Artificial intelligence is becoming embedded in automotive retail, shaping how dealers respond to leads, price inventory and market vehicles. But while adoption is accelerating, understanding remains uneven, with many dealers still experimenting without fully grasping how the technology could reshape …
Barry Hillier, CEO and co-founder of Auto Agentic AI, outlines a seven-stage framework for AI maturity in his book, From the Transactional Age to the Intelligence Age: The automotive playbook for rebuilding organizations around AI, which examines how dealerships move …
Vendors say study confirms adoption, trust and integration challenges Technology providers say the Canada’s Automotive Retail Technology Study (CARTS) confirms what many have been hearing from dealers for years. The issue is not access to technology. It is getting that …
Dealers adopt tech, but integration and impact still lag The inaugural Canada’s Automotive Retail Technology Study (CARTS), sponsored by RBC Automotive Finance, offers a detailed look at what is shaping dealer satisfaction with retail technology and where the biggest gaps …
Dealerships are absorbing the cost and the strain of fixing problems they did not create I have tremendous respect for all the dealer principals and general managers in Canada, and the challenges they face every day. The car business has …
Dealers are battling through short-term disruption and long-term uncertainty In communities right across Canada, bingo halls regularly attract hundreds of patrons looking to test their luck. Bingo balls bounce and spin, delivering random outcomes. Similarly, opinions on where the North …
The shift in power enables faster action, but raises stakes for oversight and industry engagement There is no denying that the emergence of a Liberal majority government marks a significant shift in Ottawa’s political landscape, one that will have real …
Fuel costs and interest rates are reshaping how Canadians shop for vehicles We are in turbulent times. Rising fuel prices and economic instability are having a direct, multi-layered impact on consumer behaviour in the retail automotive market. Buying patterns are …
Data shows auto shows drive real purchases, not just awareness or browsing A persistent myth still circulates that auto shows are primarily a brand awareness exercise—a place for families to collect brochures and sit in cars they have no immediate …
How dealers can prepare for AI search without chasing hype For some dealers, it can feel a bit like chasing Harrison Ford in The Fugitive; everybody is running, everybody is looking for something, and nobody wants to be the one …
Why closing is the wrong focus for modern dealerships If you’ve seen Glengarry Glen Ross, you’ll remember Alec Baldwin’s infamous sales speech: first prize is a Cadillac, second prize is steak knives, and third prize is you’re fired. His mantra, …
Why B.C.’s ZEV policy shift could reshape Canada’s EV strategy The recent introduction of amendments to zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) legislation in British Columbia marks an important, and overdue, shift in how governments approach the transition to electrification. For dealers, consumers, …
