Q&A with Cox Automotive President Sandy Schwartz
Car Dealers’ Challenge: Manage Today, Keep Eye on Future
Monday September 10, 2018
Article Highlights
- People using modern technology routinely touch a lot of screens on things like mobile devices, kiosks and vehicle infotainment system. But there’s another touch that’s vital: the human touch, says Sandy Schwartz, president of Cox Automotive. “No technology can take its place, though you need that balance between people and technology.”
- “We’re long-term thinkers,” he says of Cox Automotive.
- With mobility services such as Uber and Lyft growing and the coming of self-driving vehicles, many people wonder where auto retailing is headed, he says. Schwartz encourages conference attendees to “be ambidextrous” by keeping up with changing times while at the same time managing in today’s business environment.
People using modern technology routinely touch a lot of screens on things like mobile devices, kiosks and vehicle infotainment system.
But there’s another touch that’s vital: the human touch, says Sandy Schwartz, president of Cox Automotive. “No technology can take its place, though you need that balance between people and technology.”
Schwartz delivers that message to a hotel ballroom full of dealers and dealership managers attending an annual user conference put on by VinSolutions, a Cox company that specializes in customer-relationship management systems.
Cox owns a variety of automotive-related brands including Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book (both online car-buying websites), Manheim (remarketing services including auctions), Dealertrack (dealership-management systems) and Clutch (a vehicle-subscription platform).
“We’re long-term thinkers,” he says of Cox Automotive.