NEWS

Introduction from CEO Peter Grøftehauge

Nov 24, 2020   written by Autorola

At the yearly Fleet Europe event it was a great chance to see colleagues, friends and customers albeit online and it was a reminder what a vibrant industry we are all part of. The used car industry in particular is very resilient as our monthly INDICATA Market Watch reports show.

10 Covid-19 used car reports published
We have published 10 reports this year following the effects of Covid-19 on used car markets in 13 countries and just as the industry was getting back on its feet lockdown 2.0 has impacted sales and prices once again.

Our INDICATA global director Andy Shields presented to the Fleet Europe audience some of the statistics where one moment a country’s sales were down 80% year-on-year and then the following months sales are up by a few percentage points. Andy shares some of those valuable insights in this newsletter and reinforces the importance of using a portal such as INDICATA to proactively manage used car stock and pricing during these difficult times. It brings to the fore the power of big data down to dealer level.

Autorola Turkey launches car buying service
Turkey is one of the most buoyant used car markets in Europe and our team have been piloting a new C2B car buying service over the past few months under the Autocom brand. It has set up three vehicle handover centers in Istanbul and purchased 100 used cars from motorists.

Autocom is launched in January and it aims to buy 1,000 used cars a month and expand to other cities in Turkey. Powered by INDICATA used car data is provides a true online pricing proposition backed up by the peace of mind of having the trusted brand of Autorola behind the transaction. We wish Oğuzhan and his team well with the new project.

I am sure the used markets around the world will have some more surprises for us before we end 2020. Stay safe.

Best regards
Peter (LinkedIn)


Click here to get back to all News

European used car dealers increase stock levels as lockdown 2.0 market slowdown begins

Nov 24, 2020   written by Autorola

Our October Market Watch insights report reported an average 12.4% year-on-year sales growth across 13 European countries. 11 out of 13 countries saw dealer stock levels increase, with supply now appearing to be coming back into the market. Key movers were Spain, France and the UK, increasing stock levels by 9.0%, 7.9% and 7.4% from the 1 October to the 1 November respectively.

However, just as supply and dealer stock levels start improving Covid levels have increased and tighter lockdowns have been imposed in a number of countries. This means the current used car bull market of short supply and rising prices is coming to an end.

Dealers need to manage their used car stock pricing
The challenge is for dealers to manage their used car stock pricing and stock turn using real time data from INDICATA as demand starts to soften in many countries.
During October countries such as Portugal, Turkey, France, Italy and Germany reported year-on-year sales growth by as much as 31.1%. This was balanced by countries such as Sweden, Austria, Poland and The Netherlands which experienced a year-on-year fall in used car sales.

Petrol and diesel stock turn is strong compared with EVs
Dealer stock turn for diesels and petrols at 7.4 and 6.7 eased back marginally from September but both fuels remain in short supply. That compares with EVs and hybrids which delivered a 4.5 and 5.3 stock turn during the month where supply is freer and prices less stable.

There has been a consistent demand for used cars of all ages with the five-year old car comprising the consumer sweet spot. Meanwhile, sales of sub-12-month old cars continues to struggle due to poor stock levels (illustrated by a 23% year-on-year increase in stock turn).

OEMs show little interest in tactical pre-reg and 0km activity
With EU27, EFTA3 and UK new car sales down by a total of 38.7% in Q3, OEMs are demonstrating little interest in supporting tactical pre-reg and 0km sales campaigns so sub-12-month old car stock levels are not likely to improve any time soon.

“During October we saw dealer stock levels increase as further part exchanges and ex-lease vehicles came into the market. This follows many months where supply has been restricted and dealers scrambled to find stock,” explained Andy Shields, INDICATA’s global business unit director.

Dealers need to balance their used car books carefully
“With the risk that Lockdown 2.0 impacts consumer demand in many countries, some dealers may have overstocked for November. December is traditionally when demand softens so those dealers are going to have balance their used vehicle books very carefully to the end of the year.

“We are already seeing some price adjustment to keep sales ticking over and as we move into 2021 and delayed lease returns start coming on to the market, dealers and remarketers should be revisiting their pricing strategies on a regular basis.

“With specific models showing real signs of oversupply, each vehicle now needs individual pricing based on trade or retail benchmarks and by reviewing saleability in the market.” he added.

Find the Market Watch report on www.indicata.com/corona


Click here to get back to all News

Autorola Turkey launches C2B Autocom car buying service

Nov 24, 2020   written by Autorola

Autorola Turkey is launching an exciting new car buying service in January through its new Autocom brand, which will see it buying used cars off the public for the very first time.
With a used car quoting engine powered by INDICATA pricing data consumers visit www.autocom.com.tr to work out the value of their own car online. Once they are happy with the price, they visit one of three drop off points which Autorola has set up in Istanbul to hand over their car.

Final inspection
Each drop off centre carries out a final inspection of the car against the information given by the driver and then a final price is agreed and payment is transferred within 3 hours.
Autorola has completed a successful trial over the past few months which has seen it buy 100 used cars off motorists and the feedback has been very good. These cars are immediately uploaded to Autorola Marketplace’s online used car portal to sell to the wholesale motor trade.

