Battle of Titans Shapes Up

General Motors Corp. has added DealerTrack Holdings Inc.'s Arkona to its stable of vendors selling its integrated dealer-management system to dealers.

Other vendors participating in the initiative include Automatic Data Processing's Dealer Services Group, AutoSoft International and Quorum Information Technologies Inc.

Arkona replaces Reynolds and Reynolds, who withdrew from the initiative in February following a dispute in its contract with GM.

DealerTrack acquired Arkona in 2007 for about $59 million, mainly to gain a DMS to integrate its numerous software solutions. DealerTrack worried that major automotive information companies such as Reynolds and ADP would not allow its software solutions to integrate with their DMS products.

Arkona has suddenly become a major player. Dealers can expect to see a vigorous battle on the DMS front among Arkona, ADP and Reynolds as DMS contracts come up for renewal.

Earlier this year, the Asbury Automotive Group, ranked sixth on the Ward's Megadealer 100 with $5.7 billion in total revenue, selected Arkona to be its sole DMS provider.