Editor’s note: These CRM market observations are as of November 2025. For more recent thinking, see Five Challenges Automotive CRM Platforms Must Solve and the 2027 Automotive CRM Research Report, coming soon.
As I get ready to drive over to the Eau Resort for the Modern Retailing Conference (MRC) I wanted to share my thoughts on CRM platforms and the rise of AI agents. If you have been following my newsletter, there are over 15 companies offering dealers standalone AI voice agents to handle inbound and outbound calls. Most all of these companies are outside of the CRM with variable integrations to the CRM and DMS.
Some CRM platforms may become obsolete much faster than they could have predicted
When I was writing about Automotive Customer Data Platforms (CDP), dealers asked me why couldn’t a CRM handle the tasks of a pure CDP. That would include adding an identity resolution pixel to dealer websites, integrating real-time data hygiene practices, and using third-party data to keep the customer vehicle ownership records up to date.
While this seems like the logical evolution of automotive CRMs, especially because DMS platforms are a data cesspool, there has not been any significant movement with the incumbent CRM players, until recently.
Outside of automotive, CRM and CDP platforms co-exist nicely because they perform distinctly different roles. Since dealers love “vendor choice” and the ability to build their own tech stack, there are some new realities that need to be addressed.
Who is controlling communication cadence?
With the rise of AI agents, dealers will need to have a clean, single source of truth for each customer. With multiple communication channels being offered to dealers, there must be a mechanism to control the cadence of communications. From what I can see, dealers could have three or more AI agents working with customer data.
So who controls communication permissions on a case-by-case basis?
I do not see a clear solution on the market, but David Steinberg has been working on a solution. CRMs have been the source of truth for opt-in and opt-out data, but they are not open enough to support a larger technology ecosystem.
What is the solution?
Automotive CRM market observations
What are the most popular CRM platforms doing?
One of the most interesting stories in the CRM space is the project led by Brad Title at The Reynolds and Reynolds Company. Brad’s Curator platform is blending the lines between Focus CRM, Reynolds DMS, and the Fullpath CDP. With the addition of an integrated MAP, this partnership has a compelling, fast ROI formula. Dealers should learn more about this project because how Brad is leveraging a unified customer record.
With a new CEO at the helm of DriveCentric, dealers should keep a close eye on the vision being set by Matthew Leone. Matt has already made good on his promise to increase direct API integrations with DriveCentric CRM. One notable integration is the real-time data hygiene partnership with automotiveMastermind Inc. which also brings into the CRM the popular BPS scoring model. With a robust API model in place, what partnerships or acquisitions could make sense?
I haven’t heard much about the CDK Global CRM platform (ELEAD) from the company or from dealers. Without an identity resolution pixel, control of dealer websites, a robust marketing automation platform, or a clear CDP partnership, their technology roadmap seems to be behind the marketplace. The mood on the street is that ELEAD CRM is no longer a leader in the CRM space.
Quietly, Cox Automotive Inc. has been adding more features into VinSolutions by Cox Automotive CRM to leverage the Cox identity graph built from engagement on Dealer.com websites, KBB.com, and Autotrader.com. What still needs to be seen is how VinSolutions will integrate with third-party signals from CDPs and data platforms outside of the Cox ecosystem. Since they have a powerful marketing automation platform in place, I’m also interested to see how Cox will collaborate with dealer groups with their own MAP and CDP.
While Tekion Corp has been growing market share in the DMS world, their efforts to grow CRM market share have been slowed by a less than impressive CRM platform. After multiple revisions, the current release has some advocates which believe that Tekion Corp has finally gotten most of the dealer needs in place. Time will tell how their CRM platform will perform and compete with CRM leaders like DriveCentric and VinSolutions by Cox Automotive. I’m hopeful for Tekion Corp customers who want a single platform solution.
New CRM platforms will come
There are rumblings that the automotive industry needs a new CRM platform, one that is built on the premise of a dealer owning and managing their first-party data without chains. While I agree that the marketplace always needs new competition, the CRM marketplace has many challenges, including access to DMS data.
If more dealers build their own data warehouses / CDPs which have accurate customer data, this may be the catalyst to encourage new CRM technology to develop.
