Dealer margin potential receives boost with Autofinity data enhancement

Autofinity is helping dealers achieve better margins by boosting ratings on classified websites, ensuring that vehicles are more accurately described, leading to higher residual values.

Using its ViHUB platform, which aggregates detailed vehicle information from multiple sources, Autofinity can now provide automated, accurate descriptions of standard and optional features.

Enhancing manufacturer basic build data – the information supplied to the production line. means that stand-out features such as ‘cupholders’ or ‘seatbelts’ are now featured.

In a real-world test, Autofinity found that a vehicle listed on Auto Trader as a "fair price" was re-evaluated as a "good price" after applying enhanced description data.

This enhancement, which identified and highlighted optional features, resulted in a £1,778 higher value for the same car.

Chris Banks, chief solutions officer at Autofinity, explains: “Source data often contains a host of different information and instructions crammed into one place which informed the production line of features required for whichever derivative was currently under construction. It was acronym heavy and meaningless to the consumer. Our retail platform turned the data into something that’s relevant and rich for the consumer.

“We’ve enhanced the data so much that the dealer can highlight the car’s key features including optional items that are fitted on the vehicle over standard. The system is now so sophisticated that it knows which pieces of equipment is available with each derivative which doesn’t rely on staff keying in highlights themselves.”