challenging to create a unified and efficient customer experience akin to that of newer, vertically integrated companies like Tesla.
3. The pandemic accelerated the shift towards online retailing, but the transition is still in progress, with a significant portion of transactions occurring within dealership walls. McDonald emphasized CDK’s role and responsibility in leveraging its extensive network and technological capabilities to address this industry-wide challenge, aiming to facilitate a more streamlined and efficient car buying process.
"Only 1 % of consumers are doing a transaction fully online. Sixty-six percent of consumers are doing the entire transaction inside the four walls of a dealership. And I think we would all agree, we don't want that, right? We want consumers leveraging the technology, leveraging an experience so dealers can be more efficient and the consumers can have a better consumer experience." — Brian MacDonald
