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Automotive

Austin Subaru

Austin Subaru is a top dealership in Austin, Texas, servicing 100+ cars daily. They use Kenect AI to boost retention and streamline service outreach.

“Highly recommended! We love to work with Kenect. It is easy to use and efficient to engage my clients and boost our reviews. ”

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Testimonial Name
Testimonial Position
Business
Austin Subaru
Location
Austin, TX
Type
Car Dealership
Solutions
Service AI
Table Of Contents
Who is Austin Subaru?ChallengeSolutionsResults
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Who is Austin Subaru?

Austin Subaru—part of the Continental Automotive Group (CAG)—is a top-performing dealership in Austin, Texas. With 60 years of community roots and one of the most loyal customer bases in the region, the store employs 100+ team members (including 50 technicians) and services more than 100 vehicles per day. General Manager Cody Penna has risen through the ranks over 13 years with CAG, moving from technician to master technician, service and fixed-ops director, and, in 2024, GM of Austin Subaru.

We have cleaned recall lists across all store’s multiple times, which is unheard of. That’s hundreds of thousands in revenue.

— Cody Penna, GM, Austin Subaru

Challenge

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When the pandemic hit in 2020, service-lane traffic plummeted virtually overnight. Although staffing levels remained full, manual outreach and the absence of an automated service-lifecycle program made customer retention all but impossible. Key pain points included:

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• Sudden drop in service appointments and showroom visits.

• Manual call lists and spreadsheets up to 4,000 rows long.

• No automated way to nurture out-of-warranty owners or recall campaigns.

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Solution

Referred through a trusted contact, Kenect’s AI-driven platform arrived at a critical moment.

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“Kenect didn’t come in with a one-size-fits-all pitch. They asked, ‘What’s going on at your store, and how can we help?’ That never happens with vendors.”

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CAG rolled Kenect AI out across its dealerships to:

• Automate outreach—service reminders, recall notices, declined-work follow-ups, and retention campaigns.

• Accelerate scheduling via text links that let customers book without phone-tag.

• Centralize communication so staff could monitor every conversation in one inbox.

• Scale instantly—new stores were live in a single day with full DMS integration.

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Read even more here.

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Results

Is Kenect Service AI worth the investment?

“It costs less than one agent, yet delivers exponentially more. If you’re not using this, you’re lighting money on fire.”

‍— Cody Penna, GM, Austin Subaru

Kenect’s AI reduced manual outreach by automating service reminders, recall notices, and follow-ups—freeing staff from cold calls and spreadsheets.
Out-of-warranty service retention jumped from 8.5% to over 50%, driving hundreds of additional ROs per model year.
Staff morale improved as AI handled the heavy lifting—what once took hours of manual effort now sparks excitement and productivity.
Conversations were tracked and logged automatically, offering actionable insights for training, customer service, and recall performance.
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