Cox Automotive vs MotorK

Cox Automotive Forecast: August New-Vehicle Sales Pace Expected to Top 16 Million for Sixth Straight Month

Cox Automotive forecasts August new-vehicle sales pace to exceed 16 million SAAR for the sixth consecutive month.

AI Becomes Gatekeeper in Electric Car Purchase Journey

Guest author Matthias Lange, co-founder and CEO of Localyzer, argues that AI-powered search systems (e.g., Chat-based assistants and Google AI Overviews) are increasingly shaping the pre-visit selection of car buyers, especially for electric vehicles. Citing a Cox Automotive study showing US usage of such AI tools (19% of all buyers; 25% of new-car buyers) and a Carwow finding of 9% usage in Germany, the piece advises dealerships to maintain up-to-date Google business profiles, publish machine-readable, structured vehicle and subsidy information, and provide direct paths to test drives to remain visible in AI-driven discovery. The article positions the dealership as essential for final purchase steps while urging digital optimization where AI filtering occurs.

• Article published on MEEDIA on 2026-08-20 (guest piece by Matthias Lange).
• Matthias Lange is identified as co-founder and CEO of Localyzer and the author of the guest contribution.
• Cox Automotive’s Car-Buyer-Journey study is cited: in the USA 19% of all buyers and 25% of new-car buyers already use AI tools in the purchase process.

Cox Automotive, iSpot Discuss Research-Led Auto Ads

Adweek's Adspeak podcast features iSpot's Jamie Warner and Cox Automotive's Trent Thacker discussing how automotive brands such as AutoTrader and Kelley Blue Book balance brand equity with innovation. Thacker describes Cox Automotive's research-first creative process that uses consumer tracking, competitive intelligence and multi-stage testing to reduce risk. He explains the industry's long purchase journey — consumers can spend up to 100 days researching vehicles — and details how Cox Automotive is applying AI (generating animatics and building AI-powered consumer personas) while retaining human oversight to protect brand equity.

• Trent Thacker is senior director of market and customer research and senior director of industry intelligence at Cox Automotive.
• Cox Automotive leads research and market intelligence initiatives for consumer-facing brands including AutoTrader and Kelley Blue Book.
• Jamie Warner is enterprise account executive of brand partnerships at iSpot and hosted the Adspeak episode.

Marco Marlia, MotorK President, to speak at EU-Startups Summit 2027

Marco Marlia, co-founder and President of MotorK, a European SaaS provider for the automotive retail industry, will deliver a keynote at the EU-Startups Summit 2027 in Malta on May 13-14, 2027. His keynote, titled "Weathering the Storm: The right founder mindset and actions for difficult times," will draw on his experience building MotorK through growth, international expansion, fundraising, and public markets. Marlia co-founded MotorK in 2010, and the company listed on Euronext Amsterdam in 2021, raising €75 million. The company now employs over 300 people and operates in 8 countries. The summit is expected to attract around 2,500 attendees.

• Marco Marlia, MotorK co-founder and President, will speak at the EU-Startups Summit 2027.
• The summit will take place on May 13-14, 2027, in Malta.
• MotorK listed on Euronext Amsterdam in 2021, raising €75 million.

MotorK Launches Redesigned AI-Powered Platform Website

MotorK has overhauled its blog page into a full marketing site highlighting its AI-driven automotive solutions, including LeadSparK, StockSparK, and WebSparK, with new product sections, customer testimonials, and integration showcases.