NEWS

Autorola Group’s Fleet Monitor has proved itself to be a huge benefit to Volkswagen Financial Services Brazil in allowing the bank to track and trace its fleet assets across the country in a way that no other product had previously been able to. This proved invaluable to the lender, which has a fleet of 5,000 vehicles, and a supplementary fleet of 13,000 vehicles, run under the brand of FleetZil.

As a result of this solid foundation of success, Autorola is able to assist FleetZil during a merger with another Brazil-based leasing company, LM. A formerly family-owned leasing company, 60% of LM has been purchased by VWFS which will continue to expand its shares in the company over the next three years. Following this merger, additional vehicles will be added to the FleetZil parc, in line its expansion goals in the coming five years.

Importantly, because LM has been a family run leasing company until the merger, Autorola is currently constructing a process that will bring solutions and modernization to LM’s old manual systems and will make a difference in the way they conduct their business in order to bring itself into line with the wider reporting and management structure of VWFS.

Toyota and Kinto sign a new contract for Brazil

Toyota and leasing giant Kinto have signed a substantial deal for Brazil with the aim of maximising growth for both parties. With its new agreement with Toyota, the international leasing company is entering a period of concerted expansion of its activities within the country, and Autorola will be key to Kinto achieving its commercial goals in this area. With the signing of this contract, it is expected to increase its market share to around 100,000 vehicles within five years.

Internal investment in the Autorola sales team

As a result of the success of the last 12 months, Autorola Brazil is now enjoying higher online auction transaction volumes than ever before. Autorola is also investing in its sales team and upgrading its internal processes to allow for the coming rise in vehicle volumes.

A streamlining of processes, an expanded team and an investment in IT infrastructure will see Autorola Brazil well-placed to service the growing needs of its expanding client base for the years to come.

Matching buyers to vendors has always been a key strength of our platform, and this is proving a crucial benefit for customers in a rapidly fluctuating marketplace. Demand is changing fast as new car prices drop after 12 months of record prices. Buyers are now flocking to new vehicles supported by attractive finance rates instead of buying high price used cars which has changed the dynamic of the market very quickly., Brazil is therefore experiencing a market correction, which will make the availability of detailed and up-to-date used car prices from INDICATA key for successful transactions.

INDICATA launching in Brazil

Until now, only Marketplace and Solutions have been offered in Brazil, however in response to our customers’ changing needs, INDICATA is soon to be launched as an additional offering enabling the powerful combination of all three services to be utilised together for the benefit of the companies we work with.

The launch is well underway internally, with several key data providers already earmarked for involvement in the project. With strong interest already in place from our customers, we expect to launch Indicata Brazil later this year.

It looks set to be a year of strong growth.

smart Europe GmbH has announced a new five-year contract with the Autorola Group. Autorola will set up and run the European fleet remarketing infrastructure for smart´s brand new range of 100% electric cars.

Autorola’s Fleet Monitor web-based asset management IT platform will be rolled out to enable an efficient, end-to-end remarketing vehicle management process across Europe.

Fleet Monitor will found the backbone of smart’s relationship with rental, car sharing and subscription companies. It will enable smart to consistently track each car’s status including mileage, servicing history and current location.

Further Autorola ensures integration of data from all of smart´s relevant partners for logistic, inspection and storage. All respective processes will be managed in a holistic and efficient context. Main target is a fast reintegration of smart remarketing vehicles into the retail process via Autorola’s pan European online MarketPlace towards the future smart agency network.

The platform roll-out includes Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland and Sweden.

André Janssen-Timmen, COO, smart Europe GmbH, said: “We are setting up our own, strong remarketing capability right from the start. Our focus is not only on the first cycle, but also on 2nd and 3rd. We believe that Autorola for us is exactly the right partner for this endeavor.”

The collaboration with smart underlines the strength of Fleet Monitor as a powerful tool to connect diverse areas of the business to create a strong platform to manage the entire fleet activities with effective end-to-end solutions.

See more here: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/666726856

To know more: https://autorolasolutions.com/contact/

Autorola France is officially the country’s fifth largest car auction company and the largest online only auction business.

According to the annual Harris Interactive car auction poll Autorola France moved from seventh to fifth place, the highest position achieved since the business was set up in 2007.

