Dealers know that every passing day a vehicle sits on the lot costs them money in floorplanning, insurance, and depreciation.
Aimed at helping dealers turn that inventory or take advantage of opportunities in their market, CarGurus just introduced VINMax to identify which vehicles in inventory could benefit from additional marketing.
How it works: VINMax combines real-time supply-and-demand data with CarGurus’ AI-powered predictive intelligence to pick out vehicles in dealers’ inventory that could benefit from a marketing boost.
In testing between February and July, CarGurus found that the 10,000 vehicles marketed with VINMax sold 9 days faster than comparable non-boosted listings (24,000 vehicles).
Those listings also had a 34% increase in daily leads.
Zooming in: Ben Kasdon, vice president of Dealer Product Management at CarGurus, told CDG News the development is largely aimed at helping dealers move aging inventory.
To do so, he said a machine-learning tool identifies inventory that could benefit from additional marketing based on supply and demand metrics.
From there, it gives dealers another tool besides lowering the price.
“We don't want dealers to always feel like they have to compromise margin in order to move that metal,” Kasdon said. “And so the idea being, there are times where exposure is really an effective lever.”
The car business moves fast. Stay ahead.
The most important insights from automotive retail, delivered to your inbox daily.
Join 74,000 others now, it's free:
Different platforms: The boost will run on the CarGurus platform and additional sites to reach the right audience, Kasdon explained.
VINMax is also designed to be real-time and dynamic, reacting to ever-changing market conditions.
The option, Kasdon said, lets dealers boost 10 vehicles from their inventory, with the model selecting those best suited for additional exposure.
If leads pick up for a vehicle or market conditions change, additional exposure may be moved to another vehicle in the inventory.
Bottom line: While CarGurus-specific, this is, more importantly, a clear example of how companies are unlocking new approaches to pricing and marketing for dealers looking to keep inventory moving, with an emphasis on protecting margin where possible.
A quick word from our partner
Most dealers don't trust their uniform company.
Here's why.
Rates creep up every year. New fees appear. Techs who left months ago still get billed.
Across every rooftop, it adds up fast.
The Laundry Guy has spent 30 years inside the uniform industry. More than 400 dealerships trust us to save them money.
You keep your vendor. We get your money back and lock in 30–50% better pricing. If we don't save you money, you don't pay.
