NEWS

I always enjoy publishing articles in this newsletter about how customers are using our products and services to support their vehicle remarketing strategies.

In this newsletter we hear from RCI Banque SA NL AT on how they are using Autorola’s Full-Service solution, which includes the Fleet Monitor Workflow and Asset Management platform.

Customer feedback

It makes me happy when they report that we have helped ‘automate their processes, with full transparency, less resource and quicker lead times.’

We also share with you our latest partnership with MotorK and INDICATA in the Benelux region on how they are integrating our data with their digital platform to provide their clients with a high-quality and accurate used car valuation service. We look forward to this partnership going from strength to strength.

Export remains a valuable tactic

We also hear from our Austria country manager Rene Buzek on how his team are helping vendors deal with the ever-changing used market conditions. In his interview he tells us how export remains a valuable tactic for many vendors in the country.

We continue to track the fortunes of used BEVs across Europe and depending on which country you are in depends on how quickly or slowly they are selling. Our INDICATA Market Watch report provides valuable insights for vendors and buyers alike on how all the used fuel types are performing. Surprisingly used diesels remain the fastest-selling cars and BEVs the slowest and we will continue to track these trends.

We hope you find the newsletter useful.

Best regards
Peter Grøftehauge (LinkedIn)

The Austrian new car market continues to grow with sales up 16.6% in the first six months of 2023 with SUVs by far the most popular car type. All sectors of the market are stable, a trend which has extended to the used market where the buying audience remains strong, fuelled by a growing GDP and reducing unemployment.

Strong used car demand has helped prices rise by 3.6% since January 2022, the fourth highest rise in Europe in July with Austria only one of three countries along with Turkey and France to see prices continuing to rise month-on-month.

BEV stocks continue to grow

The current Austrian used market is split 45%/35% between diesel and petrol but while the share of new BEVs continues to grow, there is one distinct trend that is developing.

The Market Days’ Supply (MDS) of used BEVs is 183 days, which means that sales are rising but not as fast as stock levels are growing, which is where the export opportunity for dealers is a real one.

High export ratio

The export ratio in Austria remains high. As vendors look to achieve the right prices for their vehicles, they generally extend their reach beyond the limited Austrian buyer audience. Autorola manages all the paperwork and logistics connected with moving a used vehicle from one country to another and currently around 25% of used cars end up in other European countries.

“We work with a range of leasing and bank partners all of which are switched onto the power of selling used cars online. We run timed weekly online sales on behalf of vendors but also hosts several closed sales for the likes of Kia, Ford, Mercedes-Benz and RCI Bank to offer used cars for sale directly to their franchised dealer network via our bespoke Branded Sites auction portal,” explained Rene.

With global new car supply restrictions still impacting new car volumes then the priority of manufacturers is to offer used stock to their dealers before they are sold in the open market.

Supporting dealers and OEMs

The interest in INDICATA’s used car pricing and insights platform continues to grow with many different customers using it for different purposes. It has been supporting dealers for the past two years as an alternative in real time to the more traditional valuations tools while several OEMs are using it to provide a helicopter view of their national dealer network’s used car activity.

They can view the impact of pricing tactics and KPIs across the franchise and how they compare against rival brands, whilst an overview of stock levels helps the manufacturer appreciate how the market is moving.

“For those utilising online and physical auctions INDICATA can also be used to benchmark auction results against the overall market which supports dealers in operating a live pricing policy that has been known to change 2-3 times per week in this recent fast-moving market.

24/7 asset transparency

“With banks and financial institutions welcoming full transparency at every stage of the vehicle asset management process, our Fleet Monitor workflow and management system has become very popular with multiple fleets and OEMs,” reinforced Rene.

One such customer is Kia Austria who has successfully used the system for more than a decade with many customers using it as a full-service solution from the capturing of the initial vehicle order and registration through to managing end of contract inspections and remarketing.

Guaranteeing the best possible lead times

Kia Austria commented that “It is a huge advantage to handle our cars in an automated workflow which secures our processes and guarantees the best possible lead times for every part of the vehicle management process.”

At the end of contracts customers can then utilise INDICATA’s pricing data to set a used car market reserve and then we use our Marketplace online remarketing platform to sell the vehicle. RCI Banque is also using Fleet Monitor as a full-service solution.

Autorola has had a long-standing relationship with RCI Banque SA NL AT in Austria locally for many years.

RCI Banque SA NL AT uses the benefits of Autorola’s Full-Service solution which includes the Fleet Monitor Workflow and Asset Management platform.

The one system is responsible for managing all RCI Banque’s services including vehicle logistics, storage, inspection, de-registration, selling, invoicing, export and many more.

Manual processes

“Before partnering with Autorola we had lots of manual processes in place that were supported by limited resources,” said Georg Berner, RCI Banque SA NL AT Director of Customer Services.

