Industry research · updated quarterly

Test-drive-to-sale conversion index

A quarterly benchmark of how often test drives convert to sales across US dealerships — by segment, region, salesperson tenure, and time-of-day.

Get alerted to the next release

Methodology

Population

Aggregated, de-identified test drive records across Test Drive Pro dealerships running live in the quarter — franchise and independent, across US geographies.

Definitions

A "drive" is a signed, ID-verified test drive with a completed timer. A "sale" is a deal attributed to the test drive within 30 days of the drive.

Segments

Results segmented by vehicle class (new vs used, sedan vs truck vs SUV vs EV), salesperson tenure, dealership size, and US region.

Release cadence

Published quarterly. The most recent index is the version dated above. Prior quarters remain accessible for historical comparison.

Findings in this release

Q1 2026

Baseline drive-to-sale conversion

First public release. Baseline figures and regional variance will appear in the Q1 2026 edition — subscribe for the drop.

Vehicle class

New vs used vs EV

Planned segment: conversion by new, used, and EV test drives, and how salesperson tenure influences each.

Region

Sun Belt vs Rust Belt vs West Coast

Planned segment: regional variance in show rate, drive rate, and drive-to-sale.

Time

Time-of-day and day-of-week patterns

Planned segment: which hours and days produce the highest drive-to-sale rates at US dealerships.

Why this exists

Test drives are the single most under-measured step in car retail. Stores that track them systematically see conversion they did not know they had; stores that do not track them at all treat the drive like a “thing that happened” instead of the highest-signal event in the funnel. The Test Drive Pro index exists to give the industry a shared reference for what “normal” looks like — so dealerships can benchmark their own floor against the market.

How to use it

Compare your own drive-to-sale by segment (new, used, EV; salesperson tenure; time of day) against the index. Wherever you are materially below the index, that is where the next quarter’s coaching should focus.

The first public index is scheduled for Q1 2026. Placeholder segments above will be filled with published figures on release.

Frequently asked questions

Measure your own drive-to-sale against the market

Every drive in Test Drive Pro is measurable. Book a 20-minute walkthrough.

Book a demo

Keep exploring

Tool