It was great to see so many customers, colleagues and friends at the Fleet Europe Summit. Thank you for coming to see us.
Our MarketPlace, INDICATA and Solutions colleagues had some great conversations about how they can help dealers, leasing companies and asset owners run their vehicles more efficiently.
The two most common challenges for asset owners at the show were balancing demand and supply for used diesel vehicles through our cross border service and how dealers are continuing to invest in used cars as new car sales in many countries are falling.
Much time was also spent at the show discussing electric vehicles.
Our INDICATA market insights show that volumes are still low and demand is still relatively weak, but it is a talking point that will continue to create interest and discussion over the coming years. Please read our two articles which give you a complete picture of the new and used market dynamics for all fuel types across Europe.
Our new INDICATA business unit director Andy Shields and his team are always on hand to help provide the pricing data and insights to help ensure that asset owners continue to stay one step ahead of the market.
This is our last group newsletter of 2019. We hope you have a busy end to the year and a prosperous start to 2020 and look forward to seeing some of you at the ENG annual remarketing summit in January in Berlin.
Peter
NEWS
Introduction from Autorola CEO & Founder, Peter Grøftehauge
European used diesel supply falls while hybrid and EV demand and supply continues to grow
In the used car market of Europe’s top five countries (Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain) plus Belgium, you can see from the INDICATA data in the chart above that used diesel car sales have been steadily losing market share to petrol cars since July 2019. When you factor in our other article on new car sales trends, supply will significantly reduce over the coming months and years but using INDICATA data we can see that demand is still there.
Used diesel car sales appeared to close the gap a little in September mainly due to used diesel fleet vehicles in the used car market. Petrol has now reversed the move to diesel and shows no sign of losing the top position in the next 4-5 years.
Gap between used diesel and petrol sales grows
The gap between used diesel and used petrol car sales was 1:1.01 in October 2018 according to INDICATA. Just one year later and it is 1:1.10 a 9% increase in just 12 months. The ratio is set to continue to widen, driven by the reduced supply from the new car market, but also due to demand changes, particularly amongst buyers of younger used vehicles who are making similar decisions on powertrain to new car buyers, particularly where they live near the growing number of clean air zones.
The total online B2C used car market is up 9.4% in October year-on-year. Despite diesel losing market share it still saw a 4.2% increase in volume with used petrol car sales up 13.1% over the same period.
Used hybrid sales grow by an additional 8,742 cars
The growth in new hybrid sales over the last few years is also now impacting the used car market with hybrid sales up from a 1.6% market share in October 2018 to 2.2% one year later. In volume terms that’s an increase of 50.3% or an additional 8,742 used hybrid cars.
With new car sales of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) falling we could see used PHEV values starting to rise as increased demand is met with a reduced supply.
Used EVs volumes rise by 55.5%
Over the last 12 months EVs haven’t managed to take more than a 0.4% market share. Whilst there is only a relatively small supply of used EVs available, due to limited sales in the new car market, the reality seems to be that demand is also low. In growth terms the volume of EVs sold in the online B2C used car market has risen by 55.5%, but that still equates to just 5,195 cars sold across the six countries in October 2019.
We have seen the new car market hit by yet more bad diesel media coverage and legislative actions but INDICATA’s data is showing demand for used diesel cars remains strong. You will need to subscribe to INDICATA’s data to get the full lowdown but used diesel car sales are rising.
Used diesel prices are actually outperforming used petrol prices over the last 12 months in Germany, France, Spain and Belgium, and in all six markets reviewed in this article used diesel car stock levels are selling faster than used petrol car stock.
Andy Shields appointed as INDICATA’s new business unit director
Andy Shields has been appointed as business unit director of INDICATA, the global leaders in used vehicle pricing and market analysis.
Andy will have responsibility for INDICATA which is currently in 14 countries.
Andy said, ‘I am very familiar with INDICATA having used it extensively throughout my career both during my time at Avis Europe and whilst consulting for OEMs and major dealer groups.’
Supporting asset managers implement change
‘As a global leader in real time, used car pricing it is not just about data provision but supporting asset managers to implement ongoing pricing management, where the whole organisation embraces and executes it from sales executives to the CEO,’ he added.
Full data integration with Sofico
Andy recently supported VW Bank GmbH leasing company VWFS Ireland’s adoption of Sofico’s Miles lease management system.
Andy said: ‘As I join INDICATA, I am delighted we have announced full data integration into Sofico across all 14 countries. This contributes real time pricing insights at individual vehicle and portfolio levels for Sofico leasing and finance customers.’
Prior to joining INDICATA, Andy held roles such as director of fleet and remarketing at Avis Europe, VP sales and supply for an online car supermarket, and spent 10 years consulting for OEMs, dealer groups and leasing companies.
