Opinion
Industry Voices | Reclaim Market Share by Moving Ad Spend Upstream
Facing a cooling market in 2025, declining digital ad efficiency, and privacy policy impacts, auto dealers need to shift some advertising budget from the bottom to the top of the funnel, using local digital ads, broadcast TV, and OTT services to build brand awareness early in the car-buying process, thereby acquiring high-conversion leads at lower costs and avoiding market share loss.
Industry Voices | Adapting to the Post-Incentive Era of EVs
The recently passed budget reconciliation act in the United States, also known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill," has comprehensively reformed and "reset" electric vehicle policies. This article outlines key tax-related changes and strategic considerations, noting that it is not all bad news for automotive-related businesses.
Industry Voices | Auto Marketing AI: Data Quality is Key
AI has broad prospects in automotive marketing, but fragmented data systems and insufficient governance are slowing its progress. Deloitte's 2024 research shows that 40% of executives cite data misuse as the top concern for generative AI. Without unified, trustworthy data, even the most advanced AI tools struggle to scale or deliver real returns. Automakers must treat data readiness as a strategic priority, not a technical afterthought, to unlock AI's full potential.
Industry Voices | Tech Overload Is Blocking Profits in Your Service Lane
Service advisors switch between multiple isolated software systems daily, leading to impaired customer experience and profit leakage. This article points out that dealerships need to invest in unified platforms to allow advisors to return to face-to-face service, thereby increasing repair order value and customer loyalty.
Industry Voices | Think Outside Your (Desking) Box
As economic conditions change, dealers need to develop strategies that reflect real customer lives and purchasing methods. Written by AutoPayPlus executives Damon Walker and John Stephens, this article proposes five key recommendations: turning the closing table into a conversation rather than a script, training closing teams to go beyond number crunching, leveraging digital tools to accelerate the process, eliminating corporate jargon, and offering biweekly payment options while explaining their benefits. These strategies aim to help dealers improve closing rates and build long-term customer relationships.
Industry Voices | Automotive OEMs’ Best Lightweighting Practices
The automotive lightweight materials market has maintained steady growth in recent years, with its value lying in simultaneously enhancing electric vehicle range, fuel vehicle economy, and the overall performance of hybrid models. Nuria Ignés, Structural Product Development Manager at L&L Products, points out that OEMs should move beyond the traditional customer-supplier model, achieving cost reduction, manufacturing process optimization, and sustainable development goals through deep collaboration, digital twin technology, whole-system thinking, and both direct and indirect lightweighting strategies.
Industry Voices | Smarter Financing: Why Dealers Must Rethink How They Choose the Right Lenders
The auto loan market is increasingly complex, with longer loan terms and greater lender segmentation, making traditional manual selection methods inadequate. This article analyzes the challenges dealers face and proposes solutions that combine human expertise with real-time data intelligence to optimize lender selection, enhance profitability, and improve customer satisfaction.
Industry Voices | Auto Tariffs and the Virtual Sensor Market
New U.S. automotive tariffs could raise the cost of imported parts, threatening virtual sensor innovation and affecting the development of autonomous driving and ADAS, potentially giving competitors like China an advantage in electric and autonomous driving technologies.
Industry Voices | Raising the Bar for EV Charger Reliability
The reliability issues of electric vehicle charging piles are becoming increasingly prominent. Although most operators claim availability rates exceeding 95%, independent research shows that the actual charging success rate is only 74%. This article analyzes the main causes of downtime and proposes improving the charging experience through intelligent software, localized services, system integration, and energy management to meet regulatory requirements and user expectations.
Industry Voices | Rise of the Robotaxis: A New Era in Mobility
Robotaxis are becoming the most watched autonomous driving technology this year. Goldman Sachs predicts the market will reach $47 billion by 2035, Waymo provides over 250,000 rides per week, and multiple companies are accelerating their efforts. Sensor innovation and consumer trust are key.