NEWS

Introduction from Peter Grøftehauge

Sep 28, 2021   written by Autorola

Just as countries start to get the Covid-19 pandemic under control so the automotive industry is faced with another challenge of restricted new car supply caused by the global semiconductor shortage. Our INDICATA team is seeing major price inflation for used cars with demand rising as more drivers switch away from new cars because of long delivery times.
In the latest INDICATA report Europe is also seeing a consistent fall in dealer stocks of used cars which is fuelling the price inflation which could last until 2023.

Top selling and fastest-selling used cars
Check out our new top selling and fastest-selling used car data which INDICATA has produced for all 13 countries in the Market Watch report. Split by fuel type the reports give buyers and vendors a true picture of which used cars are most popular and in demand in their country.
Autorola Germany is one of those countries and online remarketing continues to go from strength to strength following physical auctions shutting their businesses during last year’s lockdown.

Building a profit centre from a cost centre
It has been targeting new fleets with its online remarketing proposition under the headline of ‘Building a profit centre from a cost centre.’ It has been very successful, and Germany is now engaging with many more major fleet customers about how our online MarketPlace platform can transform their remarketing strategies.

VW Brazil rolls out Fleet Monitor platform
More exciting news is that VW Brazil has rolled out our Autorola Fleet Monitor asset management platform to manage all elements of its vehicle management processes. From managing lease returns to collecting the vehicles, reconditioning, and then selling them back to the dealer network, VW chose our Autorola platform to manage everything.
Three thousand used cars were sold as part of phase one of the roll out project in April and in July 2021 a full-fledged platform was launched to include over 500 dealer locations, to include direct interfaces with transport, compound systems and external inspection providers. This new contract demonstrates the power of our online platform.

Fleet Europe seminar dates announced
More good news is that Fleet Europe has announced its Seminar is being held in Brussels on the 9-10 November. As always, we will be a sponsor for the Remarketing Forum and for many of us it will be the first time, we will get to meet our customers, colleagues, and friends from the industry face-to-face since early 2020. We are looking forward to it very much.
Until then we hope your business takes advantage of the strong demand for used cars and our products and services keep supporting you in generating healthy profits. See you soon.
Peter

Best regards
Peter Grøftehauge (LinkedIn)

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VW Brazil and Autorola Solutions launch a nationwide vehicle management platform

Sep 28, 2021   written by Autorola

In the last two years, fleet owners, all over the world, were impacted by the pandemic. However, many of them proved to be more resilient than first expected, anchoring their survival in developing new business models, innovative technologies, and sustainable practices.

This was also the case for VW Brazil/ONE SELECT (VW’s exclusive Branded site to sell its used cars) when Autorola Solutions started the digitalisation project with them. Autorola has historically worked closely with VW in Europe, both in Marketplace and Solutions where traditional auctions have co-habited together with upstream remarketing processes through our Fleet Monitor platform.

Controlling their cars on a new platform
Now Brazil joined in the established collaboration between VW and Autorola. VW Brazil/ONE SELECT has an extensive network of dealers with over 500 locations nationwide. VW was changing from an existing auction provider and wanted a seamless migration to a new platform, where they could have more control of their cars and a branded auction environment for their closed dealer network.

The focus for VW Brazil/ONE SELECT, was to start with the remarketing of its lease return cars as well as surrounding services as the first phase of the project.

Managing the lease returns process
The next phase of the project was to conglomerate the lease return processes, including booking of lease return, handling of the units, upstream sales activities, transport, and preparation services, with the remarketing and vehicle delivery.

This was an all-new way of working with their vehicles in a more structured, less-error prone and more collaborative platform, where several suppliers were actively participating in moving them in an efficient and timesaving manner. This was defined as the second phase of the project.

As borders were closing, Autorola Solutions launched platform solutions with customers on the other side of the world together with the local team.

3,000 cars sold on the platform in phase one
Phase one of the project went live in April 2021 with over 3,000 cars sold on the platform. The next phase went live in July 2021 launching a full-fledged platform encompassing over 500 dealer locations, and direct interfaces with transport- and compound systems and external inspection providers.

