What Motive does

Motive, Inc. is a privately held software company that builds AI-first websites for automotive and powersports dealerships. Founded in 2020 in Oklahoma City and originally serving powersports dealers, the company pivoted in 2021 to focus exclusively on retail automotive dealers and has since grown to 50 team members and 500+ dealer rooftops, with 25M+ cumulative consumer visits across its network. The company derives the majority of its revenue from monthly recurring website subscriptions, supplemented by one-time build/launch services and bundled third-party product pass-through fees; contract terms are quote-based with Net 30 invoicing, monthly billing cadence, and a two-month early-termination fee within 30 days of launch.\n\nThe platform is organized as a core CMS plus AI modules. The Motive Platform is built on Next.js and Sanity CMS and bundles native commerce and lead-routing integrations (Xtime for service scheduling, RouteOne and DealerTrack for credit applications, Kelley Blue Book for trade-in) alongside a customizable pricing stack and per-page SEO/GEO controls. On top of the platform sit three AI modules: Motive Intelligence (generative AI chat, AI-generated descriptions and SEO content, conversational vehicle search, AI background replacement), Admin AI (an agentic assistant that edits pages, generates custom HTML, and manages settings across sessions), and Suggestions (an AI site-health scanner with OEM compliance checks and one-click fixes). The platform reaches the market through direct enterprise and inside-sales motions, a self-serve demo funnel, and — most distinctively — through Certified Website Provider status inside the digital dealer programs of 12 OEMs.\n\nMotive's competitive positioning is anchored on OEM relationships: it is an approved Certified Website Provider for Honda, Acura, Nissan, INFINITI, Lexus, BMW, MINI, Genesis, and Harley-Davidson in the U.S., plus Canadian programs for Nissan Canada, INFINITI Canada, and Harley-Davidson Canada. Each OEM relationship unlocks access to the brand's dealer network through OEM-hosted enrollment flows, and Motive Intelligence is preloaded per-OEM with brand-specific data so the AI chat, search, and compliance scanning reflect each manufacturer's requirements. The company completed SOC 2 Type II certification in May 2025, exhibited at NADA for the first time in 2026, and raised a Series A financing reported at approximately $6.31M around the 2024–2025 period.

Name

Motive

Legal name

Motive, Inc.

Website

https://motivehq.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Motive is an AI-first automotive dealer website platform serving OEM-certified franchise dealerships across the U.S. and Canada. It holds Certified Website Provider status with 12 brands — including Honda, BMW, Lexus, and Harley-Davidson — and bundles commerce integrations, agentic CMS AI, and per-OEM compliance scanning.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dealer Website Platform

NAICS

Computer Systems Design Services (541512)

SIC

Retail-Computer & Computer Software Stores (5734)

akta.pro primary industry

Automotive Parts, Tools & Accessories Marketplaces (CRAFABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Automotive Parts, Tires & Workshop Supplies Marketplaces (CRAFAHAD), Fleet, Asset Tracking & Telematics Location Platforms (BPAMANAF)

Keywords

• Dealer website platform
• OEM-compliant websites
• Automotive dealer software
• Conversational vehicle search
• AI dealer tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Oklahoma City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Monthly Service Subscription: Motive invoices the Customer at the start of each calendar month for fees due with respect to performance of website design, development, delivery, and hosting Services. Net 30 payment terms; recurring monthly subscription with termination requiring 30-day written notice plus a two-month early-termination fee if cancelled within 30 days of launch.
2. Third-Party Product Pass-Through Fees: Fees for third-party software products used by Motive to deliver Services (Third-Party Product) are bundled into the Order unless discrete fees are itemized; included as part of total fees.
3. Website Build / Launch Services: One-time design, development, and launch services for new dealer websites, with continued monthly hosting/management subscription post-launch. Billing may commence on the first day of the month following 90 days from the effective Order date if the site has not launched.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Motive designs, builds, and hosts AI-powered OEM-compliant websites for franchise automotive, powersports, and RV dealerships under Certified Website Provider status with 12 OEM digital programs (Honda, Acura, Nissan USA, Nissan Canada, INFINITI USA, INFINITI Canada, Lexus, BMW, MINI, Genesis, Harley-Davidson USA, Harley-Davidson Canada). The platform combines a CMS and admin layer with the proprietary Motive Intelligence AI suite (chat, vehicle descriptions, search, background replacement), native integrations to dealer back-office systems (Xtime, RouteOne, DealerTrack, KBB), built-in commerce tools for trade-in/credit/service scheduling, and SOC 2 Type II audited security.

