Responding to what the company says is “increasing demands” for its business in North Carolina, online vehicle auction company Copart has opened a new 20-acre location in Mocksville, N.C.
“I am glad we will be able to serve our buyers and sellers with added convenience and vehicle options, with this new location,” Jay Adair, chief executive officer of Copart, said in a news release.
For the new location, located at 2668 Highway 601, South Mocksville, N.C., eligible buyers can join auctions and bid on inventory through the Copart website. They can also use the Copart Mobile App for iOS and Android devices.
During normal business hours, bidding kiosks are also available at the location.
“We are proud to have this new 20-acre facility to continue providing our buyer(s) and sellers and with an unmatched experience every day,” Copart Mocksville general manager Caleb Thompson said in a news release.
Perhaps winter isn’t quite finished yet in the auction lanes.
This week’s Market Insights report from Black Book contained emphasis on the stabilization of retention heading into late winter as certain vehicle segments triggered noteworthy activity as dealers looked to shore up inventory for potential buyers using tax refunds toward a purchase.
“With no early signs of a spring lift in the market yet, the used-vehicle market continues to depreciate at a steady pace. Expectation of smaller tax refunds this year is likely to dampen the seasonal increase,” said Anil Goyal, executive vice president of operations at for Black Book.
The latest report showed on a volume-weighted basis, overall car segment values decreased by 0.54 percent last week. That’s a little less than the average editors spotted during the previous four weeks at 0.62 percent.
Black Book noticed the full-size car segment experienced the biggest drop, sliding by 0.90 percent or $91.
Again looking at volume-weighted information, editors found that overall truck segment values (including pickups, SUVs and vans) softened by 0.49 percent last week. The average of the previous four-week stretch was 0.55 percent.
Among trucks, Black Book determined sub-compact crossovers sustained the most significant decline, dropping by 1.78 percent or $209.
With depreciation staying on a steady course, Black Book relayed observations from the lanes that strayed away a bit from the norm. Here is the rundown from lane watchers stationed nationwide:
— From Michigan: “Full-size SUVs are still in a downward trend. We are starting to see more 2019s coming through the auction, but the 2018s don’t seem to be affected so far.”
— From Massachusetts: “Trucks are performing the best right now. The money was better today and definitely an improvement from last week.”
— From Washington: “There seemed to be more high mileage and damaged units in the sale today resulting in fewer sales. The sedans and economy vehicles were the most popular today.”
— From Georgia: “We had a normal number of buyers for the highline sale. Some accounts have lowered their floors which made for a decent sale.”
Updating one of the developments from this previous Auto Remarketing report, RumbleOn late on Tuesday afternoon announced the closing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 1,276,500 shares of its Class B Common Stock at a price of $5.55 per share.
The e-commerce company whose mission is to simplify how dealers and customers buy, sell, trade or finance pre-owned vehicles through one online location said the completed offering includes 166,500 shares of Class B Common Stock issued in connection with the underwriters’ exercise in full of their over-allotment option.
All of the Class B Common Stock was offered by the company, according to a news release.
The company highlighted the gross proceeds from the offering, including the exercise of the over-allotment option, were approximately $7.1 million, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering-related expenses.
RumbleOn reiterated that it intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for working capital and general corporate purposes, which may include purchases of additional inventory held for sale, increased spending on marketing and advertising and capital expenditures necessary to grow the business.
National Securities Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of National Holdings Corp., acted as lead book-running manager for the offering. Craig-Hallum Capital Group acted as joint book-running manager for the offering.
And Roth Capital Partners acted as RumbleOn’s financial advisor for the offering.
Black Book’s dealer-focused subscription application, Black Book Cherry, helps dealers identify the most desirable vehicles at auction, and it provides valuation and appraisal functionality.
Black Book announced Monday that Black Book Cherry would replace Black Book Digital as the company’s flagship mobile app and that it would feature new enhancements such as the ability of users to “like” a vehicle, label it as a “cherry,” “dislike” a vehicle, or “share” a vehicle with a colleague or customer.
Black Book Cherry is available via desktop or mobile, and it recommends the types of vehicles industry professionals prefer to buy and allows them to view all vehicles at an auction, VIN Scan, and free-form search.
Black Book’s History Adjusted Valuations are a standard feature in Black Book Cherry, and they provide users access to precise VIN-specific valuations, according to the company. The app also uses an individual subscriber’s previous inventory preferences and behavior to filter run lists according to the dealer’s needs.
Black Book Cherry recently added Retail Market Insights, which offers metrics such as days-to-turn, market days’ supply, and average listing price. Users can view individual listings to help determine profitability and understand what is for sale in their local retail market.