The platform currently holds 18,000 units that are monitored and updated in the system, to initiate de-fleet processes in a timely manner and to secure full transparency and efficiency throughout the entire process for VW Brazil/ONE SELECT:

  • Structured and relevant information where and when it is required
  • Seamless integration of technology, people, and processes for efficient and effective delivery of core business functions
  • A one-platform solution to encompass all areas of their business with efficient processes for system users

Simplifying people, processes, and technology
The whole idea is to simply put people, processes, and technology together in one platform, which facilitates managing operations and services within the context of a business. With Autorola Solutions, VW Brazil/ONE SELECT succeeds in getting the work done in a digital context and is based on technology, which provides a powerful platform in terms of collaboration and productivity.

The third phase is currently being defined and planned to include direct driver sales and automated pricing among other new features.


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A year of change for Germany but the future remains online says Lars-Alexander Lilje, Senior Key Account Manager, Autorola Germany

Sep 28, 2021   written by Autorola


It has been an interesting period for the German car market. It has been a time of upheaval, which has brought challenges but also opportunities in equal measure. With new passenger vehicle registrations in Germany having expanded by 14.9% during the first half of 2021 to 1,390,889 cars, compared to only 1,210,622 cars sold during the first half of 2020, it seems as though the underlying confidence is slowly returning.

However, much like the rest of the world, Germany is currently suffering from the effects of the micro-conductor shortage, which is playing out on a global scale. In the German market, it has meant that used car prices are at a record high, but with a downside that no new cars are expected to arrive in any large volumes until mid-2022 at the earliest- although this is a mere prediction at this point, no production schedules can be confirmed- this high demand is not expected to fall anytime soon.

Increasing focus on a niche market

Autorola Germany took the decision 18 months ago to establish a clear and well-defined practice for developing business leads. These results of this research led us to focus on developing a client base of companies with a parc of 500 vehicles or more. Autorola then began an internal project to investigate how many of these there were in Germany, researching them in depth to discover their pain-points in the de-fleet process and then introduce them to the Autorola online remarketing platform in relation to these.

The project revealed a potential list of 150 companies with fleets large enough to be of interest to us, and this relatively small target list meant Autorola was able to fully understand every business proposition before every approach was made.

We spent a long time developing a comprehensive business case and a compelling narrative with which to attract these companies. We demonstrated in each case exactly how Autorola could solve their specific problems, and how easy the resolution could be for them as a result.

The catchphrase coined for the project was “building a profit centre from a cost centre” and the time we spent at the research stage paid off. In a highly mature and competitive marketplace such as Germany, Autorola’s depth of knowledge of the companies we approached meant Autorola stood out from competitors from the outset, as it was able to meet large corporations on an equal footing, as the de-facto experts in our field.

Reaping the rewards in an increasingly digital world

With the current scarcity of available stock within the country, the decision has really paid off. By focusing so intently on larger fleets of 500 vehicles or more, it results in these companies’ de-fleeting an average of around 100 vehicles a year each. Even with the current propensity of fleets to hold onto their vehicles for longer than usual, the relative availability of de-fleet vehicles for Autorola Germany has proved to be of enormous help in the current circumstances.  

It has been also of great benefit to Autorola that the Marketplace product is purely digital, as it has put the business ahead of the curve in a changing business landscape, the acceleration of which has been driven by COVID.

“Our online, customer-focused approach is proving to be just what the new disruptors to the marketplace are looking for, which allows us to attract the newcomers, while still working with the more traditional dealerships who are evolving too,” said Lars-Alexander.

Unique messaging of a USP

“As a result of this USP, and the time we have taken to refine our messaging around it, the last 12 months has been one of success for Autorola Germany. We have been able to successfully convert leads into sales, helped entirely by the fact that not only is our online platform the best in class, but also, when combined with our sales team, INDICATA and SOLUTIONS, the strength of our proposition is hard to deny,” said Lars.

The traditional de-fleeting process could take many hours per vehicle, and involve multiple parties, however with Autorola, it involves just one point of contact and can take as little as four minutes per vehicle. Put simply, we help reduce liability, risk, and costs, while raising profits. For companies managing fleets of hundreds of vehicles, this a compelling message for any fleet manager to hear.

“Through this unique formula of our huge international network, targeted selling means we reach the right process with the right dealers while reducing client processes, we are confident in the continued growth of Autorola in Europe’s largest car market,” he added.


