Automotive ADF/XML integration for dealerships and lead vendors

Send dealership form leads to your automotive CRM as ADF/XML.

Build the form in Formester. Paste your CRM's lead intake email. Map fields once. The next submission lands as a structured prospect, no manual entry and no Zapier chain.

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Works with every major automotive CRM

If your CRM accepts an ADF/XML email, Formester can feed it.

Connect Formester to VinSolutions, DealerSocket, CDK, and every automotive CRM that accepts ADF/XML. One connector, configured once per form.

VinSolutions

DealerSocket

CDK Global

Reynolds and Reynolds

DriveCentric

ProMax

Keyloop

AutoRaptor

eLEAD

Don't see yours? It almost certainly still works.

If your CRM has a lead intake email address that accepts ADF/XML, Formester will work with it. Almost every dealership-grade CRM does. The integration is to the format, not the brand.

Ask us about yours
Field coverage

Every ADF/XML field, mapped to a form question.

Map any of these to a form question once, and Formester routes every submission into the matching ADF node. Covers customer details, vehicle interest, and your dealership's vendor block.

Customer

Who the lead is, how to reach them, and what they wrote.

  • First name Text customer/contact/name[first]
  • Last name Text customer/contact/name[last]
  • Email customer/contact/email
  • Phone (voice) Phone customer/contact/phone[voice]
  • Phone (cell) Phone customer/contact/phone[cell]
  • Street address Text customer/contact/address/street
  • City Text customer/contact/address/city
  • State or region Choice customer/contact/address/regioncode
  • ZIP or postal code Text customer/contact/address/postalcode
  • Country Choice customer/contact/address/country
  • Customer comments Long text customer/comments
  • Purchase timeframe Choice customer/timeframe
What lands in your CRM

A real form. The actual ADF/XML it produces.

Left: a Formester form on a dealership site. Right: the byte-for-byte email Formester sends when it is submitted. Copy the XML, hand it to your CRM admin, they will recognize it.

Submitted form Live
HCT
Hill Country Toyota
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ADF/XML email body
lead-2026-05-26.xml 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><adf><prospect status="new"><requestdate>2026-05-26T14:32:11-05:00</requestdate><vehicle interest="buy" status="used"><year>2024</year><make>Toyota</make><model>RAV4</model></vehicle><!-- trade-in repeats the vehicle block --><vehicle interest="trade-in" status="used"><year>2018</year><make>Honda</make><model>CR-V</model><odometer>62000</odometer></vehicle><customer><contact><name part="first">Jordan</name><name part="last">Reyes</name><email>jordan.reyes@example.com</email><phone type="voice">(512) 555-0143</phone><address>  <postalcode>78704</postalcode></address></contact><comments>Looking for a low-mileage AWD. Trading in a 2018 Honda CR-V, 62k miles, clean title.</comments></customer><vendor><vendorname>Hill Country Toyota</vendorname></vendor></prospect></adf>
Setup

Three steps. Once. Then it runs.

Build the form, paste your CRM's intake email, map fields and test. Per-CRM walkthroughs (VinSolutions, DealerSocket, CDK, others) live in the docs.

Formester Build Results Automate
First nameJordan
Last nameReyes
Emailjordan.reyes@example.com
Vehicle of interest2024 Toyota RAV4 · Used
01

Build the form

Drag in the fields your sales floor actually needs: name, contact, vehicle interest, trade-in, ZIP. Same Formester builder you would use for any other form.

Formester Build Results Automate
Automate Integrations Connection
Connect your CRM
CRM intake email leads@crm.hillcountrytoyota.com
Send from forms@hillcountrytoyota.com (SMTP)
02

Paste your CRM intake email

Open Automate, Integrations, Automotive CRM. Paste the CRM intake email. Connect SMTP so leads send from your own domain.

Formester Build Results Automate
Integrations Field mapping Preview
Form fieldADF node
First name name[first]
Email contact/email
Vehicle (Used) vehicle[status="used"]
"SUV" bodystyle
03

Map fields and test

Drop your form questions onto ADF nodes. Translate values where they differ ("SUV" to bodystyle). Send a test lead. Save.

Why Formester

Formester, vs Zapier, vs a BDC rep retyping leads.