“Loaded with all necessary data to make fast and profitable decisions, Black Book Cherry offers a distinct competitive advantage when attending a physical or online auction or appraising a trade-in on the lot,” Kyle Luck, director of product management at Black Book, said in a news release.
Manheim has seen how consumer brands such as Amazon and Netflix have increased customer engagement by deploying personalized services. Now, Manheim is following that example to enhance its own offerings, like its mobile app and Simulcast service.
In other Manheim news, the company is now integrating with vAuto’s Provision to help dealers value consumer trade-ins and act more quickly to list vehicles in the wholesale marketplace.
For the first piece of news on Manheim’s personalization initiatives, the company says it is working to deliver experiences targeted toward each individual dealer using its digital properties.
Manheim says its moves toward more personalization come as dealers are demanding digital channels that allow dealers to confidently and efficiently buy and sell inventory. They will be able to find the vehicles most relevant to them, gain quick access to their most frequently used digital tools, and find more information about the vehicles they are looking to purchase.
The Manheim.com homepage, search experience, Simulcast, and Seller Dashboard are among the areas that the company says will see enhanced personalization in 2019.
In addition, Manheim says it is creating “a new mobile experience” for dealers. That personalized experience will provide dealers features such as recommended vehicles, relevant filters, improved keyword search and faster access to important information. Sellers will receive various services from the desktop via the mobile app.
A group of dealers will be part of a pilot program for the new Manheim.com in the second quarter. After that, all users will be able to try the new experience throughout the rest of 2019.
“The enhancements to both Manheim.com and the mobile app reflect Manheim’s continued investment in digital channels,” Zach Hallowell, vice president, Manheim Digital Marketplace, said in a news release. “With solutions geared exclusively for our clients, dealers will be able to navigate the digital wholesale marketplace with increased information, helping them make faster and more informed decisions.”
For the second recent piece of Manheim news, the company is describing its integration with vAuto’s Provision as the first integration between two Cox Automotive mobile apps. The integration combines two mobile technologies, vAuto’s Provision app and Manheim Express, and the company says that helps dealers list inventory for wholesale quickly. Not having to transport a vehicle to auction saves time and money, the company adds.
Manheim says the connection helps make wholesaling vehicles easier and more cost-effective. Dealers evaluate approximately 450,000 trade-ins each month with Provision. Of those, 50,000 end up in Manheim’s wholesale marketplace, according to the company.
“The integration helps dealers know how much they can get for a vehicle at wholesale, and begin the wholesale process, whether it’s during a trade-in appraisal or after a vehicle hasn’t sold at retail, with a single tap on a mobile device,” Randy Kobat, senior vice president of vAuto, HomeNet, and Dealertrack DMS for Cox Automotive, said in a news release.
When it is time for vAuto dealers to wholesale a vehicle, the Manheim Express integration gives them what the company is calling a Guaranteed First Bid — or an instant, real-money offer — on that vehicle. Guaranteed First Bid is driven by valuation data from the Manheim Marketplace Report, and it sets a minimum floor price for a dealer’s vehicle.
Dealers using Guaranteed First Bid can reduce their risk and make good decisions during their appraisal and wholesale processes, according to the company.
Manheim will purchase the vehicle at the Guaranteed First Bid price if the vehicle does not sell for the floor price, or higher, within two sale-days of being listed. Dealers can quickly move unwanted vehicles off their balance sheets, according to Manheim.
“Combining Manheim Express’ Guaranteed First Bid with vAuto’s Provision appraisal processes provides dealers greater confidence in the values they are placing on trade-in vehicles,” Derek Hansen, vice president of Offsite Solutions at Manheim, said in a news release. “And with the ability to instantly list a vehicle, this partnership shows the seamless experience Cox Automotive is creating for dealers in the new digital wholesale marketplace.”
These are busy days for Bel Air Auto Auction and GAA Classic Cars Auction.
At Bel Air Auto Auction, which is the flagship auction of the BSC America Auto Auction, phase 2 of its lot expansion is underway, and the auction plans for 12 acres of vehicle parking to be ready in time for its 72nd anniversary celebration in April.
The expansion will bring an additional 1,200 parking spots for consignment parking and storage, BSC America president R. Charles Nichols said in a news release. Weather permitting, the additional parking will be available for vehicles running in Bel Air Auto Auction’s April 17 and April 18 Anniversary Sale event. Bel Air Auto Auction opened its all-new 185-acre facility in 2017.
