Lyft, CDK Partner on Dealership Rides

Ride-hailing giant Lyft Inc. is partnering with Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based CDK Global Inc. to help improve customer transportation to and from dealership service centers.

Under the partnership, Lyft’s Concierge ride-dispatching platform will be integrated with CDK’s Fortellis dealer management system (DMS). This will allow dealer service departments to schedule Lyft rides directly from their DMS platform to improve efficiencies, reduce costs and coordinate warranty-related reimbursements for the rides with carmakers.

Instead of using dealership shuttle vans, service customers can be transported via Lyft to their desired location and taken back when their vehicle is ready. This is expected to reduce customer wait times and improve dealership throughput, according to the partners.

The scheme also promises to reduce the costs—including inventory, maintenance and insurance—associated with shuttle vans and loaner cars. Dealers can save as much as $7,000 per month, Ron Frey, CDK’s chief strategy officer, tells Automotive News.

The companies plan to launch the service later this year. Initially the system will be exclusive to the 8,000 dealers in the U.S. who use CDK’s DMS platform. Later, other dealership software providers will be able to use Fortellis to access Lyft’s Concierge system.