INDICATA transforms used-car decision making power
Peter Grøftehauge, Autorola Group’s CEO said: “INDICATA has made excellent inroads into providing data that transforms company’s business revenues and used car decision-making power.
‘Andy’s vast experience in used cars, e-commerce and finance means he has a perfect combination of skills for his new role as head of INDICATA.”
For more information, please contact Andrew Shields, Business , Mobile: +44 0 77 75 844 311, Email: ads@indicata.com
Autorola Germany country manager Thomas Andresen looks at how his team is helping support the changing face of the remarketing sector
The revenues generated by the German used car market reached a record high in 2018 at roughly 84.7 billion euros. OEMs and the big leasing companies are investing more in technology to sell more used cars online, nearly 25 years after Autorola’s online vision first began.
“The market is changing, as well as the big players looking for technological answers to their remarketing challenges, they also now understand how an online remarketing portal like ours can help dissipate lots of same colour, same model, same engine cars into the market without distressing its residual values.
More vendors are using e-auction
“Vendors use our e-auction facility and buyers from around Europe will bid on the cars. It provides a different channel and when their dealer network has been first offered the cars putting them on general sale via e-auction is the next logical step.
“Such has been the uptake of online remarketing that the traditional used car auctions companies have been struggling as their business model no longer fits in with modern-day vendor needs.”
Estimating true fleet values is becoming critical
Used car values are becoming a higher priority to asset owners, particularly leasing companies and banks. Understanding the true value of thousands of used cars against their written down value on a monthly basis is at the heart of sound asset management practice, especially when the used market changes so rapidly. Get your valuation wrong and you could misinterpret the value of your fleet by millions of Euros.
INDICATA, Autorola’s real time vehicle pricing portal is being used to bulk value used cars. OEMs are using the INDICATA data warehouse to gain a second opinion about used values while banks want to reassure shareholders, they are managing its book valuation using real time values. Automating this process via a bespoke dashboard is saving vendors time and effort, and at the end of contracts is helping make a better qualified decision on what reserve to set to ensure a fast and profitable sale in the used marketplace.
Autorola is at the heart of Germany’s cross border sales
Germany is at the heart of a large increase in cross border sales, many of which are powered by Autorola’s online portal. Thousands of active buyers are always looking to buy cars for other markets and many vendor cars are leaving German shores to other European countries and Poland, Africa and the Middle East. Many diesel cars end up in eastern Europe, while there is a growing trend towards German dealers importing German built cars back into Germany.
Many high specification premium German and Italian cars registered in Italy for instance often struggle to sell to second hand buyers. German dealers will import them online back into Germany as they are well equipped and good value.
Export opens up used cars to more buyers
“Overall 150,000 used cars were either imported or exported via the Autorola online remarketing platform in 2018, accounting for 21% of total vehicles sold online. This growth is fuelled by vendors’ understanding that export can open up their stock to hundreds if not thousands more buyers.
“Prices are listed on the Autorola portal for each car net of local VAT and taxes so buyers always know the exact price they will have to pay for export vehicles,” said Andresen.
So, the German market continues to move with the times and looking towards adopting technology to help it improve efficiencies at all stages of the supply chain. 
For more information, please contact Thomas Andresen, Country Manager Autorola Germany, Mobile: +45 20 11 42 49, Email: ta@autorola.de
Sofico integrates INDICATA into Miles asset management system
Sofico, a provider of software solutions to the global automotive leasing and financial services sector, has integrated INIDCATA into its Miles asset management system.
Thanks to INDICATA’s integration, fleet and portfolio managers using Miles can maximise their fleets’ portfolio value using real time used market insights and specific KPIs, realising improved sales and more efficient risk management.
INDICATA contributes real time insights at vehicle and portfolio level
With over 50 customers in 23 countries across four continents, Sofico’s Miles provides valuable business insights and helps manage over two million leasing contracts. The integration of INDICATA data will contribute to real time insights at both the individual vehicle and portfolio levels.
Gémar Hompes, managing director of Sofico, said: “We have been in the fleet management business for over 30 years. Since the very beginning we have followed the market closely, and identified innovative trends and new technologies, to help customers manage their fleets more effectively.
Fleets are managing vehicles with greater granularity
“One trend we have observed is that vehicle fleet managers and leasing companies are managing their vehicles with greater and more varying granularity: from years to minutes. Real time INDICATA data is a fantastic tool to give vehicle managers the insights they need to optimally manage their fleets, at any time,” he added.
Erwin Coesens, country manager, Autorola Belux, explained: “Traditionally, vehicle fleet managers have valued their assets on historical data. This often results in large differences in value that only come to light at the end of the vehicle contract. INDICATA’s real time data allows vehicle managers to work proactively with their fleet and to constantly screen for business opportunities so that quick but well-considered decisions can be taken.”