Bel Air Auto Auction has also planned a two-day event to commemorate its 72nd anniversary. The celebration will on April 17 with a GM Closed and Honor Roll Sale. Customers and staff will later celebrate with food, drinks and music at a presale happy hour in the lanes. At the main event on April 18, the auction says its largest consignment of vehicles for the season will run on 10 auction lanes.
Since the all-new Bel Air Auto Auction facility opened in the fall of 2017, it has experienced continued growth in areas such as new accounts and increases in overall consignment, Nichols said in a news release.
“Adding more consignment parking is a vital step in processing the additional volume with ease and efficiency,” Nichols said.
Classic car auction in Greensboro
Moving over to GAA Classic Cars Auction in Greensboro, N.C., it will bring 650 classic, muscle, unique and collectible vehicles to the auction block from Feb. 28 to March 2, with more than 100 at no reserve, or no minimum bid required to sell. The auction consigns vehicles from all over the country, including pre-war and present-day unique vehicles.
Featured vehicles include a 1966 Ford Fairlane 500, which the auction will show on March 2. GAA notes that the vehicle is built to qualify for NHRA and IHRA Super Stock racing and that marque expert and MCA technical adviser Bob Perkins restored the vehicle. The auction adds that the vehicle is number 36 of 57 R-code Fairlane 500s produced in 1966, and it is one of approximately 20 still in existence. The Fairlane has only 6,102 original miles and includes the original build sheet.
The no-reserve vehicles include a rare collection from Chris Agee, according to GAA. Sixties and 70s Mustangs, Shelby GTs, Boss 302 and Mach 1 are included in the Chris Agee collection. Several Corvettes and a couple Bel Airs will sell at no reserve.
RumbleOn announced a trio of major developments during the past two weeks, including the pricing of its previously announced underwritten public offering, an acquisition and another partnership
The latest development from the e-commerce company whose mission is to simplify how dealers and customers buy, sell, trade or finance pre-owned vehicles through one online location arrived on Thursday. RumbleOn is offering 1,110,000 shares of its Class B Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share, at a price to the public of $5.55 per share.
In connection with the offering, the company has also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 166,500 shares of Class B Common Stock offered in the public offering to cover over-allotments, if any.
National Securities Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of National Holdings Corp., is acting as lead book-running manager for the offering. Craig-Hallum Capital Group. is acting as joint book-running manager for the offering.
RumbleOn explained that it intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for working capital and general corporate purposes, which may include purchases of additional inventory held for sale, increased spending on marketing and advertising and capital expenditures necessary to grow the business.
The offering is expected to close on Monday, subject to customary closing conditions.
AutoSport acquisition
The stock announcement comes on the heels of RumbleOn announcing that it acquired independent pre-owned vehicle distributor AutoSport-USA and that AutoSport president Scott Bennie has joined the RumbleOn management team.
Management indicated the acquisition is a continuation of RumbleOn’s unified growth strategy to acquire and redistribute pre-owned vehicle inventory to consumers and dealers through its online marketplace. The company highlighted AutoSport provides immediate access to new inventory, enhances access to the Florida market and further expands RumbleOn’s team of industry experts.
RumbleOn entered the automobile market through its acquisitions of Wholesale Inc. and Wholesale Express during the fourth quarter of 2018, and the acquisition of AutoSport is a continuation of its expansion plans in the automobile market.
The company believes that RumbleOn’s technology — combined with AutoSport’s established market presence and profitability — will drive margin expansion and growth through inventory acquired directly from consumers and retail sales.
In 2018, AutoSport delivered approximately $60 million in revenue, and RumbleOn expects the acquisition to be accretive to its full year 2019 earnings.
“We are committed to growing our business while maintaining the core competencies of RumbleOn — efficient vehicle acquisition and completely agnostic distribution,” said Marshall Chesrown, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of RumbleOn. “Both (chief financial officer Steve Berrard) and I have known Scott Bennie for a long time and greatly respect his deep understanding and previous success in the sector. RumbleOn and AutoSport have strong synergies across our business models and solutions, and we believe this acquisition scales our business by unlocking new inventory distribution relationships and improving our penetration of the Florida market.
“We will integrate RumbleOn’s technology across AutoSport’s operations, allowing us to acquire a wider range of inventory through our cash offer tool and redistribute that inventory to consumers and dealers through our 100-percent online platform,” Chesrown continued.
“We are executing on our plan to penetrate the automobile market and believe the AutoSport acquisition demonstrates our confidence in our growth strategy and commitment to delivering shareholder value,” Chesrown added
As previously mentioned and part of the acquisition, Bennie will join RumbleOn’s management team. He joins the company with more than 30 years of experience in the automotive industry.
The company highlighted Bennie established a valuable long-term partnership with Manheim in Orlando and West Palm Beach, Fla., which he will bring to RumbleOn.
