Cox Automotive, the world’s largest automotive services and technology provider, is officially set to showcase its new retail and wholesale solutions at the National Automotive Dealers Association’s (NADA) 2025 convention, opening later this week in New Orleans.

Designed to reimagine the future of car buying and selling, these solutions will be exhibited in “Cox Automotive Village,” which covers more than 23,000 square feet and includes more than 180 demo stations.

Before we take a more specific view of these solutions, we must take into account how, according to Q4 2024 Cox Automotive Dealer Sentiment Index (CADSI), there happens to be a renewed optimism among U.S. automobile dealers.

Not just that, a separate Cox Automotive’s 2024 Car Buyer Journey Study also reveals that new car and EV sales satisfaction is the highest on record.

Anyway, talk about the stated new solutions on a slightly deeper level, we begin from deal central enhancements that will make it possible for dealers to leverage robust AI and sell vehicles which are not yet in their current inventory, such as vehicles in their order pipeline or in transit, thus opening new opportunities for buyers and keeping consumer satisfaction high.

Furthermore, dealers can streamline in-person or online purchases with new features, including Digital Deal Jacket, which brings all of a shopper’s data and documents together into one deal experience. Users can also expect to use a Print Proposal feature, which empowers dealers to print critical documents related to their vehicle purchase more easily.

Next up, there is the access to Xtime. As dealers often require specialized assistance when trying to meet customer expectations, streamline service operations, boost fixed operation revenue, and maximize customer lifetime value, Xtime will now provide them with a simpler mechanism to facilitate all these efforts.

In essence, Xtime brings to the fore straightforward service lane reporting, enhanced workflow efficiencies, and seamless new Dealership Management System (DMS) integrations, along with two new communication enhancements to further modernize the customer experience.

These two communication enhancements include enhanced texting communications, where you can basically use a new messaging center to interact with customers for the purpose of better meeting their evolving expectations. Not just that, you can also leverage bulk communications to reduce dealer effort, ensure timely and effective interactions with consumers, as well as improve customer satisfaction.

The second communication upgrade relates to enhanced video capabilities. These capabilities, on their part, include noise cancellation, higher resolution images, subtitles, and branded multi-point inspection videos that drive technician efficiency.

Then, we have vAuto Enhancements coming into play. Here, too, Cox Automotive will deliver a pair of new solutions i.e. ProfitTime GPS and Provision.

Complementing that would be availability of a centralized inventory management facility. This particular facility can support dealer group oversight and a new appraisal experience, which will help dealers win more trade-ins in a supply-constrained used-vehicle market.

To expand further upon the promised centralized inventory management, it includes an enterprise transfer portal to let users optimize every car across all of a dealer’s locations with centralized actions. Hence, dealers can quickly identify inventory issues, transfer vehicles where they’re needed, and optimize retail potential across all locations.

The said brand of inventory management also offers, like we briefly touched upon, a new appraisal experience. You see, on an average, a difference of over $1,000 exists between estimated and actual reconditioning costs for 39% of vehicle identification numbers (VINs). Cox Automotive’s latest innovation addresses that by minimizing costly mistakes, ensuring consistent and transparent offers that build consumer trust, and helping dealers acquire vehicles aligned with their inventory strategy.

The company will also unveil at the NADA a functionality to use Autotrader for gauging your EV’s battery health.

“According to our recent Car Buyer Journey Study, dealership satisfaction rates are at 81%, which is an all-time high,” said Lori Wittman, president, Retail Solutions at Cox Automotive. “These new retail enhancements emphasize our commitment to keeping dealers happy and competitive. Over the past year, we’ve launched the Retail360 ecosystem to support seamless omnichannel car buying and enhanced our AI and automation capabilities to elevate dealer and consumer experiences.”