Industry Trends Archives | vAuto

Merchandising Masterclass: Telling Better Vehicle Stories with AI & Automation

Video

Merchandising Masterclass: Telling Better Vehicle Stories with AI & Automation

What does it take to merchandise every car on your lot—consistently, compliantly, and at scale? Recorded live at ASOTU CON, this panel brings together vAuto Portfolio Performance Manager Chris Moyer, Joel Bassam, President of Eastern’s Automotive Group, and Kate Howell, National Marketing Director at Mullinax Automotive, to break down how AI and automation are changing […]

vAuto LMV Q2 2026: Why Precision Matters in a Turbulent Market

Video

vAuto LMV Q2 2026: Why Precision Matters in a Turbulent Market

vAuto’s Derek Hansen and Cox Automotive executive analyst Erin Keating break down key trends in new and used vehicle markets for the second quarter of 2026. Watch to learn why dealers should mine local market signals to guide inventory ordering/stocking decisions to align vehicles with emerging demand; lean into merchandising to drive interest in new […]

What High‑Performing Dealers Do to Find More Used Inventory

Blog Post

What High‑Performing Dealers Do to Find More Used Inventory

Use the service lane to spot, value, and act on inventory opportunities earlier.

Car Buyer Shifts New-Car Teams Need to Act On Now

Blog Post

Car Buyer Shifts New-Car Teams Need to Act On Now

For more than 15 years, Cox Automotive has tracked how buyer expectations evolve. The 2025 Cox Automotive Car Buyer Journey Study shows a clear pattern for new‑car dealers: satisfaction is rising, but shoppers are moving faster, comparing more options, and expecting clarity earlier in the process. Those findings are visualized in the From Shopper Insight to Inventory Action: How Market-Driven Decisions Drive the Modern […]

Four AI-Driven Innovations Transforming How Dealers Work

Video

Four AI-Driven Innovations Transforming How Dealers Work

Meet the AI tools built to help your team appraise better, move faster, and stay focused on what matters. Explore Common Problems, Vehicle Journey, the Auto Assistant, and Cox Automotive Navigator — four innovations that bring the right data and next best actions to your fingertips, right inside the tools you already use.

How vAuto’s AI is Better: It Starts with Data

Blog Post

How vAuto’s AI is Better: It Starts with Data

Derek Hansen, SVP, Dealer, Lender, and Inventory Management Solutions at Cox Automotive, explains why trusted inputs matter before AI can deliver trusted outputs.

Podcast

vAuto Quarterly Quick-Takes: A View of Key Q1 2026 Trends

In this vAuto Quarterly Quick-Takes podcast, vAuto’s director of strategic planning, Bethany Johnson, examines key take-aways from new and used vehicle inventory and sales data from the first quarter of 2026: Get out there early with new vehicle promotion; marketing in-transit units help capture buyer interest; mind your pricing on Day 1—for new and used vehicles to […]

Driven Her Way: Bethany Johnson on Learning, Leadership, and Dealer Experience

In this episode of Driven Her Way, Susan Givens sits down with Bethany Johnson, Strategic Planning Director at vAuto, to discuss her career journey from dealership retail to the vendor side of automotive. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience, Bethany shares why hands‑on dealer experience and an always‑be‑learning mindset are critical in today’s market. The […]

Line chart showing the growing share of EV appraisals at dealerships, with EV trade-ins increasing from about 1.6 percent in early 2025 to nearly 1.8 percent by early 2026.

Blog Post

An Early View of the Emerging Used EV Opportunity

Last fall, when the federal tax credits for EVs expired and EV demand dropped off, our industry faced a question: Did this moment effectively mark the beginning of the end of the EV market? Looking back, this question was more about the drama of the moment than a true reflection of how the EV market would perform in the months ahead. After all, […]

Connected Data, Connected Decisions: The Real AI Advantage for Inventory Leaders

Blog Post

Connected Data, Connected Decisions: The Real AI Advantage for Inventory Leaders

“AI without connected data is just…expensive guessing.” – Yossi Levi, The Car Dealership Guy A Smarter Way to Think About AI Begins with Better Data AI isn’t magic. You can’t push a button that instantly solves all your dealership challenges. (Not yet at least.) AI only becomes powerful when it’s built on top of connected, consistent, high‑quality data. Derek Hansen, SVP of Dealer, Lender & Inventory Management Solutions […]