“I am excited to join RumbleOn as we revolutionize the pre-owned vehicle market together,” Bennie said. “By combining RumbleOn and its technology with AutoSport’s pre-owned vehicle distribution business, we will be able to efficiently scale by effectively tapping into industry-leading logistical support, process improvements, and new ways to sell to customers.
We look forward to realizing our many valuable synergies as we overlay the RumbleOn technology and integrate the businesses,” he went on to say.
With the addition of Orlando and West Palm Beach, RumbleOn now has regional partnerships in 16 markets across the country:
—Cincinnati
—Dallas
—Daytona Beach, Fla.
—Greensboro, N.C.
—Indianapolis
—Kansas City, Kan.
—Madison, Wisc.
—Manheim, Pa.
—Nashville, Tenn.
—Orlando, Fla.
—San Diego
—San Francisco
—Spokane, Wash.
—Statesville, N.C.
—West Palm Beach, Fla.
—Windsor, Conn.
Additional details about partnership in Greensboro
RumbleOn brought on the distribution, reconditioning and inspection partnership with Greensboro Auto Auction (GAA), an independent, dealer-exclusive auto auction.
“With its strategic location in the Southeast, a strong partnership with GAA brings an immediate benefit to our customers and demonstrates the viability of our capital-light network model,” Chesrown said.
“As we continue to expand our network throughout the country this year, we believe these mutually beneficial partnerships will enable us to reduce our average days to sale and improve the cost efficiency of logistics, while maintaining an unparalleled customer experience,” Chesrown continued.
Based in Greensboro, N.C., GAA is comprised of three facilities on more than 260 acres, all locally owned and operated by more than 850 employees. Every week, GAA offers more than 3,000 vehicles across 16 auction lanes.
“We are excited to announce our long-term partnership with RumbleOn,” GAA general manager Jerry Barker said.
“We’re always looking to work with innovative, disruptive companies like RumbleOn to increase our sales volume and customer offerings, which ultimately benefits the dealers that have come to rely on our services,” Barker went on to say.
The wholesale price movement both Manheim and Black Book spotted to round out 2018 continued into their analysis of January data.
Beginning with Manheim, the company determined wholesale used-vehicle prices (on a mix-, mileage- and seasonally adjusted basis) decreased 1.62 percent month-over-month in January, representing a softening for the third month in a row. This move brought the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index to 135.4, a 3.3-percent increase from a year ago.
“Looking at trends in weekly Manheim Market Report (MMR) prices, January saw a continued price depreciation trend similar to what we saw at the end of last year,” analysts said in a commentary that accompanied the latest information.
They continued by saying, “3-year-old vehicle values in aggregate depreciated at a faster pace than normal, especially for the beginning of the year. Mix shifts can be more pronounced in the first few weeks of the year, which makes it more difficult to determine a clear directional trend.”
On a year-over-year basis, most major market segments saw seasonally adjusted price gains in January. The only segment that didn’t follow that path was luxury cars, which saw their prices tick 0.3 percent lower.
The other five segments analysts track experience price rises in January, including:
— Compact cars: Up 3.6 percent
— Midsize cars: Up 5.4 percent
— Pickups: Up 2.4 percent
— SUV/CUV: Up 2.5 percent
— Vans: Up 1.4 percent
“As was the case throughout 2018, more affordable vehicles continued to see the greatest increase in values in January,” Manheim analysts said. “Compact cars and midsize cars outperformed the overall market, while utility vehicles and pickups underperformed the overall market.”
Manheim closed its latest update by mentioning price strengthening in the rental risk space.
Analysts noted the average price for rental risk units sold at auction in January was up 3.5 percent year-over-year. Rental risk prices were up 0.2 percent compared to December.
Manheim went on to mention average mileage for rental risk units in January (at 47,000 miles) was up 5 percent compared to a year ago and down 3 percent month-over-month.
Analysis from Black Book
Turning next to Black Book’s analysis, editors released their Used Vehicle Retention Index for January, indicating the reading came in at 115.4. That figure represented a dip of 0.7 percent from December’s listing of 116.3.
Black Book pointed out the index has now declined two months in a row.
Editors found that the index decline was nearly across the board for almost all segments with only compact and mid-size cars showing modest gains, up just 0.11 percent and 0.03 percent, respectively.
Black Book acknowledged there were a number of segments with declines of more than 1.0 percent, including minivans, small pickups, mid-size and full-size luxury CUV/SUVs, sporty cars, sub-compact cars, near luxury cars and compact crossover SUV.
