Montway Auto Transport – Closing the loop from factory to consumer

Car transport pioneer Montway Auto Transport, recently launched a new Vehicle Home Delivery service as part of its Business Solutions portfolio. Montway, an industry leader in single-vehicle moves, has been providing solutions and services to the dealer market for over a decade. With the growing online car shopping market, the company knew that dealerships would need an edge to stay competitive. Without the right technology and experienced logistics staff, it’s risky and time consuming for dealers to manage the transport of their vehicles. They need to focus on their strengths—selling. That’s where leveraging the services of a third-party provider can be a game changer.

The other challenge facing dealerships is having a delivery person trained in vehicle transport and customer service to ensure the buyer receives a great experience. “Car dealerships have an increasing demand for home delivery. Dealer car transport takes time, money and often employees or other company resources. Leveraging a logistics partner like Montway makes sense. We work with a range of dealerships, from small, independent dealers to large groups with multiple locations across all 50 states. No other auto transport company has the quality rating or number of positive customer reviews than Montway. work with Montway. Move.org even named Montway one of 2020’s Best Car Shipping Companies,” says the company.

Dimitre Kirilov, Principal CEO of Montway Auto Transport.

Montway’s new Vehicle Home Delivery service is an end-to-end automotive transportation solution. It allows dealers to provide estimated delivery dates and shipping prices on their website and it includes a managed service to handle shipping quotes and vehicle delivery updates through a single online portal. This website-integrated widget allows dealerships to easily expand their targeted audiences with nationwide selling opportunities.

According to a February 2021 press release from Montway, the online widget displays vehicle shipping prices and estimated delivery dates in real-time, providing greater insight for consumers browsing online. The widget can be customized to match the look, feel, and branding of the dealer website, or just a back-end solution can be provided.

Montway says the benefits of its new offering is that it provides for real-time vehicle shipping quotes, enables inventory diversification, expedites vehicle turnover, increases dealer profits, and engages ready-to-buy consumers. The online dealership portal is a managed service allowing dealers to handle consumer shipping requests and provides full transparency from quote to delivery with visual status charts, sophisticated search filters, exports, reporting, and more.

Founded in 2007, Montway Auto Transport has established itself as an industry leader in moving cars for individuals, dealerships, and other corporate clients, successfully moving more than 140,000 vehicles annually. “Montway has built a strong brand by securely arranging shipment one car at a time to retail customers across the country as well as full truck loads for our business customers. All dealerships can leverage Montway’s proprietary knowledge and technology with Montway Business Solutions. By packaging this expertise in customized solutions for every car dealership, manufacturer, moving/relocation, and other types of auto companies, these businesses are able to offer ‘ship car to home’ service integrations for their customers online. And as a result, take their business to the next level in growing their profits,” says the company.

Last year, Montway was acquired by AEA Investors LP which is a leading private equity firm with committed funds targeting middle market investments. AEA Investors LP was founded in 1968 by the Rockefeller, Mellon and Harriman family interests and S.G. Warburg & Co. as a private investment vehicle for a select group of industrial family offices with substantial assets. Today, AEA’s approximately 90 investment professionals operate globally with offices in New York, Connecticut, London, Munich and Shanghai. The firm manages funds that have approximately USD 15 billion of invested and committed capital including the leveraged buyouts of middle market companies and small business companies and mezzanine and senior debt investments.

During the acquisition, a press release from the company quoted was released,  saying: “Montway differentiates itself with a customer service-centric approach enabled in part by technology, which provides a defensible and scalable position from which the Company drives growth. Originally founded as a business-to-consumer business, the Company leveraged its expertise in data analytics and technology to penetrate the business-to-business segment of the market, providing tremendous growth optionality. The Company’s presence in both markets leads to a balanced, risk-diversified portfolio of services, helping to insulate it from market volatility and segment-specific performance risk.”

Automotive Industries spoke to Dimitre Kirilov, Principal CEO of Montway Auto Transport.

AI: What makes your new Vehicle Delivery Service an essential offering to vehicle dealerships?

DK: The dealership model is now online and dealers need sophisticated shipping technologies to better compete with online auto sales disruptors. The online widget and portal keep dealers focused on reaching new customers outside of their traditional markets with more detailed information no other auto transport company can provide.

AI: How will it impact the bottom line of dealerships?

Mike Trudeau, Executive Vice President of Business Development at Montway Auto Transport.

DK: By packaging this expertise in customized solutions for every car dealership, manufacturer, moving/relocation, and other types of auto companies, these businesses have the capability to offer “ship car to home” service integrations for their customers online. And as a result, take their business to the next level in growing their profits.

AI: Why was the acquisition of Montway an attractive option for AEA Investors LP?

DK: Montway is an asset-light, technology-enabled vehicle broker. It was founded to provide a user-friendly, hassle-free, and reliable platform for individual consumers to transport their vehicles. Since its founding in 2007, Montway has grown to become one of the largest business-to-consumer vehicle transport brokers in the United States.

Automotive Industries also spoke to Mike Trudeau, Executive Vice President of Business Development at Montway Auto Transport.

AI: What is the significance of Montway’s new business solution?

MT: We’re excited about Montway Auto Transport’s Vehicle Home Delivery service to support dealerships drive out-of-market consumer leads and manage auto shipments online. As one of the nation’s leading auto transport companies, Montway is changing the industry by providing dealerships innovative online estimation and logistical management tools to simplify the vehicle transportation process.

AI: How well does the new service work – please give us details.

MT: The Vehicle Home Delivery service is an end-to-end automotive transportation solution for dealers to provide estimated delivery dates and shipping prices on their website, which includes a managed service to handle shipping quotes and vehicle delivery updates in a single online portal. This website-integrated widget allows dealerships to easily expand their target audiences with nationwide selling opportunities.

Specifically, Montway’s dealer portal offers dynamic pricing using real-time data for instant quoting. For dealerships, it improves efficiencies with centralized management and allows for free multi-user access. There are built-in inventory controls, just-in-time notifications, and enhanced reporting to track all transport stages.