The monthly Techwatch feature by Automotive Management outlines some of the last month’s highlights in motor retail technological developments.
By Alex Wright
Vehicle preparation software provider vAutoStock and vehicle key management system e-Track have announced a new integration.
Using a new in-house built direct API integration with e-Track’s vehicle key management cabinets means movements of keys if taken out, returned or assigned to a holder, are automatically updated in vAutoStock in real-time.
To keep track of vehicle keys, e-Track uses UK-manufactured electronic key cabinet systems which deliver a real-time audit trail in seconds, eliminating key loss and improving security. Dealerships operating vAutoStock, which automates the vehicle prep process driving efficiency and oversight, can now view a vehicle’s key status and location in its system with no manual input required. The vAutoStock toolkit combines robotics, AI and vehicle tracking to automate vehicle preparation and manage stock with three integrated products – vAutoPrep, vAutoTrack and vAutoBots, and can be taken as a suite or by module.
vAutoStock’s managing director, Chris Barrett, said: “Key position, holder and location details all sync without the need for data to be inputted into vAutoStock delivering greater efficiencies and oversight.
“Dealerships lose time every day as staff find answers to questions that shouldn’t need asking as they try and hunt down vehicles both through systems and by physically walking the site.
“Our integration means the answer is one click away in the vAutoStock system. The key status is shown alongside vehicle status, in one platform, updated live. There’s no manual reconciliation, no double-keying, no gap between what the key cabinet knows and what your management system shows.”
Dan Murray, e-Track’s aftersales director, said: “The vAutoStock team has been great to work with — the team knew exactly what they wanted and their API made it straightforward to connect. Dealers running both systems can be up and running quickly, and the benefit is immediate. Keys, holders and locations update in vAutoStock the moment something moves in the cabinet. No manual work, no chasing, just one less thing to manage on a busy site.”
Now live, any dealer group running both e-Track and vAutoStock can benefit with easy set-up overseen by the eTrack support team. Dealerships that are onboarded with either system and want to understand the integration and how it benefits operations can talk to their account manager.
Pinewood.AI has partnered with finance software provider Rillion to launch an automated invoice management system.
The cloud-based accounts payable solution has been integrated into the Pinewood Automotive Intelligence Platform and is already operational for Pinewood.AI customers.
It uses AI to capture and process invoices, match documents automatically and manage approval workflows, while synchronising information with data held on the wider Pinewood platform.
Pinewood.AI said that the technology was designed to reduce manual administration, improve visibility over invoices and accelerate finance processes across dealer groups operating multiple dealerships.
The companies said that the joint system would also provide dealers and vehicle manufacturers with stronger financial controls and ongoing cloud-based updates hosted through Microsoft Azure.
Steve Meadows, chief commercial officer at Pinewood.AI, said: “Finance teams are under pressure to improve efficiency, strengthen controls and modernise processes. Our partnership with Rillion delivers a highly scalable solution within our Automotive Intelligence Platform, already having real-world impact, by helping retailers streamline invoice management and reduce costs.
“Together with Rillion we are delivering a partnership purpose-built for the evolving landscape of automotive retail finance.”
The commercial rollout will continue throughout 2026 across Pinewood.AI’s user base in 36 countries.
Henrik Larsson, vice-president of partnerships and alliances at Rillion, said: “By combining Rillion’s AI-driven AP automation with the power of the Pinewood Automotive Intelligence Platform, we are enabling dealerships to modernise finance workflows with greater automation, visibility and control.
“We are already seeing clear efficiencies and reduced manual processing from early users, who have all been seeking to improve their finance processes with a more intelligent automation experience.”
Cazoo has added functionality from messaging service WhatsApp to its mobile website and app.
The online automotive marketplace said that the functionality has been introduced in response to dealer requests, and will allow buyers and dealers to communicate directly via mobile messaging.
Cazoo said that the functionality, which is free to its dealer customers and available to use now, should be able to deliver faster response times to customer enquiries, with messages sent directly to dealer employees’ mobile phones.
Cazoo argues that buyers will also benefit from being able to ask follow-up questions within a single conversation, having all their messages with the dealer accessible in one place.
The function can be linked to personal or WhatsApp Business accounts.
Lucy Tugby, chief marketing officer at Cazoo, said: “We have introduced WhatsApp to the Cazoo platform following requests from our dealer partners. We listened and responded, reflecting our commitment to build tools and products that solve real challenges for dealers.
