CDK recently announced that they expect all dealers to be up and running on their dealer management system (DMS) by the early hours of July 4th. The company had faced a setback in June when they had to shut down all systems temporarily due to a cyber incident that they were investigating.
In a statement, CDK mentioned that they are following a phased approach to the restoration process and are working diligently to get dealers back online. They have already successfully brought two small groups and one large publicly traded group of auto retailers back online as part of this approach. Additionally, CDK stated that customer care channels have been restored, and efforts are ongoing to bring other applications back online.
The outage had a significant impact on the U.S. auto industry, with some dealers having to resort to manual paperwork during the disruption. This led to concerns about slower growth in second-quarter auto sales as dealers faced challenges accessing crucial software.
Industry experts, including Jessica Caldwell from Edmunds, have highlighted the varying impacts of these cyber attacks on different dealers. The incident has been described as another obstacle for the automotive industry as it navigates its path to recovery.
Notably, the cyber attack had a particularly significant impact on Volkswagen and Audi dealers in the United States, with about half of Volkswagen dealers and 60% of Audi dealers being affected, as reported by Reuters in June.
Despite these challenges, CDK is working tirelessly to ensure that all dealers are back online and operational by early July 4th. The company’s efforts to restore systems and support dealers through this process are crucial in minimizing the disruption caused by the cyber incident. As the automotive industry continues to recover from the effects of the pandemic, the timely resolution of these issues is essential for dealers to resume normal operations and serve their customers effectively.