David Zarbowski/AP
Cars are lined up in a row outside a dealership in Lone Tree, Colorado, on June 2, 2024.
new york
CNN
—
CDK Global said that “nearly all” of the roughly 15,000 auto dealerships that use its software across North America are back online on its core management system, roughly two weeks after a cyber incident caused a software outage.
“We are pleased to report that we are ahead of schedule,” said an automated message on CDK’s customer care phone line.
According to CDK, the outage began on Wednesday, June 19. The company’s systems were taken down by two cyber incidents, and the company provides software to about 15,000 auto dealerships across North America.
Car dealerships use CDK’s software to manage everything from schedules to records.
The company said it is actively working on rolling out other applications, including a customer relationship management system that is scheduled to begin rolling out on July 4.
If the outage continues for a long time, it could cost auto dealers millions of dollars: Anderson Economic Group estimates that if the outage lasts for three full weeks, the CDK outage could cost affected auto dealers approximately $944 million in direct losses due to business interruption.
It’s an encouraging sign that operations may soon return to normal. CDK said it had started restoring its software a few days ago, but car buyers and dealers alike remained stuck. The company hinted at a few times that a fix was needed, but each time said the system would remain unavailable for a while longer.
The outages have made it difficult for dealers to track customer interactions, orders and sales, hurting their ability to make a living.
“It’s going to affect my pay here,” Bernard Irvin, a salesman at a Ford dealership in Greenville, South Carolina, previously told CNN. “Why aren’t I getting my regular pay? I just don’t understand what’s going on.”
–CNN’s Samantha DeLouya contributed to this report.
