As the automotive market reinvents itself, so does Nextlane

The automotive industry is undergoing significant transformation, if not outright instability at all levels (manufacturers, distributors, users). This evolving landscape enforces greater flexibility and agility, not only from primary players but also from ancillary ones like software providers. Nextlane has embraced this shift by focusing on platformization and AI to meet the current and future demands of the market. In an interview, Jean-Louis Baffier, Chief Revenue Officer at Nextlane, shares insights into the company’s vision.

In a few key points, can you remind us who Nextlane is?

Nextlane develops software solutions entirely dedicated to the automotive sector: automakers, distributors (dealers, agents) and original equipment manufacturers. With over 700 employees, Nextlane operates in 11 European countries, and collaborates with every OEM in the world.

We are leaders in France, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Denmark and Sweden, and rank among the top three in Germany, Austria and the Benelux countries. Our portfolio now includes over 10,000 active customers.

The automotive market is buzzing with change—what are the key areas where these transformations are making the biggest impact?

The changes are profound and deeply impact our customers. First is the shift toward electrification: besides the arrival of new manufacturers on the market, the rise of electric vehicles has a direct negative impact on after-sales services and revenue due to lower maintenance needs. Similarly, ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) could reduce collisions by 15%, affecting related sales.

More broadly, the market is also undergoing organizational shifts: online sales and omnichannel experiences (demanding better use of customer data), vehicle subscription models are gaining traction, vehicle prices are rising, and manufacturers are shifting from the dealer model to the agent model.

Why are manufacturers moving towards the agent model?

The shift towards the agent model is driven by digitalisation. Nowadays, almost every life activity begins online. This is also the case for buying, leasing, servicing or repairing a vehicle. OEMs have fully understood this and aim to offer their customers a seamless user experience across all touchpoints. This is easier to manage within the framework of the agency model. And of course, by harmonizing the customer experience, I also mean standardising discount rates, and therefore also optimising financial outcomes.

For OEMs, this is a true revolution: shifting from a vehicle-centric to a customer-centric model. Distributors, too, face a radical cultural shift, with the added value moving towards advisory, preparation, and delivery, rather than being almost exclusively focused on sales as such.
And above all, it brings a new economic balance between their new vehicles (NV), used vehicles (UV), and after-sales activities.

How does this affect software needs in the automotive industry?

Digitalization and the push for a unified user experience require centralized data management. To meet new consumer expectations—such as gathering information online, test drive at a dealership, and purchasing followed by delivery at another branch—manufacturers and distributors must be able to share their information in real-time.

Concretely, this means their respective software tools must communicate and exchange information seamlessly. Just as the logistics sector, where the multi-actor value chain has long required an ecosystem approach for IT, the automotive industry needs open tools and reliable interfaces for data sharing.

This applies at every level: internally within dealerships around core systems like DMS, CRM, and accounting; through intelligent APIs with third-party solutions; and, crucially, with manufacturers. This is even more crucial as, with the evolving market, many distributors are increasingly opting for a multi-brand approach. In this case, they need to manage, with flexibility but also reliability, the connections with each manufacturer (OEM): warranty systems, spare parts systems, and so on.

Faced with these new needs, Nextlane has opted for platformization. What does this look like?

Our platform is the technical embodiment of an ecosystem approach. The Nextlane automotive platform is 100% cloud-based, secure, and open, integrating and connecting all solutions across the automotive value chain—DMS, CRM, accounting tools, and more.

What’s more, open APIs allow connections with third-party solutions, useful in the day-to-day life of distribution players, as well as BI or collaboration tools like WhatsApp. Direct connections to OEM systems (the OEM interfaces layer) are also available.

This platform-based approach enables us to offer the automotive industry a set of functions that can be tailored to the specific needs of each company, including integrating third-party solutions, whether already in use or newly deployed. This approach also allows for gradual migration and significant efficiency gains, moving away from traditional IT project approaches. In essence, it’s a “LEGO®” approach- customisable and open.

Is expanding partnerships a priority?

Absolutely! The more native connectors we have, the easier it becomes for our customers to integrate or deploy solutions directly linked to their global platform. This is true not only functionally, but also competitively. We’re even developing connectors with some of our competitors, allowing our customers to deploy the Nextlane Platform in specific regions while retaining existing DMS at certain locations without disrupting data flow.

For us, it’s a pragmatic approach. Of course, we can be competitors in certain areas, but we can also be valuable business partners on certain projects. Our primary goal is to simplify our customers’ software experience in an already complex and volatile market!

What role does artificial intelligence play?

It’s obviously a subject we’re focusing on. And in the automotive distribution sector, the potential use cases are particularly diverse: detecting and estimating damage during trade-ins to automating the quality of advertisement photos, to name just a few. We have already integrated around 30 tools, some AI-based, into the Nextlane Platform.

The results include significant productivity gains, increased efficiency and an enhanced brand image for our customers. However, we’re only in the early days of AI, and many more use cases are likely to emerge in the coming years.

Nextlane is the leading automotive business ecosystem in Europe, secure, open and smart. Discover how we can empower your business with innovative solutions.