Sofico’s Miles has been specially developed to provide flexible and functional end-to-end solutions for the efficient management of vehicle fleets. 
For more information, please contact Erwin Coesens, Country Manager Autorola Belgium Luxembourg, Mobile: +32 475 95 96 00, Email: erc@autorola.be
Tracking the new car winners and losers across Europe by fuel type
In the first 9 months of 2019 Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) sales grew in Europe by 93.1% but this still equates to just 2.1% of the total new car market. Hybrid vehicles have also grown by a healthy 42.7% in the first half of 2019 and now account for just over 5.5% of new car sales.
Other powertrains such as Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) have seen their market share hold at around 1.6%, mainly due to its popularity in Italy. However, Plug-in Hybrid EVs (PHEVs) have seen sales drop by 12.7%, accounting for just 1% of the new car market across Europe for the first 9 months of 2019. The decline in demand from fleet operators is part of the reason.
Fleets see increased costs of fuelling PHEVs
Several countries have or had a beneficial taxation system for company drivers choosing a PHEV over a diesel vehicle, making them a popular choice from a personal perspective. However, fleet operators noticed a significant increase in fuel costs as drivers were commonly not charging them, just using them as a petrol vehicle. This meant cars were performing worse than a straight petrol version of the car as the PHEV also boasted added battery weight.
Feedback from auction houses like Autorola confirmed that many PHEVs were coming off fleet having never been charged and with the charging cable still in its original sealed bag.
Bristol city centre moves sets a worrying precedent
On 5th November the UK port town of Bristol became Europe’s first city to approve a ban on all privately-owned diesel cars from 2021 between the hours of 7am and 3pm every day.
Whilst Clean Air Zones (CAZs) are appearing across Europe, the difference here is that the local council has not distinguished the considerable difference between old, high emission diesels of the past and new, clean, Euro 6 engines with little to no NOx and low CO2 emissions. The full details of the fines and charges have yet to be published but the ban includes parts of the city centre as well as the nearby M32 motorway.
We will need to wait until February 2020 to see if the national government approves the business plan, which is predicted to cost £113.5 million, but it does set a worrying precedent.
INDICATA sees impact on new and used diesel market
Some cities already have bans or restrictions on older diesel cars, pre-Euro 6, whilst Oslo has legislation in place to ban all diesel cars from certain roads on days with acute levels of air pollution. This progression to a blanket ban on all diesels will impact the new and used diesel car market as INDICATA data is seeing.
Despite reports and data about how clean the latest Euro 6 diesel engines are, the press continues to use the phrase “Dirty Diesel” with gusto, whilst politicians and lobbyists continue to talk about introducing more clean air zones. The message received by many drivers and consumers is a clear one to “not buy diesel.”
The high-level view is that drivers would choose electric or hybrid vehicles, the reality is most lost diesel sales have gone to petrol engine cars.
AUTOROLA GROUP APPOINTS ANDY SHIELDS TO LEAD INDICATA USED VEHICLE PRICING AND MARKET DATA DIVISION
Autorola Group has announced the appointment of Andy Shields as Business Unit Director of INDICATA, the global leaders in used vehicle pricing and market analysis.
He will head up INDICATA which provides dynamic real time used car pricing data in 14 countries for major dealer groups, banks, leasing companies, car makers and insurers.
Prior to joining INDICATA Andy held roles such as Director of Fleet and Remarketing at Avis Europe, VP Sales and Supply for an internet car supermarket and spent 10 years consulting for OEMs, dealer groups and leasing companies.
Andy said: “At Avis Europe I needed real time, multi-country pricing data delivered with a consistent methodology to ensure cross border comparability. INDICATA genuinely delivers that.”
“I used INDICATA data prior to joining the team while consulting for OEMs and major dealer groups and it helped deliver radical improvements in dealer used car profitability.
“As global leader in real time used car pricing it is not just about data provision but supporting dealer groups to implement ongoing pricing management, where the whole organisation embraces and executes it from sales executives to the CEO,” he added.
In Andy’s consulting career, he recently supported VW Bank GmbH leasing company VWFS Ireland’s adoption of Sofico’s Miles lease management system.
“As I join INDICATA, I am delighted we have announced full data integration into Sofico across all 14 countries. This contributes real time pricing insights at individual vehicle and portfolio levels for Sofico leasing and finance customers,” he added.
“Peter Grøftehauge, CEO and Founder of Autorola Group said: “Andy’s vast experience in used cars, e-commerce and finance means he has a perfect combination of skills for his new role as head of INDICATA.”
“INDICATA has made excellent inroads into providing data that transforms company’s business revenues and used car decision-making power. We welcome Andy to the Autorola family,” he added.
