This week, vAuto announced new functionality that solves another pain point for franchise dealers: managing increasingly complex new vehicle incentives. The Cox Automotive brand promises to make it easier for dealers to apply VIN-specific incentives at scale in its new vehicle inventory management and pricing solution, Conquest. This new capability arrives as Cox Automotive data shows that some OEMs have issued approximately 86% more VIN-specific incentives this year compared to last—and the model-year changeover is fast approaching.

“With rebates and incentives back on the rise and becoming more complex, dealers are finding it increasingly challenging to efficiently apply the right ones for each vehicle,” said Derek Hansen, vice president of Operations, Inventory Management Solutions, at Cox Automotive. “And since the Fed’s big cut isn’t expected to reduce auto loan rates for quite some time, dealers need to be especially vigilant about pricing and merchandising their inventory correctly to attract today’s car shoppers and close those deals.”

This new functionality is timed for the model year changeover, as dealers will be looking to clear out current new car inventory in preparation for 2025 models to hit their lots—a task the data shows might be challenging, according to Cox. The automotive market overall is showing signs of weaker sales, despite OEM’s offering more competitive interest rates and generous cash offerings. According to Cox Automotive data, average blended incentive spend was $4,838 in August, up approximately 5.8% from the prior month. But still, average days in inventory is up nine days year-over-year.

Cox states, “Conquest gives dealers a powerful new vehicle inventory management solution that enables them to price their vehicles correctly, optimize their merchandising and compete effectively in today’s quickly evolving market.

“For rebates and incentives in particular, Conquest simplifies the increasingly complex world of applying the right offers. Many OEMs now extend multiple offers on each vehicle, including VIN-specific incentives, with each having their own set of rules. Without automation, dealers are challenged to apply the right offers and merchandise their vehicles effectively.