MMI Celebrates 25th Birthday

8th March, 2006

This month, MMI Automotive, a leading
supplier of dealer management
systems, celebrates its 25th birthday.

Founded in March 1981 as Signal
Limited from a home office in
Lambourne, the company initially
provided a marketing bureau to motor
dealers but quickly expanded to supply
computer based promotion and
prospecting systems. Its Retail Marketing
System was also sold by one of the leading
DMS vendors of the day and became a
franchise standard for many manufacturers
both in the UK and overseas.

“Automate’s foundations in a marketing-only system makes it one of the best dealer management systems for CRM today,” commented David Hayward, Managing Director of MMI Automotive.  “Our strong customer-oriented software is one of the reasons we are a popular choice for dealers of all sizes today.”

In 1993 the Company was acquired by
Lynx Group plc and subsequently
changed its name to Lynx Automotive
Systems Limited. During this time, it
became the first DMS company to
offer Facilities Rental, giving dealers
the ability to pay a per user-per
month amount, with a fully serviced
server based at the company’s
offices. The system was developed in
what later became the modern day
ASP, a pioneering technology at the
time. MMI was formed when the
company was sold to its management
team in 2001.


MMI Automotive - timeline

• 1981 - established as Signal in March 1981
• 1991 – acquired Pitt Computers and with it the rights to HIMACS DMS, its first DMS venture
• 1993 - acquired by Lynx Group plc, a fully listed UK plc concentrating on IT sector
• 1993 - Prism Solutions taken over by Signal and with it the Motortrader DMS which is still in operation today
• 1996 - name changed to Lynx Automotive Systems
• 1996 - launched Automate DMS, one of the first true Windows Dealer Management Systems in the UK
• 2001 – management buy out, name changed to MMI Automotive