Company: TRUE
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001327318-25-000006
Chunk: 53

Company: TrueCar, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 53
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 supporting our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers, optimizing our TrueCar Certified Dealer coverage across brands and geographies and for providing onboarding and dealer support. Our team helps dealers grow their businesses by regularly providing data-driven insights on inventory management and pricing.

Our ability to understand the needs of, actively listen to and collaborate with our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers is crucial to our success, and many of our dealer solutions team employees have worked at dealerships or manufacturers.

Competition

The automotive retail industry is highly competitive and fragmented. Consumers use a variety of online and offline sources to research vehicle information, obtain vehicle pricing information and identify dealers. In addition, dealers use a variety of marketing channels to promote themselves to consumers.

Competition for consumer awareness

We compete to attract consumers directly to our TrueCar.com website and mobile applications primarily on the basis of the quality of the consumer experience; the breadth, depth and accuracy of information; brand awareness; and reputation.

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Our principal competitors for consumer awareness include:

•Internet search engines and online automotive sites such as Google, Amazon, Autotrader.com, eBay Motors, AutoWeb.com (formerly Autobytel.com), KBB.com, CarSaver.com, CarGurus.com and Cars Commerce (also known as Cars.com);

•sites operated by automobile manufacturers such as General Motors and Ford;

•online automobile retailers such as Carvana, CarMax (and its subsidiary Edmunds), DriveTime and other local and national dealerships with strong online presences;

•providers of offline, membership-based car-buying services, such as the Costco Auto Program; and 

•offline automotive classified listings, such as trade periodicals and local newspapers.

Competition for car dealer marketing spend

We compete for a share of car dealers’ overall marketing expenditures within online and offline media marketing channels. We compete primarily on the basis of the transaction-readiness of our users; the efficiency of customer acquisition as compared to alternative methods; the accountability and measurability of our service; product features, analytics and tools; dealer support; and the size of our prospective car buyer audience. Other businesses also derive significant portions of their revenue by offering consumer marketing services to dealers. These companies include listings, information, lead generation and car-buying services, and compete with us for dealer marketing spend.

Our principal competitors for car dealer marketing spend include:

•online automotive content publishers, such as Edmunds and KBB.com, selling impression-based display advertising, and online automotive classified listing sites, such as Autotrader.com, CarG