Seventy percent increase in turnover

Turnover has grown by 70% from 48m Euros in 2020 to 82m in 2021 as the entire automotive industry moved to online remarketing as the pandemic closed large parts of the used car market.

Autorola France is unique in that it also sells high value used cars online, not just unwanted low-cost dealer part exchanges. Its average transaction value is 12,500 Euros selling used cars for vendors such as Ford France, BMW, PSA, Athlon and BPCE, LeasePlan and VWFS.

Selling used cars online since 2007

“Our 22-strong team was proud to hear the news that we have become the largest online car auction business in France. We have stood by our principles of only selling used cars online for 15 years and the pandemic has accelerated its popularity,” said Pierre-Emmanuel Beau, MD of Autorola France.

“Buyers appreciate the power of bidding and buying used cars from their PC or phone, while vendors benefit enjoy reduced selling costs when compared with physical. We look forward to continuing our annual growth,” he said.

Used battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are now selling faster than petrol and diesel cars across Europe according to our latest INDICATA Market Watch used car insights report.

In April BEVs were the fastest-selling powertrain type at 6.8x whereas just 12 months ago they were the slowest at 3.7x.

Fastest-selling used cars

Electric cars took all three places in INDICATA’s fastest-selling used car table for the very first time in April with the Renault Zoe, Tesla Model Y and Kia Niro.

Market Days’ Supply for those respective used EVs was 27.7 days, 35.5 days and 44.7 days which compares with 74.8 days, 50.7 days and 60.8 days for April’s fastest-selling ICE cars, the VW Golf, Renault Clio, and VW Polo.

Speed of acceptance for EVs

This is a dramatic change from the start of 2022 when used BEVs were consistently the slowest-selling fuel type and shows the speed of acceptance of electric power within the used market after a slow start in previous years.

With supply now fully exceeding demand, dealer stock of used BEVs was 38% lower than in April compared with March.

EVs are reversing a negative trend

As supply tightens, BEV used prices are reversing the negative trend they have had for the last 4-5 years with a Europe-wide rise of 9.3 percentage points for used cars since the end of 2021.

Andy Shields, INDICATA’s global business unit director explains:

“April 2022 could be the major sea change in the acceptance of electric used cars across Europe. Last year we had seen excess BEV supply as OEMs over forced the market to reduce their CAFÉ liabilities.

Used BEV stock is drying up

“With retail buyers now seeing €50+ increases in filling a tank of fuel in an ICE vehicle they are swapping to BEVS. Long lead times on new BEVs and an ever-growing confidence in range and charging infrastructure means the used BEV market is now being sucked dry.”

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

We are only just into Q2 of the year, and 2022 is proving just as turbulent as the year before.

Nevertheless, the used car market carries on regardless, and Autorola Group has continued to support this crucial sector through increasingly volatile times.

The latest Market Watch report focusses on the price rises experienced in 13 European countries, which was 7.1% over Q1 of 2022. With demand continuing to exceed supply across the majority of territories, and currency fluctuations accounting for additional increases in territories such as Turkey, the outlook for the year ahead is that the current situation looks set to remain in the near future.

Andy Shields gave a brilliant report last month, in partnership with the major publication Fleet Europe, on the pricing fluctuations that we have seen in the used EV market. In a very clear, short video, he explains the market forces behind these fluctuations and why the outlook is bright for EVs as used vehicles. For anyone who deals in these vehicles, it is a must-watch.

We share the news of our recent contract signing between INDICATA and Toyota Motors Europe, which will aid the automotive giant with its used car pricing reports in 12 countries.

I am delighted to see that we end with an article on Autorola Group’s record two years. Each of our business units has excelled over a busy 24 month period, and as a result, we are expanding our business, and our offices. Read more about how we are evolving our group below.

I hope that you enjoy this newsletter, may it be a moment of data-driven insight in the midst of a fast paced world.

Peter
Best regards
Peter Grøftehauge (LinkedIn)

Toyota Motors Europe (TME) has announced a major new contract with INDICATA Europe to roll out its used car pricing data to 13 countries over the next two months.

INDICATA has developed a bespoke reporting suite for TME that tracks all the online used Toyota and Lexus adverts from its own dealer networks across Europe and presents it into an easy-to-read dashboard for each country.

Ability to view used cars at a macro and micro level

This gives TME the ability to view the successes of each of its models at both a macro and micro level in real time. It can view stock advertised levels grouped by brand, model, engine type, vehicle age and mileage by country and track the evolution of pricing and sales volume trends.

