North America’s Largest Auto Groups Still Failing Google Core Web Vitals (2025)

If you’ve felt like dealership websites keep getting heavier, slower, and harder to use, the data backs you up—again.

Overfuel’s 2025 analysis of retail websites tied to North America’s Top 50 auto groups, according to the Automotive News’ 2025 list of the Top 150 Dealership Groups, shows fewer than 1% of retail storefront sites pass Google’s Core Web Vitals on both mobile and desktop for the second year in a row. That’s not a blip. That’s an industry pattern.

NOTE: Collision, service, body shop, and non-automotive sites such as powersports and RV were excluded. OEM and independent stores, as well as group sites, were audited. 

The quick take

• Sample size: 1,910 retail websites (inventory visible; service/collision/other verticals excluded)
• Pass rate: 0.4% (7 sites) passed on both mobile and desktop
• Failure rate: 99.6% failed on at least one platform; 95.5% failed on both
• Traffic gap: 65 sites didn’t generate enough real-world CrUX traffic for a score (a visibility problem all its own)

Spotlight: One group among the Top 50 operates four of the seven sites that passed for both mobile and desktop, which include two CDJR stores, a Nissan store, and one used car store.

Two years running, the signal is the same: speed, stability, and clarity are now table stakes for dealership growth. When you remove friction from the shopping journey, customers stay, convert, and come back. The dealers leaning into modern web performance are already separating from the pack.

Alex Griffis, President of Overfuel

Didn’t we go through this last year?

Yep. In Overfuel’s 2024 review of Top 50 retail sites, fewer than 1% passed Core Web Vitals on both mobile and desktop. Fast-forward to 2025, and the analysis still shows a pass rate hovering near zero. The story hasn’t changed—which means the opportunity hasn’t either.

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Why Core Web Vitals still matter (more than ever)

Google’s Core Web Vitals measure three things shoppers feel instantly:

• Load speed (LCP)
• Interactivity (INP)
• Visual stability (CLS)

Websites that fail to meet these standards frustrate users and risk losing visibility across Google’s organic ecosystem, including Search, Maps/Map Pack, Business Profiles, and even AI-generated results.

In Overfuel’s client data, passing Core Web Vitals can lift organic traffic by up to 20% – a reward from Google. Failing can deliver the mirror image as Google seeks to reward good site performance. And it’s not just about traffic—it’s about conversion rate.

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Why this matters for budgets, not just benchmarks

This isn’t about abstract metrics—it’s about money bleeding out of your budget. Shift Digital’s 2025 Digital Automotive Shopping Pulse Report revealed a brutal truth: if your site fails Google’s Core Web Vitals, you’re throwing away $30 of every $100 in ad spend. That’s nearly a third of your marketing dollars gone before a shopper even considers a vehicle. Poor Core Web Vitals don’t just frustrate users—they punish your bottom line with inflated costs, weaker quality scores, and lower engagement. 

Overfuel’s study backs it up: dealers running sites that pass Core Web Vitals dominate with stronger organic reach and lower cost-per-lead, converting more shoppers for every dollar spent. The choice is simple: optimize performance, or continue paying a “failure tax” on your marketing.

Too many dealers are overspending on ads just to push traffic into broken experiences. When you fix the foundation, your marketing spend goes further. That’s the multiplier effect—performance isn’t just good UX, it’s better ROI.“

Alex Griffis, President of Overfuel

An OEM dealer who’s winning: Jay Wolfe Honda

Despite running all OEM-required third-party tools and plugins, Jay Wolfe Honda is one of the few dealerships in North America to pass Core Web Vitals on both mobile and desktop. The impact is tangible: stronger search visibility, a 29% increase in organic traffic, and a smoother, faster shopping experience.

The difference is obvious when you use the site—or look at the numbers. Inventory loads fast, pages feel steady, and customers get where they want to go without fighting popups or delays. That’s translating into real traffic and real leads.

Brian Mixon, General Manager of Jay Wolfe Honda

There’s a myth that modern performance means stripping out the tools dealers rely on. Not true. It’s about smarter implementation—prioritizing what the shopper needs first, then loading everything else in a way that doesn’t derail the experience.

Alex Griffis, President of Overfuel

Get a deeper look at how Overfuel is helping OEM dealers eliminate unnecessary scripts and fine-tune third-party plugins in our blog Winning the Core Web Vitals Battle: How Overfuel Fixes the Vendors Dragging Dealers Down.

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Why so many dealership sites are still failing

• Legacy platforms with heavy client-side rendering and bloated JS
• Tag sprawl: multiple analytics suites, chat, popups, scripts firing on every page
• Inventory pages that are image-heavy and poorly optimized (SRPs/VDPs suffer most)
• Render-blocking resources and CSS/JS that delay first render and interactivity
• Layout shift from late-loading banners, toolbars, and consent modals
• No real-world feedback loop: lab scores tuned, but CrUX field data ignored
  

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How to turn it around (fast)

1. Use real user data (CrUX + PageSpeed Insights) to benchmark LCP/INP/CLS by template—especially SRP and VDP.
2. Prioritize LCP first: serve optimized hero/primary images from a CDN, preconnect/preload resource hints, compress, and reduce server TTFB.
3. Tame INP: defer nonessential JS, break up long tasks, move heavy logic off the main thread, and minimize third-party script impact.
4. Stabilize CLS: reserve space for images/video/UI, load fonts predictably, and delay disruptive UI (chat, promos) until after interaction.
5. Govern tags: implement a tag strategy by template and event—don’t let everything fire everywhere.
6. Set performance SLAs with vendors (including OEM-required tools) tied to CWV budgets and enforce them.
7. Measure what matters: connect CWV changes to organic traffic, lead volume, and conversion rate in GA4 & Search Console.
   

Dealers don’t need another dashboard—they need outcomes. Set a target, remove the blockers, and keep your foot on the gas. The tech to win on performance is here today.

Alex Griffis, President of Overfuel

The bottom line

Core Web Vitals are no longer a nice-to-have—they’re a growth lever hiding in plain sight. The pass rate is extremely low, which means the upside is substantial for dealers who move first.

Want the playbook applied to your store? Talk to Overfuel about a performance-first website that drives organic reach and conversion.