TrueCar 2.0 – Reinvented to Please Both Sides of the DealTrueCar 2.0 – Reinvented to Please Both Sides of the Deal

Stop by TrueCar’s booth at this week’s NADA Show in New Orleans, and you’ll find a changed company.

The third-party dealership sales-lead provider hasn’t just evolved over the years; it’s taken sharp turns in trying to develop a business model that is both dealer- and customer-friendly.

It wasn’t always that way. 

Founder Scott Painter had to duck bullets when he launched TrueCar in 2008. Critics said its best-price/lowest-price setup pitted dealer against dealer in what was called “a race to the bottom.”

In recent years, TrueCar overhauled its pricing structure, vision, and members of its leadership team. Jay Ku, chief revenue officer, says the company's goal under current CEO Jantoon Reigersman is to aid both dealers and consumers.

“Sometimes it seems oppositional” for a third-party lead provider, he tells WardsAuto. “You either help the consumers or the dealers, but not both. For our leadership, it’s about serving both. Solutions can be mutually beneficial.

“When you solve a lot of dealer pain points, you also solve a lot of consumer pain points,” Ku adds. “For instance, if a dealer is trying to move minivans, EVs, trucks or whatever, how do we strategically target the right consumers to help sell those to people who want them?”

TrueCar uses its car consumers’ buying histories database to find the right fit for both parties. For instance, he says, there’s little point in marketing Honda Odyssey minivans to someone with a history of repeatedly buying Toyota Sienna minivans.

TrueCar describes its TrueCar Marketing Solutions, introduced at the 2024 National Automobile Dealers Assn. show, as a digital system that provides dealers with leads from consumers most likely to buy soon.

“We’ve added new products that drive shoppers to dealer websites,” which statistically have the best closing rates, Ku says. “That’s a big change for us. We had been focused on sending people back to TrueCar or submitting leads through TrueCar.

“We only target in-market people who come to our site and who we think will buy in the next 30 to 60 days," he says. "Sixty-percent of people who buy a car through TrueCar that way buy within seven days.”

Ku says he has visited about 600 dealerships in recent times.

“We have a single purpose,” he says of today’s TrueCar. “We’re not trying to manage dealerships. We’re trying to get high-intent consumers who are looking to buy in 30 to 60 days. That wide marketing reach benefits all parties.”

The company has 11,000 dealer clients and several affinity relationships with entities, including Sam’s Club and military organizations.

What’s in Store in 2025

It should be yet another interesting year for the auto industry, Ku says. That’s because “the number of casual car shoppers is shrinking, but the people who want to buy is increasing.

“There will be a lot of competition among dealers to sell to people who need a car,” he says.

Ku, whose background includes building marketing campaigns to convert customers to another brand, says, “Automotive is unlike other industries in many ways.”

And TrueCar seems to be, too, as evidenced by their plans for this year's NADA show.

Visitors to NADA's TrueCar booth (4065) will try something offbeat to draw visitors. A tailor will be on hand to measure visitors for custom-fitted jeans.

That may have nothing to do with the auto industry. But, near as can be reckoned, it’s an NADA Show first.