The INDICATA contract has already gone live in France Belgium, Spain, Italy, and the UK. From the end of April INDICATA’s data will also be rolled out in Austria, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, and Turkey.

Used car intelligence

TME has been impressed at the power of INDICATA’s used car business intelligence to aggregate used car stock data in real time. It can be dissected in a variety of ways using filters in its reporting dashboard.

Toyota Motors Europe’s spokesperson said “We are excited to be working with TME to provide them with a real time overview of its Toyota and Lexus stock being sold by its dealers. It will generate some valuable trends data for the brands to enable them to understand how their models are performing in Europe’s used market Europe country by country.”

Andy Shields, the business unit director of INDICATA, has given a talk for the Fleet Europe Remarketing Expert Track.

In a short, fact-packed talk, Andy explains the market forces that were in play at the beginning of 2021, which caused a marked weakness in BEV values early in the year.

Oversupply of BEVs affects market forces
This initial weakness in values was at first hard to understand, as BEVs as a segment had experienced a high year on year sales growth between 2020-2021, although prices had failed to rise to match the market demand.

One of the main drivers behind the lack of price growth was the oversupply of BEVs by manufacturers at the start of 2021, which flooded the market and suppressed the used process.

Response to EU CAFE rules

This oversupply was a response to the introduction of the EU’s CAFE rules, in which overall C02 emissions were capped for manufacturers across their entire vehicle ranges. With strict financial penalties being enforced for every gram of C02 produced above the limit, many manufacturers turned to an oversupply of BEVs at the start of the year as a means of lowering their average emissions.

Two main factors have been behind the value recovery in BEV values over the course of 2021, the easing of the CAFE targets, and the simultaneous global microprocessor shortage.

Reduced pressures to produce EVs

The easing of the CAFE targets for years 2021-2022, coinciding with many manufactures having updated engines and drivetrains across their model ranges for greater efficiency has meant that the pressure to produce zero emissions vehicles to meet the stringent first-year targets has lessened.

At the same time, the microprocessor shortage which has hit global manufacturing in the last 12 months has been felt more keenly across the manufacture of BEVs than traditionally ICE engined vehicles, which has led to supply of these vehicles now lagging demand.

As a result, used BEV prices have stabilised over the last 12 months, and with research from the Boston Consulting Group suggesting that microprocessor production will not recover fully until 2024, BEV prices will remain stable for the next 24 months, if not longer.

To watch the video in full and hear Andy’s insights in greater detail, please see the video in full here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnCfXhnrtdM

Since 2019, the automotive industry has gone through a period of global upheaval, beginning with the COVID 19 pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns, which then led into the global microprocessor shortage which has slashed new car deliveries.

For many in the industry, it has been a challenging time, however for Autorola Group, our ability to assist our customers in effective trading despite these challenges has meant that the last two years have been a time of record growth and expansion for the group.

Fleet Monitor has reported record growth

Fleet Monitor has become a key software platform for anyone managing vehicle assets more effectively from cradle to grave. As new vehicle lead times have stalled, leasing cycles have been widely extended as a result. With the increasing pressure on this vehicle stock, fleets, manufacturers, and finance companies have been relying on the Fleet Monitor package to better manage their vehicles.

As a result, we have seen a strong two years of growth within this business unit, driven partly by the utility of the platform, but also due to the hard work of the Fleet Monitor team to maintain and develop deep relationships with customers to bespoke the platform on their behalf.

MarketPlace is in high demand

As different territories within the EU underwent various cycles of restrictions in response to COVID 19, dealers have turned to importing used cars on our MarketPlace online wholesale platform to cater for increased used car demand in their countries. Market Place proved an invaluable asset to dealers during this time, as more than ever, the ability of stock locator to operate across borders meant that appropriate vehicles could always be located and purchased by dealers, no matter the distances involved.

As we continue to grow the features of the MarketPlace platform, so the head office team also continues to grow.

INDICATA helping traders to manage volatility

INDICATA is also continuing a period of strong growth, as at time of market volatility our unique blend of business intelligence and up to date market insights has allowed OEMs, Dealer and fleets and financing houses to always remain ahead of changing market conditions. Now more than ever, the strength of the INDICATA proposition is proving to be invaluable to businesses.

