Automotive Business Magazine – Q2 2026 – Digital edition - Magazine - Page 9
FEATURE
TECHNOLOGY
Check in, check
out: Tjekvik
self-service kiosks
are changing the
showroom floor
at night’, but there’s always going to be
an element of drivers that believe Big
Brother is watching and it’s a controlling
element, when actually it’s not.
“It’s up to the fleet and the business to
explain what they’re doing.”
Attitudes are changing, however.
Williams explains: “Companies are able
to explain to the drivers that this is a
safety thing. It’s not that we’re sitting
there watching you. It’s detecting if
you’re tired, if you’re being distracted, it’s
there to stop you having an accident.”
slicker, much more enjoyable.
“We've got 18,000 customers registered
on the Hendy app now, which is fantastic.
It means we can talk to customers about
booking a vehicle in for the next service.
“We're developing the app so that we
can start to talk to customers that have
funded their vehicle through finance, so
we can talk to them, when they reach
parity, about new vehicles.
“It's been really, really good for us and
it will be a really efficient way of staying
in close contact with our customers now
and in the future.”
Modern retail technology also enables
more targeted communications with
customers. This has existed for a long
time on a macro level, but modern
algorithms have made it possible to be
increasingly specific.
Evans says: “We look at things like open
rates, slip through rates. That tells us if
we're sending the right messages to the
right people at the right time.
“If somebody has visited a dealer
website looking at used cars, we can
serve them the changing stock inventory
in ads in their Facebook and Instagram
feeds. We know they're interested in
used cars because they've been on the
pages of the website, so we'll serve them
some ads just to keep them coming back
as stock changes or prices change.
“Alternatively, using Facebook's
algorithms, we can target people who
are looking for used cars in the areas
surrounding our dealerships.
“We're only putting tools in in use
that we know consumers are already
engaging with in other industries.
"We're not doing tech for tech's sake.
We're doing tech because that's where
the consumers are.”
Customer impact
The impact on the bottom line is one
thing, but it would be remiss to not
consider the customer in this.
With cars being among the most
expensive purchases of many peoples’
lives, ensuring a smooth and stress-free
experience is key.
McPhee says: “From a customer
experience perspective, it's now so much
better. We implemented a new sales
platform in August this year, and that has
made the experience between customer
and Hendy much more efficient, much
Actual intelligence?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is undoubtedly
the elephant in the technology room.
For a few years now, businesses across
all sectors – automotive included – have
scrambled to implement AI wherever
they can.
Tech firms have, of course, touted
massive efficiency gains. However, Evans
warns that AI is not a panacea – it has its
limitations.
He says: “The strongest dealerships
are where technology and people work
together. There’s a clamour for AI- →
Q2 2026
AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESS
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