Product overview

Motive is a single unified dealer-website platform organized as a platform-plus-modules architecture: the Motive Platform is the core website-building and hosting product (with built-in tools for trade-in, service scheduling, credit applications, conversational search, custom forms, CMS, schema/SEO controls, and OEM-compliance scanning), and it is augmented by AI modules — Motive Intelligence (Ask AI chat, AI pages/blogs via the SEO Agent, AI descriptions, AI search, AI background replacement), Admin AI (agentic AI assistant for site operations, settings, and in-page editing), and Suggestions (AI-powered site-health scanning). On top of this base, Motive packages Certified OEM Programs for 12 brands (Honda, Acura, Nissan USA, Nissan Canada, INFINITI USA, INFINITI Canada, Lexus, BMW, MINI, Genesis, Harley-Davidson, Harley-Davidson Canada), each delivering brand-aligned design, OEM-required integrations (Xtime, RouteOne, DealerTrack), and Motive Intelligence preloaded with the brand's own data.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Motive Intelligence: AI-powered product suite offering conversational AI chat, vehicle description generation, AI search, and background replacement, preloaded with OEM data and expandable with each dealership's own knowledge base.

Products and services

• Motive Platform Core website-building and hosting platform for automotive and powersports dealers, providing conversational vehicle search, native trade-in/service-scheduling/credit-application tools, custom forms, CMS, schema/SEO controls, and OEM-compliance scanning across 12 certified OEM programs.
• Motive Intelligence AI feature suite powering Ask AI chat, AI-generated pages and blogs (SEO Agent), AI vehicle descriptions, AI-powered search, and AI background replacement; preloaded with brand-specific knowledge and expandable with each dealer's own knowledge base.
• Admin AI Agentic AI assistant that manages site operations, dealer settings, navigation and redirects (including bulk CSV), and edits pages in place (add/remove sections, generate custom HTML components, update images), with memory that persists across conversations.
• Suggestions AI-powered site health scanner that surfaces SEO errors, broken links, content problems, and OEM compliance violations across pages, blogs, collections, and nav; supports one-click fixes, page attribution, filters, sorting, and an AI image regenerate action.
• Honda Dealer Websites Certified Website Provider offering under the Honda Digital Solutions program for U.S. Honda dealers, with Honda-aligned design, Motive Intelligence preloaded with Honda data, and required integrations (Xtime, RouteOne, DealerTrack).
• Acura Dealer Websites Certified Website Provider offering under the Acura Digital Dealer Program for U.S. Acura dealers, with brand-aligned templates, Motive Intelligence preloaded with Acura data, and required integrations (Xtime, RouteOne, DealerTrack).
• Nissan Dealer Websites (USA) Certified Website Provider offering under the Nissan Digital Program for U.S. Nissan dealers, with Nissan-aligned design, Motive Intelligence preloaded with Nissan data, and required integrations (Xtime, RouteOne, DealerTrack).
• Nissan Canada Dealer Websites Certified Website Provider offering under the Nissan Canada Digital Dealer Program, delivering bilingual (English/French), NCDP-aligned websites with Canadian-incentive awareness and required integrations.
• INFINITI Dealer Websites (USA) Certified Website Provider offering under the INFINITI Digital Program for U.S. INFINITI retailers, with brand-aligned design, Motive Intelligence preloaded with INFINITI data, and required integrations.
• INFINITI Canada Dealer Websites Certified Website Provider offering under the INFINITI Canada Digital Program, delivering bilingual, market-aware INFINITI experiences for Canadian retailers.
• Lexus Dealer Websites Certified Website Provider offering under the Lexus Dealer Digital Program, with Lexus-aligned design, conversational search, and Motive Intelligence preloaded with Lexus data.
• BMW Dealer Websites Certified Website Provider offering under the BMW Digital Program for BMW Centers, with full OEM compliance, brand-aligned design, Motive Intelligence preloaded with BMW data, and required integrations (Xtime, RouteOne, DealerTrack).
• MINI Dealer Websites Certified Website Provider offering under the MINI Digital Program, with OEM-compliant, brand-aligned design, conversational search, Motive Intelligence preloaded with MINI data, and required integrations.
• Genesis Dealer Websites Certified Website Provider offering under the Genesis Dealer Digital Program, with brand-aligned templates, Motive Intelligence preloaded with Genesis data, and required integrations (Xtime, RouteOne, DealerTrack).
• Harley-Davidson Dealer Websites Certified Website Provider offering under the Harley-Davidson Digital Program for U.S. H-D dealers, with brand-faithful, OEM-compliant websites, conversational search, and Motive Intelligence preloaded with Harley-Davidson data.
• Harley-Davidson Canada Dealer Websites Certified Website Provider offering for Canadian Harley-Davidson dealers, providing bilingual content, CAD pricing, and Canadian-incentive awareness alongside Motive Intelligence.

