Keyloop and CitNOW Group have signed a new agreement to broaden and extend their long-term partnership. All CitNOW Group businesses will now become part of the Keyloop international partner ecosystem improving dealers’ access to advanced functionality from both companies, as well as facilitating the exchange of data between systems.  

CitNOW Group has renewed and expanded its partnership so it can continue to deliver its eco-system of innovative digital solutions across Keyloop’s customer network in the UK and Europe, in particular across Northern Europe, Italy and Germany.  

Keyloop and CitNOW Group have an aligned vision to provide the ultimate customer experience, fostering long-term relationships and trust between customers and dealerships, and simplifying processes for retailers. This partnership will enable CitNOW Group to enhance its solutions, with a specific focus on workshop efficiencies.   

Alistair Horsburgh, Group Chief Strategy Officer of CitNOW Group, comments: “Our vision is to provide solutions that drive efficiencies to seamlessly transform the customer experience, which is aligned to Keyloop’s fresh and customer-centric ‘Experience-First’ positioning. The partnership extension underlines our commitment to making the lives of our retailers, and their customers, easier. It also gives us the ability to leverage relationships with, and improve value for, those customers that we share with Keyloop.”  

The Keyloop partner ecosystem has been created to foster collaboration and build an exceptional Experience-First platform for retailers and manufacturers alike. Keyloop has built a globally connected network of innovation for the automotive industry, handpicking partners to co-create distinctive consumer journeys; seamless, best-in-class integration; frictionless interactions for consumers; unified data and enhanced process efficiencies. CitNOW Group’s renewal is a testament to the power and reach of this ecosystem.   

“It is great news that CitNOW Group is continuing as one of the key members of our partner network,” concludes Harvey, Chief Alliances Officer of Keyloop. “Our partners are hugely important to us as they help extend the solutions that we can offer country to country. We truly collaborate with each partner to ensure retailers and OEMs deliver seamless and exceptional experiences to their customers, and they are a key part of Keyloop’s transformation. 

“Extending our partnership with CitNOW Group is especially edifying as our values and ethos are closely aligned. Both companies are focused on harnessing and unlocking technology to help retailers deliver excellent service.”  

CitNOW Group welcomed as an Associate Member by NFDA

We’re pleased to announce we are now affiliate members of the NFDA.

The National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) represents franchised car and commercial vehicle retailers in the UK. There are more than 4,500 franchise outlets in the UK and over 540,000 people working in the automotive retail sector.

Through our membership, we aim to glean valuable insights from key retailers regarding evolving customer expectations and intend to support them with the challenges they face through the development of our applications and solutions.

Carol Fairchild, Chief Operating Officer, commented, “Becoming a member of the NFDA marks a significant milestone for CitNOW Group. Partnering with this key automotive association reinforces our commitment to supporting the industry and helps us to achieve our mission of making retailer’s lives easier whilst ensuring the customer experience is always the best it can be.”

Symon Cook NFDA’s Head of Operations responded, “NFDA is pleased to welcome CitNOW Group into associate membership. CitNOW Group are automotive powerhouses with a great deal of experience both in the UK and internationally; we are certain they will be able to provide support to our franchised dealer members effectively with the expertise in their field.”

CitNOW Group has further expanded its ecosystem of specialist automotive software solutions with the acquisition of Feasa, the UK’s leading dedicated Salesforce automotive software partner. The move enhances CitNOW Group’s ability to provide market-leading software and professional services and will also help it integrate software solutions for the benefit of retailers, OEMs, and their customers.

• Professional services consultancy Feasa will support CitNOW Group efforts to streamline software integrations and developments for OEMs and retailers
• Expansion will help CitNOW Group deliver on its ambition to transform every customer moment, while driving digital transformation and efficiency across the motor retail sector
• Feasa is a Salesforce Consulting Partner with 30 automotive software adapters facilitated by its GetAUTO integration platform

Working closely with Salesforce, Feasa delivered the first implementation in UK and Europe of Salesforce’s new Automotive Cloud within months of its launch in October 2022. Its GetAUTO platform facilitates more than 30 adapters that connect key automotive solutions with Salesforce, delivering a single view of customer and vehicle data – all available in the Salesforce AppExchange. Working closely with Salesforce, Feasa led the implementation of the industry’s first adaptors, migrating retailers to Automotive Cloud within just one year of it launching in October 2022.

CitNOW became one of the first UK automotive retail suppliers to be featured in the Salesforce AppExchange, making CitNOW Sales video functionality and reporting accessible from within the Salesforce Automotive Cloud app. The acquisition of Feasa further strengthens CitNOW Group’s ability to deliver solutions where scalable integration with Salesforce is a strategic priority for the retailer.

Retailers could be operating up to 150 different software solutions across their businesses, and the sharing of data and the integration of functionality between these systems can have a major impact on operational efficiency, as well as the consistency and quality of the omnichannel ‘customer journey’. Feasa’s Showroom 360 and Aftersales 360 services build on the core Automotive Cloud capabilities to improve connections between software systems and enable the development or improvement of processes to streamline operations.

Geoffrey Page-Morris, CEO of CitNOW Group, said: “Feasa is an outstanding automotive services business, and bringing it into the CitNOW Group has the potential to transform the way many businesses operate and communicate with their customers. This strategic move further expands our professional services offering and strengthens our partnership with Salesforce. We will therefore be better placed to provide dealerships with a streamlined ecosystem of software and applications; it is another step forward in our core aim of making life easier for retailers and driving efficiencies to seamlessly transform every customer moment.”

Matthew Simpkins, Regional Vice President | EMEA, Industry Advisor | Manufacturing | Automotive | Energy “Salesforce is committed to supporting a connected omnichannel retail experience and is delighted to see partners come together to make this happen. Using automotive cloud as a platform accelerator, their ISV apps and connectors, CitNOW Group and Feasa will help retailers everywhere deliver a single view of the customer and vehicle. This is just the start of a wider Salesforce ecosystem in auto-retail.”

Drew Tyrell, Managing Director of Feasa added: “For the past 15 years, Feasa has played a pivotal role in streamlining dealership software providers and creating a connected ecosystem. Now with the wider CitNOW Group, we’ll be able to harness those strong connections and expand our service to offer greater benefits for retailers.”

The addition of Feasa to the CitNOW Group enables a more flexible, adaptable, and connected ecosystem for retailers, helping them adapt to change – such as the shift to electrification and the proliferation of the agency model – and better meet customer expectations.

Since its inception, CitNOW Group has rapidly established itself as a global market leader, with over 13 million sales opportunities created, 60 million videos processed and over 10,000 dealer installations across 64 countries. It currently has the highest penetration of any software provider in the UK motor retail sector, with approximately 75% of franchised dealerships using at least one of its products.

Driven by a vision to transform the way the automotive world communicates, the CitNOW Group wants to unite the retailer and customer through technology. To achieve this the Group is building a global portfolio of businesses which currently include AutoSLM, Auto Imaging, CitNOW, Dealerweb, dealerdesk, Feasa, Quik, Reef, REALtime Communications, Web1on1.