More dealers use CarGurus, TrueCar than other digital platforms

When it comes to dealerships’ digital functionality and presence, CarGurus is the most widely used third-party digital platform, according to new data from an Auto Finance News dealer insights survey. The survey tapped a sampling of dealers nationwide to unveil digital trends directly from the showroom.

Among dealers surveyed, 45% said they leverage CarGurus’ platform, a marketplace where car sellers can list inventory for potential car buyers. TrueCar, a platform that provides consumers with information about vehicles for sale and then sells resulting leads to dealers, garnered 32% of the vote.

Beyond CarGurus and TrueCar, dealer usage trailed off. AutoGravity — which enables car buyers to shop for cars, locate nearby dealerships and search for financing options via mobile app — scored 5% of dealer response. Cars.com and Autotrader were cited by dealers 4% of the time. Usage for AutoFi, Clutch Technologies, Getaround, HyreCar, Joydrive, Modal (recently rebranded from Drive Motors) and Rodo (formerly known as Honcker) hovered in the 1%-to-2% range.

Meanwhile, 16% of respondents avoid third-party digital platforms altogether. Of those, 35% noted that they were unfamiliar with the benefits. Another 30% of respondents said the platforms don’t fit into their business models, while 20% said customer demand is too limited. The remainder cited resource allocation as their reason.

The chart below details the percentage of dealers who use each digital platform, per AFN’s dealer insights survey: 

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