Recent News

Team Velocity Unites Auto Industry Leaders to Define the Future of Dealerships in 2025

2025 is set to bring transformative changes to the automotive industry, with dealerships facing the rise of direct-to-consumer (DTC) models, increasing reliance on artificial intelligence, and the ongoing need to streamline fragmented technology stacks. Recognizing these challenges, Team Velocity, a leader in marketing technology and customer experience solutions for the automotive industry, hosted its highly anticipated Automotive Leadership Roundtable (ALR) to bring together top industry experts for an in-depth discussion on the future of automotive retail. Moderated by Yossi J. Levi, the Car Dealership Guy, the panel featured a powerhouse lineup of executives from leading OEMs, dealership groups, and technology providers, all sharing actionable insights on how dealerships can adapt and thrive in an increasingly digital landscape.

Explore key strategies for navigating dealership compliance

Like so many things in the automotive retail industry these days, st ate and federal regulations governing dealerships are constantly evolving, whether they involve advertising, sales and fair-lending practices, customer privacy or data handling. Michele Holdosh, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at Ally Financial, offers some key insights into strategies and best practices that can help dealers keep up with this ever-changing compliance landscape.

Q: What are some of the ways the compliance landscape is changing?
Michele Holdosh: As the compliance landscape in the automotive dealership space continues to evolve due to increased regulatory scrutiny and a heightened focus on consumer protection, it is a good idea for dealers to remain vigilant to avoid penalties and fines, but more importantly to protect their legacy and take care of their customers. These changes might include technological advancements that are transforming compliance monitoring through management software, as well as a greater emphasis on employee compliance training. Overall, these shifts may require dealerships to be more proactive and adaptable in their compliance strategies.

Tariffs creating traffic at some car dealerships

Sweeping new tariffs that could jack up car prices are causing traffic jams in car dealership lots. At Parkway Toyota of Boston in West Roxbury, several people were negotiating their final deal on new vehicles Monday morning.

“The tariffs, the tariffs, the tariffs” is all the customers are talking about, said Michael Colby, one of the managers.

“There are so many unknowns. We are expecting the pricing of all of our vehicles to go up. We don’t know when,” he said. “There is a ton of uncertainty for the dealer and the customer.”

FTC, Maryland Attorney General Act to Stop Lindsay Auto from Falsely Touting Low Prices and Overcharging Consumers for Unwanted Fees and Add-Ons

December 27, 2024
Source: Federal Trade Commission

The Federal Trade Commission and Maryland Attorney General have charged Lindsay Automotive Group with systematically deceiving and overcharging car-buying consumers for years, costing them millions of dollars in junk fees and unwanted add-on products.

The agency’s complaint also alleges that Lindsay advertised prices it refused to honor and falsely claimed consumers needed to obtain financing through Lindsay. The agencies’ complaint alleges that three Lindsay dealerships and their management company, along with the company’s part-owner and president Michael Lindsay, COO John Smallwood, and the dealerships’ former general manager Paul Smyth, engaged in pervasive unlawful conduct.