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Atlanta — April 23, 2026 — Cox Automotive announced an agreement to acquire 100% of Fullpath, an AI-first provider of Customer Data Platform (CDP) and marketing automation capabilities for automotive retailers, subject to regulatory approval. The transaction is expected to close within 30 days. This move combines Cox Automotive’s reach and first-party data with Fullpath’s identity and campaign automation technology, creating a unified option for dealerships that need to centralize customer records, automate outreach, and personalize at scale.
The acquisition links Fullpath’s persistent shopper profiles and automated campaign engine with Cox Automotive brands such as Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, Dealer.com, and VinSolutions. Fullpath resolves customer identity across years of CRM and DMS history into a single actionable profile and supports AI-driven campaign orchestration with individual-level attribution from ad click to purchase. For dealers, the combination promises tighter data cohesion, faster lead handling, and more measurable outcomes across marketing channels.
What the deal adds to the platform
The acquisition brings a set of capabilities that complement Cox Automotive’s existing stack. Fullpath delivers identity resolution, automated audience segmentation, and AI-native campaign execution that turns fragmented records into unified customer profiles. The platform emphasizes identity resolution as a core concept, meaning the system links disparate CRM and DMS entries into one view of a shopper over time. When paired with Cox Automotive’s insights from tens of millions of active car shoppers and a vast inventory of first-party signals, Fullpath’s engine can produce more accurate personalization and precise attribution.
Technology and data integration
Technically, Fullpath’s offering is centered on a CDP that ingests historic and live data to create a continuously updated single customer view. The platform then uses AI to power marketing automation, route leads, and measure outcomes at the individual level. Cox Automotive’s portfolio already captures large volumes of shopper behavior—2.3 billion online interactions annually—and connecting those inputs with Fullpath’s model amplifies the value of both. The result is intended to be an always-on retail stack that replaces manual, campaign-based approaches with real-time orchestration.
Scale and dealer reach
Cox Automotive serves more than 40,000 dealer relationships and operates a broad family of brands and services across the automotive ecosystem. By folding Fullpath into that network, the technology can be scaled far beyond what an independent CDP could achieve. For dealers, this means access to an integrated solution that bundles data, marketing, and attribution without stitching multiple vendors together. Cox Automotive leadership framed the acquisition as a strategic investment to strengthen dealers’ competitive position in a technology-driven marketplace.
Implications for dealers and clients
Executives from both companies highlighted continuity for existing users: Fullpath customers will retain the same teams, products, and support following the close, with a near-term emphasis on growth and stability. The joined capability is intended to accelerate a shift toward always-on marketing, where personalization and automated engagement replace one-off campaigns. Dealers can expect improvements in speed of contact, tailored messaging tied to purchase intent, and clearer measurement of channel performance from click to sale.
Strategic rationale and next steps
From Cox Automotive’s perspective, the deal supplements its data and AI strengths and aligns with a broader industry move toward integrated retailing. Fullpath’s CEO noted that joining a company with deep industry data and distribution can fuel faster product development and deliver more value to dealers. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete within the 30-day timeframe announced; integration details and timelines will be shared after closing as teams coordinate roadmaps.
About the companies
Fullpath is a provider of automotive-focused CDP and agentic CRM technologies designed to enable personalized, data-driven consumer experiences that improve dealer performance. Cox Automotive is the world’s largest automotive services and technology provider, operating across retail, wholesale, and fleet channels with a portfolio that includes Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, Manheim, and others. The company reports 29,000+ employees globally and benefits from expansive first-party data flows that power its products and services.
As the automotive retail sector evolves, combining a leading CDP with a major industry platform aims to help dealers navigate increasingly complex customer journeys by offering unified data, faster automation, and AI-enhanced personalization at scale.