“After a strong performance in 2018, the Index has now declined for two straight months. We believe this could be a pre-cursor to a 2019 market that may show slightly larger depreciation overall compared with that in 2018,” said Anil Goyal, Black Book’s executive vice president of operations.
“It is interesting to note that used sedans are still in demand highlighting the affordability concerns of vehicle ownership,” Goyal continued.
The Black Book Used Vehicle Retention Index is calculated using Black Book’s published wholesale average value on 2- to 6-year-old used vehicles as percent of original typically-equipped MSRP. It is weighted based on registration volume and adjusted for seasonality, vehicle age, mileage and condition.
The index dates to January 2005, where Black Book published a benchmark index value of 100.0 for the market. During 2008, the index dropped by 14.1 percent while during 2016, the index fell by just 6.4 percent.
During 2011, the index rose strongly from 113.3 to 123.0 by the end of the year as the economy picked up steam and used vehicle values rose higher. It continued to remain relatively stable, rising slightly until May of 2014 when it hit a peak of 128.1.
To obtain a copy of the latest Black Book Wholesale Value Index, go to this website.
Noting that the expansion increases its operational capabilities and readiness for greater volume, online vehicle auction company, Copart, has opened a new location in Antelope, Calif.
The company operates at more than 200 locations in 11 countries, with more than 125,000 vehicles available online.
“We are committed to adding vehicle storage capacity in California,” Copart chief executive officer Jay Adair said in a news release. “Each new location in the state is an incredible value-add for our sellers, and I’m proud of the team behind this land acquisition.”
The new 41-acre facility, at 8650 Antelope North Road, conducts online vehicle auctions every Thursday at noon Pacific time.
To bid on current inventory, eligible buyers will be able to use computers, smartphones and tablets, or bid via onsite kiosks.
Portions of the U.S. are recovering from some of the coldest temperatures in decades and folklore groundhogs are providing mixed forecasts. However, Black Book editors already are seeing depreciation signals of spring being straight ahead.
Reinforced by the assessment of an auction general manager from the Southeast, editors noted in this week’s Market Insights report that early signs of spring arrived with a pair of truck segments showing no depreciation.
“We are starting to see a normalization in depreciation after higher drops at the start of the year. Both car and light truck segments are showing stability in values,” Black Book executive vice president of operations Anil Goyal said in the newest report.
Volume-weighted, Black Book reported overall car segment values decreased by 0.56 percent last week. In comparison, editors mentioned car values decreased by 0.65 percent on average during the prior four-week period.
“In car segments, the depreciation across segments was quite steady,” editors added.
Again volume-weighted, Black Book determined overall truck segment values — including pickups, SUVs and vans — softened by 0.42 percent last week. That’s below the average editors noticed during the previous four weeks when the decline came in at 0.58 percent.
Looking closer at the truck segment, editors noted the compact crossover/SUV segment depreciated the most, sliding by 0.68 percent or $78.
Turning next to the observations from Black Book’s representatives stationed at nearly 60 sales nationwide, here is what an auction GM in Tennessee told the lane watcher.
“Our sales percentages have been in the low 60s which is good. The market hasn’t hit full stride yet, but I expect it to take off in the next couple of weeks,” the auction GM said.
The other tales from the lanes offered an array of what’s happening in the lanes, including:
— From Massachusetts: “For the second week in a row the money was subpar. One of the few bright spots was the midsize SUVs.”
— From New Jersey: “For the most part luxury cars and SUVs were selling for lower, even the units with low miles and strong CRs.”
— From Indiana: “The sale was much better than the weather, with compact cars and CUVs leading the way.”
— From Florida: “The market is steady here, with dealers looking for vehicles that have both good miles and good history.”
Update on the specialty markets
As they do at the beginning of each month, Black Book editors also relayed their latest observations of what’s happening within the specialty markets. Here is that rudown:
— Collectibles: Black Book indicated the final sales numbers from the collectible car auctions held in Arizona are in, and they’re “impressive.” Editors computed the total for roughly 10 days of sales was a little more than $250 million.
— Recreational Vehicles: “We are solidly into winter now, and brutally cold weather has gripped large parts of the country,” editors said. “Although the volume of vehicles offered at auction has dropped, as we’d expect for this time of year, the values of those that were sold actually increased a little bit for both towables and motorized units.”
— Powersports: Black Book indicated powersports values are still “frozen” in negative territory this month. “The changes in value we see for February are very similar to the changes from January,” editors added.
— Heavy Duty: Editors noted used trucks of all ages dropped more across all segments than last month but are “still doing very well.”
— Medium Duty: Black Book mentioned increased demand has helped offset price depreciation as a steady supply of used inventory continues through January.