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European dealer used car stock levels are falling which is causing price inflation reports INDICATA

Sep 28, 2021   written by Autorola
Dealer stocks of used cars fell by 7.3% on average between the beginning of August and early September 2021 across Europe according to the latest INDICATA Market Watch used car insights report.

This means stock levels are now 12.3% below August 2019 which is mainly down to the increased demand for used cars due to the semiconductor shortages impacting new car sales.

With sales demand rising and much lower than normal volumes of young-used-cars available from the ex-rent-a-car fleet the impact on stock levels is likely to worsen.

Stocks fall well below 2019 levels

Stocks of left-hand drive cars at the start of August 2021 were already 2.2% lower than August 2019 and that gap has widened to 8.8% lower at the start of September compared to the beginning of September 2019.

With used car sales up 13.9% for the first eight months of 2021 virtually every European market is reporting consumers are switching to a used car to avoid long lead times for new cars.

Used car inflation set to continue

With no signs of the semiconductor crisis coming to an end used car inflation is likely to impact all countries for another 12 months and possibly into 2023. The UK alone has seen prices rise by 16.6% in the first eight months of the year.

While there was a visible slowdown in used car markets during the August holiday period, EV sales increased by 7% compared with July. However, EVs achieved the slowest stock turn (4.8x) out of all the fuel types compared with 7.6x for petrol and diesel cars. Hybrid stock turn sat at 5.7x which is further proof that they are becoming an integral part of the used car industry.

Price inflation could last until 2023

“Used car stock levels fell in every country except Turkey in August and demand shows no signs of slowing up due to new car supplies still being compromised which may last until 2023. This means we will see price inflation in the used market continuing for many more months to come,” said Andy Shields, INDICATA’s global business director.

“We urge dealers to continue to review their forecourt stock pricing on a daily basis and to be prepared to raise prices to keep pace with consumer demand,” he added.

To download the 30-page INDICATA report go to www.indicata.com/corona



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INDICATA reveals Europe’s top selling and fastest-selling used cars in August

Sep 29, 2021   written by Autorola

INDICATA has launched a new report which identifies the top selling and fastest-selling used cars below four years of age from its nine million used vehicle adverts analysed across Europe.

The new reports are available for each of the individual 13 countries in our new-look 30-page Market Watch report as well as for Europe as a whole.


VW Golf is Europe’s top selling used car

In August the VW Golf, the Toyota C-HR and the Renault Zoe were the top selling respective ICE, hybrid and BEV used cars. When considering all fuel types of the VW Golf was the top selling used car followed by the Renault Clio and VW Tiguan.

Meanwhile, the fastest-selling ICE, hybrid and BEV were the MG ZS, Mercedes GLA class and the Skoda Citigo which at their current selling rates means there is only enough stock in the market to last 21.8, 28.7 and 36.6 days respectively.



Mokka is Europe’s fastest-selling used car

When identifying the fastest-selling used cars across Europe the Opel/Vauxhall Mokka, MG ZS and Skoda Yeti made up the first three positions.

“We have responded to buyer and vendor requests for the best selling used cars by publishing these reports and will announce how more detailed data will be available to purchase in each of our countries in future months,” explained Andy Shields, INDICATA’s global business unit director.



To download the top selling and fastest-selling reports for 13 countries go to www.indicata.com/corona


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Autorola sponsors Fleet Europe Remarketing Forum

Sep 29, 2021   written by Autorola


We are pleased to continue our sponsorship of the Remarketing Forum which is part of the Fleet Europe Summit which is being held in Brussels on the 9-10 of November. It will be held at the Square Convention Centre, in the heart of the city.

The full-day remarketing forum is dedicated to the remarketing industry will bring discussion, case studies and networking for remarketing professionals.

The rest of the summit will feature four sessions for the fleet decision maker on sustainability, post-COVID-19 fleet management, corporate mobility, and innovation & technology.



We look forward to seeing you in person

We will have members of our MarketPlace, INDICATA and Solutions teams at the show who look forward to meeting customers, prospects, colleagues, and friends, many for the first time in person since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020.

Early bird tickets are available here until 1 of October.

https://page-builder.hopin.com/events/fleet-europe-summit-2021/registration


If you want a meeting with any of our team to discuss your online remarketing, used car insights data or fleet asset management platform needs in more detail please get in touch with your country manager.


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