The three ways dealerships move web leads into a CRM today. Side by side, on what actually matters at the end of the month.

Capability Formester Zapier chain Manual entry
Per-lead cost What this costs as lead volume scales. Flat plan
No per-lead fee. Volume on a Friday does not surprise you on the invoice.
 Per-task
Each step counts, code steps cost more, volume on a Friday stings.
 BDC time
Paid in hours. Always more than you think once you measure it.
Real ADF/XML format Does the lead land as a structured ADF prospect? Native
Spec-conformant <adf> email. Your CRM parses it as a real prospect.
 JSON in email
Sends JSON in the body or attached as a file. Most CRMs ignore it.
 Free text
Vehicle, trade-in, ZIP, everything ends up smushed in a single notes field.
Value mapping Translate form answers to ADF values. Built in
Map "SUV" to vehicle status="used" on the same screen, no code step.
 Code step
A formatter or Code-by-Zapier step per translation. One per CRM, per form.
 BDC judgement
Whichever BDC rep is on call decides what the answer maps to.
Send from your domain Does the lead leave from your dealership's email server? SMTP
Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, SendGrid, Postmark, anything that speaks SMTP.
 Shared sender
Default sender is a shared Zapier address. Custom domain takes extra setup.
 Yes
Comes from whichever rep typed it. Useful but not consistent.
BCC managers Loop in sales managers automatically. Per-form
Add BCC addresses on each form. Sent on every lead, no human in the loop.
 Extra step
Second Zap or a duplicate path. More tasks billed, more places to break.
 Forwarded
The BDC rep remembers to forward. Sometimes.
Setup time From signed-up to first lead in CRM. Minutes
Build form, paste intake email, map and test. Once per CRM, then it runs.
 Hours per Zap
Triggers, formatters, value translations, sender setup, then test on the right CRM.
 None
No setup. Cost surfaces as ongoing salary instead.

Compliance covered the same way across all three: GDPR, UK GDPR, and CCPA. Data delivered over TLS.

FAQ

Questions buyers actually ask.

Six questions we get from every dealership and lead vendor. Anything else, write to us directly.

What is ADF/XML, and why do automotive CRMs use it?

ADF, the Auto-lead Data Format, is the XML schema the automotive industry settled on for moving sales leads between websites and CRMs. A lead is sent as an email with the XML in the body or as an attachment.

Every dealership-grade CRM has an intake address that parses these emails and creates a prospect record from the XML. It is not a new protocol, it is the one your CRM already speaks.

My CRM isn't listed. Will it still work?

Yes if it accepts ADF/XML lead emails. Formester sends to the format, not the brand, so almost every dealership-grade CRM works.

Email support@formester.com with the CRM name and we will confirm within one business day.

Which automotive CRMs does Formester integrate with?

Every automotive CRM that accepts ADF/XML lead emails. That includes VinSolutions, DealerSocket, CDK Global, Reynolds and Reynolds, DriveCentric, ProMax, Keyloop, AutoRaptor, eLEAD, and others.

The integration is to the format, not the brand, so new CRMs work the moment they expose an ADF intake email.

Do I need a separate dealership CRM integration for each system?

No. The integration is one ADF/XML connector, configured per form.

Switching from VinSolutions to DealerSocket means changing one email address in the form's automation settings.

Can I send from my own email domain?

Yes, through SMTP. Connect your dealership's outbound mail server (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, SendGrid, Postmark, anything that speaks SMTP), enter the host, port, and credentials once, and every ADF lead leaves your server signed by your domain.

Your CRM sees the email coming from your sales address, not from a Formester relay, which keeps you off shared IP reputations and out of the spam folder.

How do I find my CRM's intake email?

Usually under Lead Sources, Lead Routing, or ADF Integrations in admin settings. The fastest path is to ask your CRM provider's support team for your ADF lead intake email address.

Talk to someone who has done this before. We answer every dealership and lead-vendor question directly. support@formester.com

Send your first ADF lead in the next 10 minutes.

Build the form, paste your CRM's intake email, send a test lead. The next real submission lands in your CRM as a structured prospect.

Get started
Available on Business plan and above Cancel anytime GDPR, UK GDPR, and CCPA ready