Dealers investing in new technology may be overlooking a more important opportunity: getting better results from the systems they already have.
According to Cox Automotive’s 2026 Dealer Success Study, U.S. franchised dealerships that primarily base decisions on data rather than instinct or experience are considerably more likely to meet their profitability goals.
The research found that 36 per cent of data-driven dealers reported meeting their profitability targets, compared with 19 per cent of other dealers. However, only 22 per cent of franchised dealers strongly agreed that their decision-making was primarily data-driven.
The difference was particularly pronounced in fixed operations, where 42 per cent of data-driven dealers met profitability goals, compared with 24 per cent of other dealers. In vehicle sales, the figures were 29 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively.
Technology management also emerged as a distinguishing factor. Among data-driven dealers, 42 per cent considered whether new technology would improve data quality before purchasing it, compared with 22 per cent of other dealers. They were also more likely to establish plans for evaluating technology performance before implementation, at 73 per cent versus 55 per cent.
The study found that 55 per cent of data-driven dealers reported using their technology to its full potential, compared with 39 per cent of other dealers. Another 76 per cent regularly consulted technology vendors to optimize their systems, versus 61 per cent.
Data integration was another advantage, with 52 per cent reporting seamless integration between tools or vendors, compared with 38 per cent.
Although the findings do not establish that data-driven practices directly cause higher profitability, they highlight the potential value of stronger technology management for dealerships.
