Overfuel, a website solutions provider for automotive, RV, marine and powersports dealers, released a new study following a performance analysis of thousands of retail websites from North America’s leading automotive dealer groups.
As car buyers increasingly conduct extensive online research before visiting dealerships or purchasing online, understanding how automotive OEM brands and dealers adapt to the behavioral shift is essential.
In 2020, Google introduced a set of essential performance benchmarks called Core Web Vitals to gauge a website’s effectiveness, including load speed, interactivity and visual stability. Overfuel identified the leading 50 dealership groups in North America from Automotive News’ 2024 list of the top 150 dealership groups based on car sales volume. Using Google CrUX’s real-world data, Overfuel assessed 2,657 websites connected to the dealer group subset and assessed their pass or fail rating as determined by Core Web Vitals, excluding any collision, service and parts websites associated with the dealer group subset.
The inaugural study, Automotive Fails to Meet Google’s Basic Website Performance Standards, offers an important look at the current state of the online vehicle shopping experience: overwhelming failure. Key findings revealed:
- 0.45% (12) of the websites passed Core Web Vitals for both mobile and desktop.
- 92.4% (2,454) of websites failed both the mobile and desktop analysis.
- 2.8% (75) of websites failed either the mobile or desktop analysis.
- 4.3% (115) of websites reported no data, indicating those received too little traffic from participating Google CrUX users.
“These are staggering results from an industry that plays an integral role in our nation’s gross domestic product and serves as an indicator of economic health and consumer spending patterns,” said Alex Griffis, president and chief technology officer of Overfuel. “The failure of automotive OEMs to ensure their franchisee websites adhere to crucial website standards damages consumer trust while negatively impacting sales and brand reputation. The silver lining is the sheer amount of competitive advantage on the table, which could equate to unprecedented levels of converted consumers and topline revenue annually.”
The automotive industry has seen a significant shift towards digital engagement, with more consumers starting their car-buying journey online. A poor website experience can deter potential buyers and drive them to competitors who offer a more user-friendly digital experience, and the data suggests today’s consumers are experiencing slow, unresponsive and complicated websites. These failures are both a technical oversight and strategic blunder presenting long-term repercussions for the industry.
Tom Kerr, president of Affinitiv Advertising, a full-service marketing agency supporting automotive dealerships included in the study, addressed this rampant industry issue upon review of the findings.
“The industry is failing to incorporate today’s most innovative website tools and software platforms that work well together. Instead, the focus is on invasive third-party plugins for lead capture that greatly impact a site’s performance and ease of use. It’s apparent the car buying process is evolving in the wrong direction and the online-to-offline consumer experience is riddled with friction.”
For more on the methodology, findings and key takeaways, download the Overfuel Report: Automotive Fails to Meet Google’s Basic Website Performance Standards.
For more information on Overfuel, visit www.overfuel.com.