Like most great entrepreneurial success stories, the auto auction industry has its roots in a simple but bright idea: If auctions could be successful selling livestock or machines or farm products, why not sell cars to a competitive bidding audience at the urging of an auctioneer and his gavel? That’s just the idea that J.M. […] [Read More]

UPDATED with KAR Global clarification that ADESA will move to simulcast-only through April 3. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, ADESA auction locations in the U.S. and Canada are moving immediately to simulcast-only sales through April 3, parent company KAR Global said in a statement Monday afternoon. Simulcast success fees for buyers and sellers are being waived through […] [Read More]

In light of COVID-19 concerns, Manheim is shifting to Simulcast-only sales at all of its auction locations. The move was effective Monday and runs through April 3. Manheim, which said in a letter from president Grace Huang that there are currently “no known confirmed cases of COVID-19” among its workforce, said its physical auctions and […] [Read More]

KAR Global chief economist Tom Kontos joined the parade of wholesale experts who noticed that February prices moved higher. “The strong start to 2020 continued in February as average wholesale prices were up again month-over-month and year-over-year.  Both car and truck prices were up,” he said in his latest Kontos Kommentary released on Friday. According […] [Read More]

As concern around the COVID-19 coronavirus mount in the auto industry and beyond, the organizers of the Conference of Automotive Remarketing have postponed the 2020 CAR Conference, originally scheduled for later this month in Las Vegas.  “As the organizer of The CAR Conference, we have been in close communication with our key partners including NAAA, […] [Read More]

Black Book has added Susan Moritz to its sales leadership team, in the position of vice president of data licensing. Moritz has held leadership positions at KAR Global and Cox Automotive, among other companies. Moritz began her automotive career almost 30 years ago and has held management positions in various automotive verticals. Those include posts at […] [Read More]

In his new role as vice president of data science and analytics for KAR Global, Chris Simokat will lead all DRIVIN-powered data science functions for the company. He will also oversee data analytics that are fueling KAR’s suite of data as a service (DaaS) platform capabilities delivering actionable intelligence to customers. Simokat’s experience includes more […] [Read More]

Next up on our series of podcasts from NADA Show 2020 last month in Las Vegas, ACV Auctions chief executive officer George Chamoun reflects on his first trip to the annual NADA convention three years ago and the company's growth since then. Plus, Chamoun discusses the tech ACV plans on building this year, how it […] [Read More]

The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index literally is on a record-breaking start to the year. Cox Automotive reported wholesale used-vehicle prices (on a mix-, mileage-, and seasonally adjusted basis) increased 1.35% month-over-month in February. This movement pushed the index up by 6.2% from a year earlier, leaving the index at a new record high of […] [Read More]

AAA reported on Monday that the nationwide average price for a gallon of gas stood at $2.38 with some locations like Texas, Oklahoma and Mississippi approaching the $2 mark. That’s the lowest cost at the pump in more than a year, according to AAA. As a result, Black Book is seeing values for fuel-efficient vehicles […] [Read More]