Lyft and CDK Global partner to provide auto dealers solution

Lyft, a growing ride-share company in the United States, and CDK Global, an enabler of end-to-end automotive commerce, said Monday that they are partnering to provide auto dealers with a state-of-the-art customer transportation solution.

The solution, which integrates directly into dealer workflows, is designed to reduce a significant area of cost for dealers while improving the customer experience.

By integrating Lyft's Concierge web-based ride-dispatching platform with the Hoffman Estates-based CDK Dealer Management System through the revolutionary Fortellis Automotive Commerce Exchange platform, dealer service departments will be able to easily dispatch Lyft rides directly from their service application.

While hundreds of dealerships leverage Concierge to dispatch Lyft rides for their service customers today, this marks the first time the Lyft API has been integrated directly into a DMS for seamless access.

"By leveraging our Lyft Concierge solution, dealerships can reduce customer wait times and liability insurance costs while increasing repair order throughput and improving general customer satisfaction," said Ben Sternsmith, area vice president at Lyft Business. "We are pleased to integrate Lyft Concierge directly into the dealership's software through the Fortellis platform, which will improve both dealership efficiencies and the customer experience."

In addition to the enhanced customer satisfaction that comes from having a Lyft ride for their customers, dealers will realize a number of other benefits from this Fortellis enabled integration, such as:

"This is an excellent example of the value of the Fortellis platform - to bring companies together to quickly create a better customer experience and positively impact dealers' bottom lines," said Brian MacDonald, CEO, CDK Global. "As the exclusive ride-share provider on the CDK DMS, the integration of Lyft Concierge services has the potential to be available to the 8,000 dealerships served by CDK across the United States, enabling dealers to seamlessly offer their customers an easy and cost-effective alternative to traditional temporary vehicle solutions. We are excited to partner with Lyft to privately publish its Concierge API on the Fortellis platform, an open, secure and accessible global network, for CDK to consume its service applications."