Targeting professional people
“We are targeting those professional people who are time poor who want a reliable and hassle-free car selling service from a corporate partner they can trust,” explained Sencer Alagöz, Autocom Turkey’s Sales Director.

“Those 100 drivers who have used the service have been very happy and we look forward to rolling out Autocom in January. We hope to be buying 1,000 used cars per month from drivers by the end of 2021,” he added.

Extending Autocom to other Turkish cities
Once the service is launched in Istanbul, Autorola will be looking to extend the Autocom car buying service into other major cities in Turkey such as Ankara and İzmir which will include setting up new handover centers.

The power of INDICATA lead generator has also seen Autorola sell this pricing engine to other car buying services who then bespoke the prices according to their own business strategies.
Companies who would like to find out more about buying INDICATA lead generator should email Aslı Göker on asl@indicata.com.tr.


Click here to get back to all News

Stay efficient – stay ahead

Nov 24, 2020   written by Autorola

 

The World has changed and 2020 has presented us with a new reality. One we never saw coming and one that has brought much disruption. Now we need to understand how to cope with this new reality.

Just like every other industry, fleet and automotive have faced these sudden changes and experienced a workplace that had to immediately adapt to social distancing and workplaces moving from the physical space to an online setting. This increases the need for more efficient and structured digital platforms for managing and selling cars in a time that requires you to rethink your business: Strategically, tactically, and operationally.

Due to several disconnected internal systems that are poorly consolidated, organizations have lacked a total overview over their assets. The big task is now to tool up and make sure that your employees are best equipped to succeed in the online workplace.

Autorola Solutions provide you with a 100 % browser-based online tool to continue working efficiently, even in remote settings. Gain access to all your assets online and interact real-time with your co-workers, suppliers and network, across countries, branches and distances.


With the Fleet Monitor at the center, you continue your day-to-day business uninterrupted and with everything you need right at hand. Just access our web-based tool from any device, from anywhere at any time and you have full access to work with your cars and continue doing business – as usual.

Interactive asset overview
With Autorola Solutions Fleet Monitor, you, as a fleet owner, instantly access your entire car park with detailed descriptions and commercial photos and start work. No matter where you are, you have instant access to all cars and know exactly what the state of the car is and what it is worth. That is transparency and trust in one flexible solution that can be customized to your needs. Design your perfect way of working and roll out across your organization. Scalable, secure, safe and simple.


Digitalization is an investment in the future and a natural way to ensure business continuity in unexpected and unprecedented realities. Keep moving forward when the world changes overnight with our online, practical, adaptable and mobile solutions.

Learn more about our solutions
Autorola Solutions Fleet Monitor is proven to help businesses streamline processes, improve efficiency and performance, as well as making sure all activities are compliant. Our collaborative platform provides you with a powerful tool to reduce your operational costs and mitigate both operational and financial risks and our communication module is an integral part of creating a service-minded platform.

We simplify every part of your fleet and resource management.


For more information, please contact Ib Kimose, Director AUTOROLA Solutions, mobile: +4561629916, e-mail: iki@autorola.com
Read more on Autorola Solutions


Click here to get back to all News

Autorola Group shares lockdown used car insights with Fleet Europe audience

Nov 24, 2020   written by Autorola

The Market Watch used car insights report was launched by INDICATA in February 2020 to give remarketing professionals an idea of how the Covid-19 virus was impacting the market in 13 countries. The insights have given companies valuable insight which has helped companies develop strategic decisions about their used car and remarketing programs.

INDICATA’s global director Andy Shields was asked to present some of the report’s findings at the magazine’s first ever virtual summit.

Despite Covid-19 Europe’s used car industry has been resilient
The Market Watch report powered by INDICATA data was able to show how the severity of lockdown dramatically impacted 13 used car markets in Europe. Each country’s used car sales, supply, prices and dealer stocking levels were all impacted at various levels, but ultimately as we move into the end of 2020 the market has been very resilient.

At its lowest point average sales in April were 52.75% down year-on-year from the same month in 2019. However, sales were only down for March, April and May, while the remaining seven months to the end of October sales actually rose with September the peak month rising by 17.33%.

Market performance varies country by country
Andy also shared slides on how the depth and speed of market recovery was based on how severe the lockdown was by country using The Netherlands, the UK and Poland as country examples.

The Netherlands which suffered more of a relaxed lockdown with dealers still trading saw the largest sales fall of 15.7% in March and from there on the market has grown year-on-year to a July high which saw a 21.6% growth in the month.

The UK saw the largest market fall in April of 89.7% as dealers closed while the market came back quite quickly during June and July post lockdown. The Polish recovery meanwhile was remarkable in that it fell during March, reached rock bottom (down 71%) in April and then in May moved 79 percentage points to sales being 2.1% up year-on-year. Performance has stayed in line pretty much the same as 2019 ever since.

What the future brings
• But as 2021 looms demand remains outside of new lockdowns while stock is becoming more available
• Prices are firm on traditional powertrains, but EV prices are less stable despite volume growth
• BEVs remain in very free supply but how will prices shape up in the future?
• Prices are weakening in some markets as supply catches up with demand, but what will the impact on prices be?

To receive your free monthly Market Watch used car report go to www.indicata.com/corona.




Click here to get back to all News