GM adds more options to its list of website vendors

Chevrolet, Buick and GMC dealers are receiving a "welcomed change" when it comes to company-approved vendors for their websites.

As early as the second quarter, dealers for the General Motors brands will be given options other than CDK Global as a website provider and manager.

GM executives announced the change to dealers during a combined make meeting on Jan. 26 at the NADA Show for the three brands, according to several retailers who attended the meeting.

GM's use of CDK as its exclusive preferred provider and manager of the websites has been a point of contention in recent years. Dealers complained about the CDK directive at last year's make meeting.

Chevrolet National Dealer Council Chairman Mike Bowsher, via phone, called the additional options a "welcomed change that the dealers have been asking for and are excited about."

The move "promotes competition and opportunity for implementation of new technologies that come along," said Bowsher, owner of Carl Black Automotive Group in Kennesaw, Ga.

Steve Hill, GM's vice president of U.S. sales, service and marketing, said in a statement that the company has been working with its dealer councils to ensure that "dealer sites are innovative and have the best digital tools in the industry."

Dealers said GM executives spent much of the meeting promoting dealer profitability, including GM-approved and -created programs such as OnTrac, which assists dealers in managing service loaner fleets.

"I like OnTrac. It works well," said Ralph Shaheen, president of Shaheen Chevrolet in Lansing, Mich., who started using the tool last month. "That's going to help us a lot."

Before the meeting, GM North America President Alan Batey told Automotive News that the company last year "rethought" the launch strategy of such programs and worked more closely with dealers than initially expected to implement them. The programs were a major part of the company's stand on the NADA Show floor.

"It was a great meeting," said Angelo Salvadore, president of Salvadore Auto Family of Dealerships in Gardner, Mass. "I'm very pleased."

Duncan Aldred, vice president of Buick-GMC, showed new advertisements coming in 2019, dealers said. The GMC ads focus on the redesigned 2019 Sierra full-size pickup, while Buick ads feature crossovers.