“By implementing Fleet Monitor, we saw an immediate impact to our business when managing vehicles across their life cycle including remarketing used cars at the end of contracts.”

“Automated processes, full transparency, less resources, and quicker lead times were only some of the benefits of Fleet Monitor that we could directly measure.”

Offering used cars to thousands of buyers
“When integrating Fleet Monitor with Autorola’s European buyer network it also enabled us to offer our used cars for sale online to thousands of buyers which has also increased our profits,” he added.

In Austria many of Autorola’s customers use the advantage of outsourcing its fleet to a Full-Service Solution which includes Fleet Monitor to give a live overview on the status of each vehicle on their fleets. This provides customers with full transparency of each process in buying, running, and selling vehicles.

MotorK, the leading EMEA group specialising in SaaS solutions for automotive retail, has announced that its subsidiary Carflow has entered into a new strategic partnership with INDICATA.

Thanks to this cooperation, dealers and car manufacturers in the Benelux region will be able to integrate INDICATA data collection and analytics tools, specifically designed for the automotive industry, into MotorK’s digital solutions, thus providing its clients with a high-quality and accurate service for used car valuation.

Offering quality products

The partnership is perfectly aligned with the MotorK Group’s broader strategic roadmap, which places the concept of customer centricity at the heart of its core business, to offer quality products, designed and manufactured with an automotive-first approach, to its customers.

Thanks to INDICATA’s expertise, dealers and OEMs who already rely on MotorK’s services will be able to further enhance its SparK Platform offering with a specific tool to manage a delicate phase of the customer journey, which is used vehicle appraisal and trade-in.

Increased used car stock turnover

Improved market transparency and optimised operations are two key elements for a successful business outcome for automotive retailers; additional analytics capabilities can lead to increased stock turnover, whereas better fine-tuned processes lead to lower risks.

“The increasing digitalisation of automotive retail has resulted in a fragmented tech offer. At MotorK we strongly believe in strategic partnerships to consolidate the industry and offer the customer a quality and customised product,” commented Marco Marlia, CEO and Co-Founder of MotorK.

Staying at the forefront of innovation

“We are happy to start a collaboration with INDICATA, a valuable partner for us in the Benelux area, which will help us to continue to lead the automotive retail industry, always being at the forefront of innovation.”

“Used car business intelligence is our playing field and providing values to drivers online when they need them can really improve the customer experience,” said Peter Groftehauge, Group CEO of the Autorola Group.

“Thanks to this partnership, we can combine INDICATA’s used car analytics with MotorK’s knowledge of the digital automotive customer journey and offer a powerful tool to the market, which creates value for both retailers and end users.”

The demand for used BEVs continues to fluctuate from country to country according to INDICATA’s latest Market Watch report.

Whilst used BEVs are experiencing some healthy growth in used markets like Denmark and the UK, used car buyers in other countries like Belgium and Spain are still reluctant to embrace the powertrain which is creating stocking challenges for dealers.

BEVs are Europe’s slowest selling fuel type

On average across the 13 European countries in the INDICATA report the Market Days’ Supply (MDS) figure – which measures the stock supply divided by the current sales rate over the past 45 days – for used EVs is at 110 days compared with 83 days for used hybrids, 64 days for used petrols and 58 for diesels.

Diesel stocks are falling based on continued demand by drivers as well as falling new car sales which is starting to starve the market of used cars particularly at less than 24 months of age.

Market Days’ Supply ranges from 52 to 196 days

In some countries like Belgium the MDS for used BEVs is as high as 196 days, 183 in Austria and 152 days in Spain, while in Denmark the figure is just 64 days and, in the UK, it has fallen to just 52 days.

Overall European sales of used BEVs rose to a record high of 3.76% but when you look at both Denmark and the UK there is a big correlation between prices of used EVs falling and sales volumes increasing. Prices of used EVs have fallen in Denmark by 7.1% and in the UK by 24.6% during 2023 which has obviously been enough for drivers as the price gap between EVs and ICE cars continues to fall.

Used BEV prices continue to fall

Overall used BEV prices fell by 2.5% from June to July, although this was against a background of gently falling prices month-on-month in 10 out of the 13 European countries covered in our report caused mainly by the normal seasonal summer slowdown.

“There are multiple countries where the demand for diesel and petrol used cars is deep rooted and so the move to used BEVs is much slower even if prices continue to fall,” explained Andy Shields, INDICATA’s global business unit director.

“Used BEVs will continue to take their time to find a level of demand and price in every country and its still very early days. Until then export is a consideration for left hand drive cars in those countries where stocking levels are reaching dangerous levels,” he added.

For a free copy of the latest INDICATA Market Watch report go to www.indicata.com