The recently launched INDICATA  stock locator product has been instrumental in helping dealers to manage their stock levels despite the current pressures, giving them the ability to locate appropriate vehicles from across the continent to fill any gaps in their local markets.  

In response to this growth across the group, Autorola Group has purchased new additional offices near our existing headquarters in Odense in order to accommodate our ever-expanding team headcount, which will leave our existing office space for the INDICATA team to call their own. We foresee that the market conditions are likely to remain changeable for some time to come, but thanks to our ongoing investment in our teams and new state of the art offices, Autorola Group looks set to succeed alongside our customers.

European used car prices rose dramatically in the first two months of 2022 as the used market continues to be starved of stock according to INDICATA’s latest used car insights report.

Average used car prices have increased by an average of 7.1% since the end of last year across the 13 European countries as they continue to suffer from a shortage of used stock due to new car sales compromised by global semiconductor shortages.

Majority of markets experience used car price rises
Since December 2021 Italy, Austria, Belgium, and Germany all saw price increases by more than 7 percentage points going into March 2022 equivalent to between a 6.3% and a 7.2% increase. Turkey average used car prices rose by 18.6% between December 2021 and January 2022 with foreign currency exchange rates and supply challenges driving much of that uplift. Average prices have dropped by 3.2% over the subsequent two months.

Meanwhile the United Kingdom has seen average prices fall 1.1% between the peak in January and March with trade buyers and retailers showing little appetite to push up prices. However, they are still 33.2% higher than back in May 2021 when prices started to rise.

Used demand exceeds supply
All countries are operating in a market where used car demand exceeds supply and this looks likely to remain unchanged as restricted new car availability forces leasing companies to extend contracts and lead times impact on dealers delivering new cars to retail customers.

Dealer stock levels fell by between 4.2% (France) and 39.9% (Poland) year-on-year and in February sales were 4.4% lower than January. All thirteen countries in the report saw February YTD sales fall by 0.9%.

Dealer stock levels fall
Moving from February into March dealer stock levels showed few signs of improving with markets like Portugal and Poland suffering from a 7.2% and 6.3% fall.

Meanwhile, used Battery Electric Vehicles continue to grow in popularity with stock turn getting closer to petrol and diesel although there is still some way to go. Diesel stock turn was the highest in February.

‘High prices will continue’
“The high prices will continue to show no signs of abating until the new car production issues are resolved,” explained Andy Shields, INDICATA’s global business unit director.

“We are seeing some mainland European markets looking to import and export used cars to balance their needs but not in big enough volumes to resolve supply issues. The market continues to experience unprecedented issues and looks very unlikely to return back to normal until well into 2023,” he added.



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

As we begin a new year, it seems that many of the challenges faced by the used car market in 2021 will remain with us for some time to come.

As the supply of new vehicle stock seems likely to be slow in returning to the levels that were seen before the pandemic, we will continue to see increased pressure on the dealers and fleets to make up for the shortfall in new stock from OEMs.

Limited quantities of used stock should not be seen as limiting the business potential for dealers in the year ahead, as in many European markets the volume of sales has increased. What it does mean for dealers is that to retain a competitive advantage in a pressurised market, the ability to move quickly to secure the right stock, and a willingness to consider cross-border purchases or sales will be crucial in the coming months.

Fortunately, we have seen that more customers than ever are able to rely on Autorola and its business units as trusted partners to achieve all of the above.

Our INDICATA team are trusted experts, with the ability to provide real-time data and valuable insights for dealer groups to help them make strategic business decisions. We know that users benefit from increased stock turn, a better price to market and less chance of being stuck with over age stock, which is crucial at times like this.

This newsletter is our first of 2022, and will touch on what is happening around the group.

The latest Market Watch report is now live and gives deep insight into the market conditions across Europe, as well as predictions and emerging market trends for the year ahead. For anyone involved in the motor trade, it is essential reading.

We also dive into the fastest and top selling vehicles of 2021, which is also part of the Market Watch. If you want to know what buyers have been looking for across European markets, but do not want to read the fuller report, this will give you a top-line overview of the market.

Lastly, do not miss the introduction to Autorola Group’s latest dealer group offering, the integrated fleet monitoring package, which is explained by Autorola’s Global Director, Ib Kimose.

I hope that it proves an interesting read.

Peter
Best regards
Peter Grøftehauge (LinkedIn)