CDK Global

Once you go electric, you stay electric. At least that’s what electric vehicle drivers indicated in a CDK study earlier this year. But EVs are set to only reach 10% of U.S. car sales by the end of 2024. While affordable EVs continue to fill up car lots and roads, most car shoppers are still choosing hybrids, plug-ins and gas-powered cars. But why?

Each year CDK produces an array of class-leading research to help dealers better understand their customers, their employees and the broader automotive retail industry. This leads to power insights that can help improve their business. Here are the white papers and e-books CDK published in 2024 to date with more being added before the end of the year.

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Friction Points 2024 Study

Recruiting people to staff entry-level positions at your dealership can be a challenge. Rather than posting a “help wanted” ad and hoping that qualified candidates come to you, there are a few ways to be proactive about filling such roles. Seeking out talent at community colleges is among them. Nearly four out of every 10 undergrads in the U.S. attend a community college, and many of those people are young, local and eager for part-time work or internships. Here’s how to reach them.

Winter is a unique time to sell cars, especially in cold climates. This year promises to be an even more interesting time for dealers to move electrified metal. The existing EV incentives on both new and used cars may not continue indefinitely with a new administration coming to Washington, D.C., in January. And many shoppers may still remember one sensational story about EVs being stranded in a Chicago cold snap last winter.

With the U.S. unemployment rate hovering just over 4%, auto dealership recruiting and retention are daunting challenges facing dealers of all sizes.

The need to replace 76,000 qualified Technicians annually to Service bays nationwide is well-known, it's hard to find and retain good Front Office staff, too, especially for the Sales department.

AI in the automotive industry is no longer a trend. Dealerships are experiencing gains across their operations thanks to technologies including AI, machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP). With 68% of dealerships reporting that AI has positively impacted their operations, it’s no wonder dealers are seeing success and improvements across their stores.

There’s nothing wrong if a dealership wants a little promotion after they’ve made a sale. However, car owners often have strong opinions on stores affixing a sticker, decal or badge to their new ride. License plate frames are easy to remove so there’s usually no argument to be had and often, they’re left on a car long after it leaves the lot.

Personalized license plate frames cost dealers only a few bucks each, but that money goes to waste if customers don’t keep frames attached to vehicles.

Let’s look at how your dealership can rethink this critical branding element.

Whether it’s at the dentist’s office, the airport or a car dealership’s Service department, nobody enjoys being sequestered in a waiting room. But if you go the extra mile — or even the extra one-tenth of a mile — and provide your customers with a comfortable place to wait for service, it can help make them happy, loyal customers. And it won’t cost you much.

Fixed Operations continues to be a major profit center for car dealerships. And the competition from independent repair facilities and car chains remains … but in terms of driving positive sentiment, dealers are gaining ground according to the CDK Service Shopper 4.0 study.

Data is at the heart of everything today, and car dealerships are no exception. Whether it's understanding customer preferences, managing inventory or figuring out the best strategies for sales, effective data can make all the difference. Here are four areas that highlight how data can transform dealerships and why it’s so important for success.