{"id":69887,"title":"Ekho Dealer: Enabling manufacturers to sell their vehicles online","tagline":"A licensed dealership that manufacturers can integrate into their own website.","body":"**TL;DR We’re a licensed, full-stack distribution solution enabling OEMs to compliantly sell vehicles in the U.S. through their websites, instantly unlocking market coverage.**\n\nHi everyone, we’re [Rowan](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rowan-mockler-198218128/) and [Chris](https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-g-howard/) - the team behind Ekho Dealer!\n\n![uploaded image](/media/?type=post\u0026id=69887\u0026key=user_uploads/772580/4558af4e-0b89-4496-93c6-51333867f0f9)\n\n# \n\n# **The problem ❌**\n\nIt's legally and logistically complex for vehicle manufacturers and distributors to sell their vehicles online:\n\n* **Franchise laws** mandate that new vehicle sales must be made through a licensed dealer\n* **Traditional dealers** lack online sales support and take 20-30%+ commission\n* **It is illegal** for manufacturers to sell vehicles directly to consumers in most states\n* **In states allowing direct sales**, it’s expensive and difficult to operate compliantly\n\n# **Our solution 🏁**\n\nEkho Dealer enables manufacturers to **compliantly sell their vehicles online** by making it **easy to integrate** our **licensed, full-stack distribution solution**  into their websites.\n\nWith Ekho Dealer enabled, vehicle buyers are able to select a vehicle on a manufacturer’s website and complete the entire purchase process online in minutes. This includes financing, insurance, titling, registering, and scheduling the delivery of their new vehicle (all without visiting a physical dealership).\n\n![uploaded image](/media/?type=post\u0026id=69887\u0026key=user_uploads/772580/5063ac06-f7d3-48a1-8087-1a47418caa42)\n\n# **How it works 🛠️**\n\nOn the backend, we take care of all the complicated regulatory requirements that come with selling vehicles online. This includes calculating and collecting sales tax, filing registration/titling forms and fees with the DMV, maintaining a portfolio of licenses, and complying with lending regulations when providing financing. On the front end, our website integrations leverage our infrastructure to compliantly process vehicle sales.\n\n# **Our backstory 🪞**\n\n* Rowan and Chris met at Stanford where they both studied computer science\n* They built a bunch of fun stuff together while in college\n* Rowan is from South Africa, is a world champion public speaker, and previously worked on the product team at Duolingo\n* Chris is from Atlanta, is a published researcher, and previously worked as a Machine Learning Engineer at Meta\n\n![uploaded image](/media/?type=post\u0026id=69887\u0026key=user_uploads/772580/355353b5-9c41-4e77-bd8d-cafabab91b78)\n\n# **Our ask 🙏**\n\n1. **If you know someone in vehicle manufacturing** (motorcycles, cars, RVs, trailers, ATVs, UTVs, LEVs, NEVs, golf carts, snowmobiles, etc.), ping us at [founders@ekhodealer.com](mailto:founders@ekhodealer.com) or direct them to our [inbound form](https://www.ekhodealer.com/#website-inbound) if you think they’ll find this interesting\n2. If you like what we are building, share and upvote!","slug":"IBD-ekho-dealer-enabling-manufacturers-to-sell-their-vehicles-online","created_at":"2023-03-02T21:40:12.000Z","updated_at":"2026-05-24T23:58:05.093Z","total_vote_count":214,"url":"https://www.ycombinator.com/launches/IBD-ekho-dealer-enabling-manufacturers-to-sell-their-vehicles-online","share_image_url":"//bookface-static.ycombinator.com/assets/ycdc/yc-og-image-c440a0ad1dacfb86eeeb343717479cc54d256614449b4ef719977a0a451f8bc8.png","company":{"id":27054,"name":"Ekho","slug":"ekho","url":"https://www.ekho.com","logo":"https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/ba6801f432e8bfe7e4b8428c160da89816133ee9.png","batch":"Summer 2022","industry":"B2B","tags":["Auto Commerce","Fintech","Compliance","Automotive"],"search_path":"https://bookface.ycombinator.com/company/27054"}}