McGovern pays $1.6M in auto tech bonuses, Wells Fargo tests 150% loan-to-value ratios, overlooked service drive KPIs

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Hey everyone,

In Q3, the average new car down payment fell to the lowest level in nearly four years…

Helping to push the average amount financed up to $42,647, according to Edmunds.

Plus, about 20% of buyers are taking on $1,000+ monthly payments.
And more than 22% of new loans now stretch seven years or longer.

The signal: Car buyers are pulling every “affordability” lever available to them regardless of any potential long-term consequences.

— CDG

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Welcome to The Weekly, a roundup of the top five auto industry headlines of the week.

McGovern invests $1.6M in auto technician bonuses, in-house training center to solve labor shortage

McGovern Automotive Group is tackling the auto tech shortage with a structured system built for scale.

The group turned one of their veteran techs into a full-time recruiter, built partnerships with trade schools, and launched apprenticeship programs—bringing in more than 100 new hires across 34 stores while cutting turnover to 21%.

Retention comes from structure and pay. “McGovern University” handles onboarding with hands-on trainers, while bonuses tied to tenure, certifications, and multimedia inspections paid average techs $6K–$8K last year—and up to $20K for top performers.

Big picture: The key is building repeatable systems (recruit, train, and reward) that can expand as the group grows and keep techs invested long-term.

(Go deeper: 4 min. read)

EXCLUSIVE: Wells Fargo dealer pilot tests 150% loan-to-value ratios for certain subprime borrowers, sources say

According to an internal memo shared with CDG News, Wells Fargo Auto has released new, expanded credit guidelines for car dealers participating in its credit expansion pilot program.

Specifically, borrowers with FICO scores of at least 540 can now be approved for an auto loan with a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio up to 150%.
And borrowers with FICO scores between 500-539 can be approved with an LTV up to 110%.

What we’re watching: If the pilot performs as Wells Fargo expects, the expanded guidelines could roll out to more dealers nationwide.

(Go deeper: 3 min. read)

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This overlooked service drive KPI is quietly driving absorption gains for one Texas dealer

At Mike Terry Automotive Group, managing partner Chris Singleton prioritizes one service metric before anything else: how many repair orders from yesterday included photo or video attachments.

For him, the “media attachment rate” is a proxy for whether techs are actually finding and documenting needed work. No documentation = no recommendation. And no recommendation = no sale.

Singleton enforces accountability using Xtime’s media utilization report.
Advisors make mileage-based proposals, techs provide independent visual evidence, and customers see recommendations from both, driving higher approval rates.

The result: 80% service absorption.

(Go deeper: 3 min. read)

Hertz-Amazon partnership signals new wave of used car competition

Hertz’s recent partnership with Amazon Autos is raising alarms among dealers worried about added pressure in the used car market.

Here’s why: Hertz already buys vehicles in bulk at discounts dealers can’t access, then resells them through its 45 retail lots nationwide. Pairing that cost advantage with Amazon’s unmatched e-commerce reach could let Hertz undercut local dealers on pricing and distribution.

Hertz has also moved its sales process fully online via HertzCarSales.com, further expanding its retail footprint.
And for dealers, this comes as used supply is volatile and values are slipping.

Bottom line: If the Hertz-Amazon model proves out, it could spread quickly to other fleet operators, giving dealers a whole new type of competitor in the used car space.

(Go deeper: 3 min. read)

83% of dealers are failing to optimize their Google Business Profiles

A new report is highlighting the massive performance gap between dealerships that invest in SEO and those that don’t.

SearchLab Digital analyzed more than 2,200 dealership profiles across 20 major U.S. cities and found that top-ranked stores appear in more than double the search results of lower-ranked competitors.

The kicker: Many dealers still miss the basics. Nearly half don’t have separate Service and Parts Google Business Profiles, 29% haven’t enabled Vehicles for Sale, and only 17% use all 10 category slots.

These are simple and free optimizations that can directly boost visibility.

The takeaway: SEO compounds over time. Dealers who clean up the basics now can capture cheaper, steadier traffic, while those that put it off risk falling further behind, and paying more to catch up later.

(Go deeper: 3 min. read)