Carmigo said Monday it has launched a nationwide Independent Auction Marketplace Initiative to provide independent auto auctions with a scalable, auction-controlled online sales channel.

And the online auction company has hired Peter Lavallee as executive vice president of marketplace to lead those efforts.

Lavallee, whose background includes time with Cox Automotive, DSC/NextGear Capital, Auto Use and AFC, will oversee the efforts to build a national network that Carmigo says is “designed specifically for independent auctions, not in competition with them.”

In a news release, Carmigo CEO Andrew Warmath said, “Independent auctions have operated at scale for decades. They deserve an online channel that works for them, not around them. This initiative is about giving independents control, scale, and durability in the next phase of digital wholesale.”

The company’s model aims to provide auctions with a way to seamlessly list outside-the-gate and no-sale inventory, keep operational control of transactions, tap into a national buyer base and maintain auction relationships.

Carmigo’s platform is designed to be extension, not a replacement, of auctions using the product.

These moves come amid a time where independents auctions are taking a closer look at digital demand as industry disruption continues, Carmigo said.

“Independent auctions are not looking for another vendor,” Lavallee said in a news release. “They’re looking for a partner with shared interests. They are not a bank, they are not a physical auction.

“Carmigo provides the technology needed to enable independent auctions to sell cars digitally.”

The company is currently piloting the marketplace with a few independent auctions. It plans to conduct a broader national rollout later this year.

On its website, Carmigo notes that it began in 2021 as an avenue for consumers to sell their vehicles to dealers. That model shifted in 2023 when the company started offering an online auction for dealerships in the South.

Specifically, Carmigo debuted the consumer-t0-dealer platform in January 2021, then opened its marketplace to dealer sellers in November 2022.

In June 2023, it shifted its focus fully to dealer wholesale. In September 2024, Carmigo debuted its Second Chance Marketplace.

Headquartered in Tupelo, Miss., it has served the 48 contiguous states, with more than 10,000 cars sold.