CDK Global Automotive Dealership Software Antitrust Litigation

CDK Global and Reynolds and Reynolds together control roughly 75% of the U.S. market for Dealer Management Systems (DMS) — the core software platforms that auto dealerships rely on for inventory, finance, and service operations. Beginning around 2015, the two companies allegedly entered into a series of agreements to shut out independent software vendors and data integrators from accessing their platforms, forcing dealers and third-party app developers to pay inflated fees or use only approved vendors. The plaintiffs — a certified class of approximately 15,000 franchised auto dealerships — argued this coordinated lockout violated Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in overcharges.

After years of hard-fought litigation and multiple discovery disputes, CDK Global agreed to pay $100 million to resolve claims brought by the dealer class, while Reynolds and Reynolds reached a separate confidential settlement. The CDK settlement received final court approval, with funds distributed to eligible dealerships that had subscribed to CDK's DMS platform during the relevant class period. The case is widely cited as a landmark example of platform monopolization in B2B software markets and prompted broader scrutiny of data-access practices in the automotive industry.