CARMEL, Ind. -

KAR Auction Services will put between $20 million and $25 million into upgrading its online sales platforms over the next three years as part of a project known as New Wave, which chief executive Jim Hallett called “our next-generation online solution.”

During opening comments of KAR’s earnings conference call on Wednesday, Hallett said KAR plans to launch the New Wave solution later in the year.

“Our online selling platforms represent one of the most valuable and differentiating assets, with nearly 750,000 vehicles sold upstream in 2016,” Hallett said.  “To remain at the very forefront of this segment of the business, we are investing $20-25 million over the next three years to redesign and enhance our market-leading position.

“New Wave leverages the latest advances in online and digital technology to deliver a more simplified user experience and enable seamless use across desktop, mobile and tablet devices,” Hallet. “It will also integrate the advanced analytics, pricing and reporting capabilities generated by KAR’s Data Science Solutions team.”

According to KAR’s annual earnings slides, the ADESA business unit had online-only volume of 743,000 units last year, up from 592,000 units in 2015.

During the Q&A portion of the call, Hallett was asked about the timing of the investment and the degree to which he believes the upgrade will help KAR competitively.

Hallett reiterated the leadership position of KAR's online platform, noting that it generates about $80 million in revenue and is the most profitable of all the company’s offering.

“And I believe that it’s our responsibility to enhance that value proposition, provide more flexibility and more services to our customers. We talk about integration that we can do with our data and analytics, which has become a real major focus of KAR as well as a major focus of our customers. This is what they’re asking for,” Hallett said.

“And I think there’s an opportunity to not only take care of our existing customers and provide a better experience for them, but I also think there’s an opportunity to grow new customers on that platform as we go forward,” he said.