Named customers16 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration13 records

AI capability13 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship oem certification, flagship oem certification (canadian market), core integration, supporting integration and supporting compliance partner.

• Honda (American Honda Motor Co. — Honda Digital Solutions)flagship oem certificationOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 28 April 2026Motive approved as a Certified Website Provider for the Honda Digital Solutions program. U.S. Honda dealers can build brand-aligned, OEM-compliant websites on Motive with AI-powered tools (Motive Intelligence, conversational search, chat, descriptions) and native integrations including Xtime, RouteOne, and DealerTrack. Honda-specific knowledge base preloads Motive Intelligence.
• Acura (Acura Digital Dealer Program)flagship oem certificationOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 28 April 2026Motive approved as a Certified Website Provider for the Acura Digital Dealer Program. U.S. Acura dealers can build OEM-compliant websites with brand-aligned templates and Motive Intelligence preloaded with Acura data.
• BMW (BMW Digital Program)flagship oem certificationOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 17 September 2025Motive approved as a BMW Certified Website Provider through the BMW Digital Program. BMW Centers build on Motive with full OEM compliance, brand-aligned design, performance standards, Motive Intelligence preloaded with BMW data, and Suggestions compliance scanning for BMW rules.
• MINI (MINI Digital Program)flagship oem certificationOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 17 September 2025Motive approved as a MINI Certified Website Provider through the MINI Digital Program. MINI dealers build on Motive with full OEM compliance, brand-aligned design, and Motive Intelligence preloaded with MINI data.
• INFINITI (INFINITI Digital Program)flagship oem certificationOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 25 August 2025Motive approved as an INFINITI Certified Website Provider through the INFINITI Digital Program. U.S. INFINITI retailers build OEM-compliant websites with INFINITI-aligned design and Motive Intelligence preloaded with INFINITI data.
• Nissan (Nissan Digital Program)flagship oem certificationOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 15 July 2025Motive approved as a Nissan Certified Website Provider through the Nissan Digital Program. Nissan dealers enroll via the Nissan Digital Program portal and receive Motive sites with Nissan-aligned design, conversational search, instant filtering, infinite scrolling, and Motive Intelligence preloaded with Nissan data.
• Lexus (Lexus Dealer Digital Program)flagship oem certificationOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 July 2025Motive approved as a Lexus Certified Website Provider through the Lexus Dealer Digital Program. Lexus dealers receive Motive sites with brand-aligned templates, Motive Intelligence preloaded with Lexus data, and full OEM compliance including Suggestions compliance scanning for Lexus rules.
• Nissan Canada (NCDP — Nissan Digital Dealer Program Canada)flagship oem certification (canadian market)OEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 23 June 2025Motive approved as a Certified Website Provider for Nissan Canada, enabling bilingual OEM-compliant websites for Canadian Nissan dealers. Enrollments route through nissandigitaldealer.ca.
• INFINITI Canada (INFINITI Digital Program Canada)flagship oem certification (canadian market)OEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 23 June 2025Motive approved as a Certified Website Provider for INFINITI Canada, enabling bilingual OEM-compliant websites. Enrollments route through infinitidigitalprogram.ca.
• Harley-Davidson (Harley-Davidson Digital Program)flagship oem certificationOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 November 2024Motive approved as a Harley-Davidson Certified Website Provider through the Harley-Davidson Digital Program. U.S. H-D dealers receive brand-faithful, OEM-compliant sites with AI-powered search and Motive Intelligence preloaded with Harley-Davidson data.
• Harley-Davidson Canada (Harley-Davidson Digital — Canada)flagship oem certification (canadian market)OEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 November 2024Motive approved as a Harley-Davidson Canada Certified Website Provider, granting Canadian H-D dealers a fully compliant, bilingual website platform.
• Genesis (Genesis Dealer Digital Program / Genesis CDMP)flagship oem certificationOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 June 2024Motive approved as a Genesis Certified Website Provider through the Genesis Dealer Digital Program. Genesis dealers build on Motive with brand-aligned templates, every required integration out of the box, and Motive Intelligence preloaded with Genesis data. Enrollments route through genesiscdmp.com.
• Xtimecore integrationTechnology or IntegrationNative integration with Xtime for service scheduling, included in the Motive platform's built-in commerce tools across all OEM programs (Honda, Acura, Nissan, INFINITI, Lexus, BMW, MINI, Genesis, Harley-Davidson).
• RouteOnecore integrationTechnology or IntegrationNative integration with RouteOne for credit applications and finance workflows, included in Motive's built-in commerce tools across all OEM programs.
• DealerTrackcore integrationTechnology or IntegrationNative integration with DealerTrack for credit and finance workflows, included in Motive's built-in commerce tools across all OEM programs.
• Kelley Blue Book (KBB)core integrationTechnology or IntegrationNative KBB trade-in tool integration surfaced on the home page as part of Motive's commerce-ready toolset.
• AccessiBesupporting integrationTechnology or IntegrationAccessiBe widget integration for accessibility; per the changelog, dealers can now override the AccessiBe widget with a custom accessibility page, in which case the AccessiBe widget is not loaded at all.
• Google Placessupporting integrationTechnology or IntegrationGoogle Places integration powers the new EV charging station map element; map pulls nearby charging locations using dealer address, with configurable search radius and custom address pins.
• IndexNow (Microsoft / Bing)supporting integrationTechnology or IntegrationIndexNow integration enables dealer sites to push inventory and page updates to Bing, Microsoft Copilot, and ChatGPT the moment content changes, including a one-time Backfill URLs button to submit all existing inventory and pages.
• Mixpanelsupporting integrationTechnology or IntegrationMixpanel used as the analytics source for Motive's internal 90-day SRP button study across 286 dealers; not surfaced as a customer-facing integration.
• DataOnesupporting integrationTechnology or IntegrationDataOne supplies the primary EV range source used to render accurate EV range figures for shoppers on electric vehicle listings.
• Independent third-party SOC 2 auditorsupporting compliance partnerOthersIndependent auditor observes and verifies Motive's security controls (access management, encryption, incident response, infrastructure monitoring, data handling) over an extended period to issue the SOC 2 Type II certification.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Emerging players

