|
Manheim is now the exclusive remarketing partner of Maserati North America, the auction company said in a statement Thursday.
Manheim will work with the car company to centralize its wholesale processes, a move that will include revamping its fleet management program and selling Maserati’s off-lease, buyback and company owned units.
As part of the deal, all of Maserati’s buyback vehicles will go through Manheim Riverside, Manheim Palm Beach and Manheim New Jersey, each of will has a Maserati service center set up. That includes an onsite Maserati master technician at each site to oversee diagnostic and repair work and train the auction’s service techs.
Meanwhile, Maserati’s company car program will be administered through Manheim New Jersey, which will run new vehicle exchanges for Maserati employees and getting returned vehicles prepped for auction.
The automaker and its financial arm will send off-lease cars not bought by lessees or grounding dealers to Manheim. As part of the deal, Maserati stores can use Ready Logistics to transport those vehicles to one of these Manheim locations: Manheim San Francisco, Manheim Riverside, Manheim Dallas-Fort Worth, Manheim Atlanta, Manheim New Jersey and Manheim Palm Beach.
|
“When a client like Maserati shares its vision and business goals with us, we can explore a variety of new and innovative solutions that drive more informed decision-making and greater efficiencies,” Kevin Chartier, vice president of enterprise sales for Cox Automotive, said in a news release. “This partnership is the direct result of how deep collaboration between our companies can deliver win-win results.”
Maserati has a small but growing certified pre-owned business in the U.S. Through 11 months, its dealers have sold 509 CPO units this year, which is up 12.9 percent over year-ago figures, according to Autoadata Corp.
OVE and DealShield are offering an online-only promotion through March 31 that gives dealer clients who participate exclusive access to inventory not seen at auction.
“This promotion is ideal for first-time and repeat users of our digital services,” said Derek Hansen, vice president Digital and Inventory Services at Manheim. “Everyone reaps the rewards that come from access to fresh stock, confidence in vehicles backed by condition reports and DealShield’s purchase protection, as well as the ability to stay at their dealership and focus on customers.”
The online program incentivizes dealers to both buy and sell vehicles.
Buyers receive a free DealShield 21 Day Purchase Advantage Guarantee and condition report information.
Along with increased buyer assurance, sellers get a discounted condition report for $35 and reduced transportation expense.
“We are dedicated to helping dealers fill their lots with the right inventory at the right time,” said. “Clients can meet consumer demand for remaining 2016 deals by taking advantage of this promotion and quickly grabbing desirable inventory on OVE.”
Clients can visit http://go.ove.com/ovedealshield to learn more about the program or sign up.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced a proposed rule Tuesday that would require automakers include vehicle-to-vehicle communication on new vehicles.
The DOT said in a news release that this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, in short, is designed to foster V2V communication that would help prevent crashes by allowing cars to “talk” to each other.
Full implementation of this rule — which, again, is just a proposal at this point — would be years away and would only include new vehicles, not existing vehicles.
But during a DOT conference call with the media on Tuesday, Mark Rosekind of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said there’s some potential benefit for the aftermarket.
“The requirement focuses on new vehicles, but we believe there will be a pretty strong aftermarket interest in doing this, even without the requirement, just because of the safety benefits,” said Rosekind, NHTSA’s Administrator.
In a story included in its enewsletter and shared with Auto Remarketing, the Specialty Equipment Market Association — more commonly known as SEMA — explained the Dedicated Short-Range Communications system that would allow vehicles to communicate back-and-forth.
And not just new cars.
“V2V devices would speak the same language through standardized messaging developed with industry. This would also allow aftermarket companies to market products to retrofit older cars,” SEMA said in the enewsletter.
In other words — as explained in a voicemail from Stuart Gosswein, SEMA's senior director of federal government affairs — there is no requirement for older cars to use this technology, but there certainly would be the opportunity.
Dealer benefits?
Of course, it may be a while before those opportunities are realized by car dealers.
Reached Tuesday afternoon by Auto Remarketing, Cars.com editor-in-chief Patrick Olsen said that in the long term, this could be a benefit to dealers selling this technology as an aftermarket benefit to consumers.
However, don’t expect much of short-term lift. The value of V2V technology will have to be proven to consumers before they jump in. Typically, Olsen said, consumers haven’t rushed to such technology unless it has been mandated by government.
In other words, it’s a wait-and-see situation as to how this might provide additional revenue for dealers.
JMN Transportation’s Florida location in Orlando created a new position for a local transportation manager and on Tuesday announced the appointment of Evelyn Rodriquez to the post.
The company said the expansion of business and along with a recent contract renewal led to the decision to establish the new role.
“Evelyn comes to us with great experience in the industry,” JMN chief operating officer Cindy Darnell said. “She will make for a great addition to our team and we look forward to all that she will do to help our organization as a whole.”
Rodriguez will oversee all dispatching in Orlando and communicate with all auctions and customers to manage delivery times.
“Most places I have worked have been start-up companies and I’m looking forward to working with a company with such an established and positive reputation,” said Rodriguez. “I’ve been in the transportation industry for over 20 years, mostly in car rental, so this will be a nice change of pace for me.”
Previously, Rodriguez served as a customer service manager at Action Rental Car and an airport station manager at L&M Car Rental.
On Friday, Copart announced plans to expand its location in Tifton, Ga.
"Our Copart Tifton expansion is a great compliment to the six other locations we have in Georgia," said Jay Adair, chief executive officer of Copart. "We recently announced six other expansions and two new locations along the East Coast.”
The online vehicle auction company's newest Georgia location is in Cartersville.
Currently, the Tifton location hosts online auctions every Tuesday morning at 10 a.m.
