The monthly Techwatch feature by Automotive Management outlines some of the last month's highlights in motor retail technological developments.
By Alex Wright
Electric vehicle (EV) battery-health testing business Generational has developed a battery assessment tool.
The proprietary technology offers highly accurate battery-health checks, providing the transparency needed for car dealers to close sales faster and maximise profitability.
Generational’s battery assessment tool is optimised for the UK market and requires minimal training. Using an intuitive mobile app, dealer personnel simply plug the device into an EV’s OBD port, where it analyses the vehicle’s data to determine its battery’s state of health before the dealer acquires the vehicle.
The results show the battery health percentage in comparison to its original condition, benchmarked against manufacturer data. A real-world range assessment is also provided, measured against Generational’s extensive EV battery-health database, which has been developed over two years and continues to expand as more vehicles are tested.
Once the vehicle reaches the forecourt, dealers can provide buyers with a certified battery-health report, helping to accelerate sales.
Oliver Phillpott, CEO of Generational, said: “While the UK’s used electric-vehicle market is showing hugely encouraging signs of growth, that success needs to be sustainable in the long-term. From our experience with our customers, it’s clear that vehicle dealers’, and consumers’, confidence in pre-owned EVs needs to be uplifted.”
Alex Jones, COO of used-car supermarket Carbase, said: “Partnering with Generational has been a seamless experience. Their professional team integrated their system into our existing processes without disrupting daily operations. The intuitive software was quickly adopted by our team, enabling us to certify hundreds of electric vehicles efficiently.”
Generational is expanding its product portfolio to serve leasing companies where its battery state-of-health assessments can help predict their EVs’ residual values more accurately and significantly improve re-marketing prospects.
Carwow has launched a new payment solution for dealers that buy stock through its daily online auctions to streamline operations and improve customer experience. There will be no charge for retailers whether they choose to use the service or not.
Launched in partnership with Airwallex, a global payments company and a sponsor of McLaren F1, Carwow Wallet securely and efficiently processes payments for dealers who purchase used cars from thousands of private sellers via Carwow’s daily online auctions.
Carwow Wallet is a secure digital payment solution which allows dealers to pay for their online auction wins at the click of a button, speeding up the car-changing process and enhancing the customer experience. The service can handle payments to multiple beneficiaries during the vehicle sale, such as the seller and a finance house, as well as the management of any negative equity balance.
Dealers who opt-in will be allocated a digital wallet built into their Carwow account, through which they can store, withdraw and transfer funds securely and easily. Dealers connected to the service can track the status of their payments, while sellers are notified when payments are sent, bringing greater transparency, security and efficiency for both parties.
Sally Foote, chief commercial officer at Carwow, said: “We understand that, particularly for many large dealer groups and despite best intentions, there are many operational hurdles that limit their ability to arrange same-day payments when purchasing cars from private sellers.”
Kai Wu, chief revenue officer from Airwallex, said: “We’re delighted to see our embedded finance solutions helping Carwow’s dealer partners and private sellers benefiting from greater protection and a seamless payment experience - all within Carwow’s trusted platform.”
Carwow Wallet is available to enterprise dealer group customers and will be rolled out to independent retailers later this year.
Auto Trader has launched two new artificial intelligence (AI) powered tools as part of its Co-Driver solution range.
AI Generated Descriptions and Vehicle Highlights will incorporate Auto Trader's data and consumer insights to help retailers reduce the time and effort required to create used car and van adverts.
The full range of Co-Driver’s features are available as part of all used car and van advertising packages.
They’re accessible through Auto Trader Portal accounts, and for those retailers using Auto Trader’s suite of API solutions, Auto Trader Connect.
Auto Trader said that they can also be integrated into retailers' chosen systems through their third-party technology provider.
AI Generated Descriptions taps into Auto Trader’s data to generate detailed vehicle descriptions, which also incorporate VIN specification details sourced directly from manufacturers.
Auto Trader said that the AI tool can accurately describe and position each vehicle "in the most appealing way for potential buyers— helping retailers to showcase their stock in the most impactful way in just a click of a button".
Vehicle Highlights uses Auto Trader's data to automatically highlight the most distinctive characteristics and specifications of each car unique to the specific model, derivative and even individual vehicle.
The tool can automatically pinpoint features buyers are interested in by linking the tool with Auto Trader’s consumer insights data.
Karolina Edwards-Smajda, Auto Trader’s chief product officer, said: "These new advanced AI-powered tools not only mark another important milestone in what will be a long pipeline of Co-Driver innovations, but also our ongoing commitment to helping retailers drive performance and unlock more profit through technology.”
Mercedes-Benz specialist Rygor Group has unveiled an online Career Hub, designed to support job seekers with application guidance, CV structuring and interview techniques.
Accessible through Rygor Group’s website, the Career Hub provides clear interview tips, CV writing templates and access to Rygor’s digital self-development journal. Additionally, users can benefit from free video content designed to assist with interview preparation, allowing them to practice common interview questions and see how others respond.
Kate Ruberry-Shoemack, head of people and communications at Rygor Group, said: “As a business, we’re committed to Rygor’s core values of being rewarding, reliable and respectful, and these tenets sit behind everything we do – not just for our team and our customers, but for the wider community too. We understand that seeking employment can be daunting, so we want to assist people where we can, to ensure they have the best chance of success when applying for roles.”
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