“The rollout follows our commitment to deliver a friction-free online search experience for car buyers and enhanced ROI for dealers.
“With WhatsApp used by millions of consumers, this is a familiar and intuitive way for car buyers to contact dealers. Richer conversations will help buyers get the information they need quickly, helping them make decisions on the cars they have seen online.”
Impel has launched a direct integration with Eskimo, giving car dealerships a simpler way to connect lead management and AI-powered customer engagement tools.
The integration enables Eskimo customers to deploy Impel’s Sales AI platform with minimal setup, allowing lead activity, customer engagement and AI-generated conversations to flow between the two systems from launch.
Impel said the integration will help dealerships handle customer enquiries and lead management through a single workflow.
James Leese, managing director UK and international at Impel, said: “This direct integration removes friction from the deployment process and makes it easier for dealers to benefit from Sales AI.
“Both businesses share a common goal: helping retailers get more value from the enquiries they already generate.
“By bringing our platforms closer together, we’re making it easier for dealerships to introduce AI into their sales process and start seeing results more quickly.”
Conor Moran, founder of Eskimo, said that the company focuses on helping dealers convert more of their existing opportunities and had been impressed by the results dealerships were achieving with Impel’s technology.
He said that the integration would give customers a straightforward way to deploy AI tools within a platform they already use and trust.
The integration is available immediately to Eskimo customers across the UK and Ireland.
Fleet Assist has launched a new service booking website which gives drivers, fleet operators and customers an improved user experience when booking servicing, maintenance and repairs through its national garage network of 9,300 service points and more than 800 mobile service units.
The booking journey has been developed to make service maintenance and repair (SMR) bookings clearer, faster and easier to make, while enhancing the digital services on offer to its 50-plus customers that operate over 1.5m vehicles.
This development sits alongside Fleet Assist’s digital tools already in place such as a plug-and-play connection into its SaaS booking engine, which allows customers full flexibility to either insource or outsource their booking activity or blend the two options to support their individual customer needs.
The driver’s booking journey supports a customer’s booking management protocol while using valuable management data to support their SMR work direction policy.
James Elliott, director of technology at Fleet Assist, said: “Fleet Assist has always understood that great user experience is dependent on the right blend of people, network capability, data and technology. This update just reinforces our commitment to enhance the user experience for the benefit of our customers, drivers and repairer partners.”
Mazda UK has partnered with automotive AI specialist ELLA Digital to improve how early customer interest is qualified and passed to its dealer network ahead of key new model launches.
The partnership will see Mazda deploy ELLA’s optimAIze AI platform to manage its ‘Keep Me Informed’ audience, made up of customers who have registered interest in upcoming models including the all-new Mazda 6e, CX-5 and CX-6e.
For Mazda dealerships, the programme is designed to reduce the number of unqualified enquiries reaching showrooms while increasing the proportion of sales-ready opportunities.
The AI-led process will engage customers earlier in the buying journey, identify signs of purchase intent and only route higher-quality opportunities back to the dealership network.
The approach is intended to give sales teams fewer but more engaged leads, supported by clearer context around each customer’s needs and intent before first contact. Mazda said this should allow its dealerships to prioritise their time on higher-probability prospects, improve conversion rates and deliver a more relevant customer experience.
The platform uses ELLA’s optimAIze engage written AI agents to communicate with customers via email and SMS. It qualifies customers using real-time intent signals, including test drive requests, quote enquiries and part-exchange activity.
Customers who show clear buying signals are then routed back to Mazda dealerships as prioritised dealer contact opportunities, while intelligent follow-up supports those who have requested contact.
James Crouch, marketing director at Mazda UK, said that the approach represented a significant step forward for the retail network. He said: “Mazda’s approach to using AI to better qualify and prioritise early customer interest represents a significant step forward for the retail network.
“Providing clearer insight into customer intent earlier allows the network to focus and engage where it will have the greatest impact, creating more meaningful conversations, improving efficiency and ultimately delivering a better Mazda customer experience.”
Andy Freeman, chief product officer at ELLA Digital, said: “This partnership with Mazda UK highlights the growing importance of AI at OEM level to improve both customer experience and retailer performance. By engaging earlier in the journey and identifying real buying signals, we’re helping Mazda deliver higher-quality opportunities to its network, at scale.”