CARY, N.C. –  Automotive technology entrepreneur Allen Dobbins appeared on the Auto Remarketing Podcast soon after announcing he was part of the investment AutoManager recently received from the Beekman Group, a private equity firm based in New York. Along with describing the path to successful software development, the founder and former chief executive officer of Autostar Solutions and Sigma Payment Solutions discussed why private equity firms are so interested in the automotive industry nowadays. To listen to the episode, click on the link available below, or visit the Auto Remarketing Podcast page.  Download… Read More »PODCAST: Talking software development & private equity investment with Allen Dobbins

IRVINE, Calif. –  Finding a used vehicle that’s ripe for healthy gross and a satisfied dealership customer is as challenging as ever, especially given the current landscape of wholesale prices and supply. So, Cox Automotive strengthened one of its crucial tools dealerships can use to build their inventories without having to depend on the wholesale market completely. The company launched optimizations for Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer to boost the consumer matching process with additional filters to help dealerships tackle today’s inventory challenges. Officials explained the latest Instant Cash Offer enhancements… Read More »3 ways KBB enhanced Instant Cash Offer tool

Friday, Oct. 22, 2021, 12:52 PM The Queen City is already home to two of the nation’s largest auto retailers in Sonic Automotive and Hendrick Automotive Group, each of which is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. And soon Charlotte will have standalone used-car stores from two of the publicly traded dealer groups. AutoNation announced in its quarterly earnings report Thursday that it plans on opening an AutoNation USA used-car store in Charlotte during … Source Article

PLYMOUTH, Mich. –  Obviously, vehicles cannot be transported to and from auctions and dealerships without someone to load them and drive the hauler to the intended destinations. United Road is boosting its efforts to ensure that key person is readily available to meet vehicle transportation demands. This week, United Road president and chief executive officer Mark Anderson announced the expansion of the company’s guaranteed pay benefit to all drivers: first year, tenured and rehires.  Anderson explained that guaranteed pay gives drivers a level of financial assurance and security with the knowledge… Read More »United Road expands guaranteed pay for drivers

WESTCHESTER, Ill. –  IAA reinforced its European resources on Friday via an acquisition. According to a news release, IAA — the presenting sponsor of Auto Remarketing’s 40 Under 40 honorees who will be recognized during Used Car Week — announced it has signed an agreement to acquire the stock of SYNETIQ, a leading integrated salvage and vehicle dismantling company in the United Kingdom for £225 million. IAA said it will acquire the stock of SYNETIQ through its indirect wholly owned subsidiary IAA International Holdings Limited. Founded in 2019 from the merger… Read More »IAA acquires SYNETIQ to boost UK presence

HOUSTON –  Investment funds continue to flow into all parts of the automotive industry, with a second development arriving in recent days having a connection to auto financing and retailing. This week, the CapStreet Group — a 31-year-old firm that invests in software, tech-enabled business services and industrial business services companies in the lower-middle market — announced that it has completed the majority recapitalization of Credit Bureau Connection (CBC), in partnership with the founder and other shareholders. CBC is the third investment for CapStreet V, LP, which has $500 million of… Read More »Credit Bureau Connection receives investment from CapStreet Group

Friday, Oct. 22, 2021, 10:21 AM PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. –  This week, National Auto Care (NAC) senior vice president of mergers and acquisitions Courtney Hoffman announced the company’s 10th acquisition in the past 18 months. Now part of the company’s F&I agency portfolio is a firm positioned to help NAC gain more market share not only with auto dealers but RV and powersports retailers, too, as the acquisition involved Oklahoma City-based Mojo Consulting. NAC highlighted that Mojo is an agency founded in 2016 by Adam Hawthorne that provides F&I products… Read More »NAC completes 10th acquisition in the past 18 months

ESTERO, Fla. –  In another big move by the rental car giant this month, Hertz named a chief information officer on Thursday. Hired as executive vice president and CIO is Tim Langley-Hawthorne, whose most recent post was as CIO of Hitachi Vantara, a subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. Langley-Hawthorne was with Western Union prior to Hitachi, serving in several executive technology and operational roles. His background also includes 20 years in IT, consulting and commercial positions at Information Services Group, Electronic Data Systems and IBM Australia. “As we create the new Hertz,… Read More »Hertz names chief information officer

NEW YORK –  Beekman Group, a private equity firm based in New York focused on building companies in the healthcare, consumer and the business services sectors, now has a presence in the buy-here, pay-here industry. This week, Beekman announced today that the firm has completed an investment in AutoManager to support growth and a recapitalization of the company. California-based AutoManager was founded in 1987 and is a provider of dealer management system (DMS) and website builder tools to independent dealerships in North America, providing a range of software modules used for… Read More »NY private equity firm enters BHPH space via DMS investment

LONDON, Ontario –  Today, the typical vehicle buying process means that customers may spend hours building a relationship with a salesperson, only to be handed over to a business manager once they’ve finally worked out a deal. Plus, we know the wait time to get in front of a business manager can tank your customer’s experience. CARFAX Canada Driving Insights surveyed over 2000 recent new and used vehicle buyers and found that: Among customers who wait less than 15 minutes to talk financing, 48% rate their financing experience as excellent. If… Read More »DRIVING INSIGHTS: Is it time to change how your team handles sales & finance?