Acura says its new digital sales tools create a more efficient, transparent and flexible buying experience for customers and dealership staff.
The brand’s omnichannel digital sales experience tool, called ODSX, launched in May alongside Acura’s first electric vehicle, the ZDX.
“We’re ramping up our electric vehicle transition, while redefining the customer experience for the future with ODSX,” Mike Langle, Acura’s new national sales chief, told Automotive News on Sept. 19. Acura just started the second phase of training for the tool, which will cover 100 dealers; the initial training covered just 15 dealers.
Acura worked with dealer management system provider Tekion to develop the tool, which is designed to allow for full online shopping but gives customers the option to switch between the digital and dealer platforms depending on their preference.
“We feel this is the future of efficient and painless transactions for customers,” Langle said.
Acura’s digital sales experience can speed up the buying process, which can often take “hours.” Langle said Acura has seen transactions completed in as little as 60 minutes.
The brand’s continued rollout of digital sales tools comes as the industry increasingly shifts to technology that allows consumers to buy cars online. Studies show that buyers, especially younger ones, are open to a fully digital experience, with many preferring to start the process online before committing to a dealership.
Online car shopping was pioneered by Tesla and has been supported by other electric vehicle startups such as Rivian. But traditional brands, including Ford, Volvo, Hyundai and Toyota, are also moving into digital sales. Hyundai is even working on developing a system that integrates with dealers using Amazon’s platform.
Acura’s sales tool isn’t just for consumers. It facilitates every aspect of the transaction from the dealership side — from entering the customer’s name, helping them choose a trim level and accessories, starting the financing or lease process, and running a credit report. Dealers even use the tool to code the car as sold.
“There are a lot of plug-ins and systems — whether it’s their trade tools or how documents are printed for the department of motor vehicles or integrations into customer relationship management systems or DMS,” Langle said. “There’s a lot of stuff on the back end that we’ve integrated into the tool so that dealers can use it seamlessly,” he said. Integrations like that are what make Acura’s tool unique, Langle added.
While ZDX deliveries are starting nationwide across Acura’s network of 270 retailers, training for the tool in the first 60 days after the on-sale date is what Langle calls “Phase 1.”
Acura is prioritizing retailers in states that comply with California’s zero-emission vehicle program and in other states like Florida and Texas that are not officially ZEV but have higher EV adoption rates.
Langle did not provide details about the Phase 1 retailers, but said they represent different markets, DMS integrations and EV demand.
“We’ve had very positive sentiment,” he said. “Obviously, this is something new — it’s a change for the dealers and it’s a change for us.”
Omnichannel tools are available to the entire retail network, but Langle said Acura encourages untrained stores to sell the ZDX through a traditional sales process to avoid creating a bad experience for customers.
The ZDX has just entered its fourth month on the market and reached 1,000 units sold in August, with 2,035 units sold since the EV’s launch. Of those sales, 76 percent were completed through online sales tools.
With training of another 100 dealers now underway, Acura expects to complete the second phase rollout in the first quarter of 2025.
There are only “a handful of customers” who purchase ZDXs entirely online without having to come into a dealership, but Langle said each sale is technically a complete transaction because both the dealer and the buyer use the tool to complete the sales process.
While dealers see many different shopping scenarios, the vast majority of ZDX customers come into the store, even if they started online.
“Because this is an electric vehicle — new to us, our dealers and most of our customers — they want to touch, feel, see and drive the car, and understand how charging works,” he said.