• PureCars: Automotive digital marketing and merchandising platform for franchise dealers, providing inventory advertising, video, and website products — overlaps with Motive on dealer-facing digital tools and competes for mid-market dealer relationships.
• BZ Results: Automotive digital marketing agency and technology provider offering dealer websites, SEO, and paid media to franchise dealer groups — comparable to Motive on the digital-front-end layer of the dealer tech stack.

Broad incumbents

• DealerSocket (now part of Cox Automotive): Dealer management, CRM, and digital marketing platform serving franchise auto dealers — overlaps with Motive in website and marketing tools and is now bundled with Cox Automotive's broader dealer technology stack.
• Dealer.com: Cox Automotive's flagship automotive dealer website platform, serving thousands of franchise dealers in the US with integrated digital marketing, SEO, and OEM-compliant website products — the largest incumbent Motive competes against for OEM-program dealer contracts.
• AutoLoop: Dealer marketing and engagement platform offering automated campaigns, equity mining, and consumer-facing digital tools for franchise and independent dealers — adjacent competitor with overlapping dealer sales-and-marketing software.

Direct peers

• DealerFire: Specialized automotive dealer website provider serving franchise and independent dealers with responsive design, OEM program participation, and integrated inventory feeds — comparable in size and target segment to Motive.
• DealerOn: Automotive dealer website and digital marketing vendor with OEM-compliant site products and SEO services for franchise dealers — competes head-to-head with Motive for the same OEM-certified franchise dealer accounts.
• DealerInspire: Dealer website platform serving US franchise dealer groups with AI-driven merchandising, OEM-compliant design templates, and integrated inventory and lead tools — directly competes with Motive in the franchise dealer website category.
• Sincro (Dealer Website / Digital Retailing): Automotive digital retailing and dealer website platform providing OEM-compliant digital storefronts, merchandising, and lead-management tools — directly comparable to Motive in the franchise dealer website category.
• ClickMotive: Long-standing automotive dealer website vendor providing SEO-optimized, OEM-compliant dealer websites with integrated inventory and lead tools — a direct legacy competitor to Motive in the franchise dealer website market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Motive