Effective Dec. 1, Columbus Fair Auto Auction announced that Greg Levi has been promoted to president and chief operating officer.
Levi had served as general manager for three-and-a-half years and has been COO since August of last year. Now, he has the role of president of CFAA, too.
“Our auction has gone through a transformation this last year and Greg has led that initiative,” CFAA founder Alexis Jacobs said. “As an independent auto auction, we need to continue to differentiate ourselves in the market, Greg has done that through employee empowerment, performance management and business process optimization.”
Previously Levi was executive vice president of Finance Express and held dealer leadership posts before arriving at CFAA.
“We endeavor to be different. Different in our marketing approach, our personnel development and our client engagement. Alexis has allowed us to challenge the conventions of old and use technology to enhance our market position and presentation,” Levi said.
“This group is family, and I am blessed to be a part of the family,” he went on to say.
Copart, the global online vehicle remarketer, announced the expansion of its Newburgh, N. Y. location on Thursday.
"Our recent expansions and openings of new locations across the country are a reflection of our vision to provide an unmatched experience, every day and everywhere that is driven by our people, process and technology," said Jay Adair, CEO of Copart.
Along with Newburgh, the company has other N.Y. locations in Albany, Long Island, Rochester and Syracuse.
Copart currently operates in the United States, Canada, and nine other countries.
The online vehicle auction company’s members can bid in multiple online auctions globally. Its patented VB3 technology connects sellers to more than 750,000 members through its international multi-channel online platform.
Boosting its presence in Texas, the XLerate Group on Thursday announced it has added a new member to its auction family with the acquisition of Lone Star Auto Auction (LSAA).
Company leadership highlighted the Lubbock-based auction complements XLerate’s existing Texas locations in Dallas and El Paso as well as the two sites in Austin. XLerate Group also maintains sales in California, Florida, South Carolina, Michigan and Wisconsin.
“LSAA represents yet another step in XLerate’s plan to grow our business, footprint and service offerings by acquiring high quality independent sales with strong management,” XLerate chief executive officer Cam Hitchcock said.
“Formerly owned by Jim McNulty, LSAA is the dominant auction in west Texas and offers both dealer and commercial consignors another turnkey XLerate option in the critical Texas market.” Hitchcock continued, “This acquisition bolsters our capabilities to service fleet/lease and financial institution customers.
“We are honored that Dale Martin and his LSAA team will join XLerate’s operating management team and that Jim McNulty has entrusted XLerate Group with his highly respected sale and team,” Hitchcock went on to say.
LSAA commenced operations in 1985. The auction has dealer consignment, fleet/lease and financial institution sales each Wednesday at its Lubbock, Texas, facility.
LSAA operates a seven-lane arena, reconditioning facility, and mechanical shop situated on approximately 111 acres.
“Joining the XLerate Group is exciting for me, and for the LSAA auction family,” said Martin, who is LSAA’s general manager. “A geographically diverse group of sales like XLerate will provide a wide-range of growth opportunities for both our employees and our business.”
Cox Automotive presented its Community Impact Award to Karlea Marin of J.P. Morgan Chase during the National Remarketing Conference/National Auto Auction Association Convention at the Red Rock Casino and Resort in Las Vegas.
Presented by Manheim senior vice president of inventory services Grace Huang, this award recognizes a remarketing industry leader for his/her outstanding contributions to the community and the innovative ways he/she collaborates with community partners to help further their missions.
“Karlea’s year-round dedication to helping others exemplifies the spirit of the Cox Automotive Community Impact Award,” Huang said. “We congratulate Karlea for embodying the principles of community service and volunteerism that are so important to the Cox Automotive team.”
Marin, a remarketing industry veteran, has spent more than 25 years as an auction specialist and a remarketing manager. In her role, she coordinates and manages all aspects of vehicle remarketing, including reconditioning, inspecting and pricing of certain makes of vehicles.
Manheim highlighted Marin has a passion for volunteerism, dedicating her time to organizations like Greater Central Florida Area’s Basket Brigade, where she helps provides tailor-made Thanksgiving baskets to needy families; and Arnold Palmer’s Hospital for Children, where she provides ease of stay items to children who are receiving chemotherapy treatment.
Through the J.P. Morgan Chase “Chase Gives Back” initiative, Marin gives basic household necessities to families and children who are served by Family Counseling and Shelter Services of Monroe in Michigan, a non-profit organization that provides programs and services to survivors of domestic violence. She also provides holiday gifts to those who may not otherwise receive a gift through the Head Start Tammany Parish in Louisiana.
She also supports the American Cancer Society, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Salvation Army of Orlando, and serves as Committee Lead on the Festival Finance Board at Good Shepherd Catholic Church.
“This recognition is a tremendous honor and a testament to Cox Automotive’s commitment to community involvement,” Marin said.
For her leadership and commitment to making a difference through community service, Marin will receive $10,000 to donate to the charities of her choice. She has chosen to split the donation among the Histio Cure Foundation; Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children; and Family Counseling and Shelter Services of Monroe County.
Alliance Inspection Management (AiM) made a pair of personnel announcements on Tuesday.
First, the third-party inspection company said that 20-year industry veteran Michael Connolly has joined the AiM team as vice president of auction operations. Concurrently, AiM has promoted Jeff Gaetz to the newly created position of vice president of business development, with an initial focus on auction and related business.
The company highlighted Connolly will oversee and manage all of AiM’s vehicle inspection operations at auctions sites around the U.S. Connolly’s responsibilities include managing AiM’s nationwide network of auction inspections and operations, as well as supporting customer relationships throughout the U.S. and Canada.
In this role, Connolly will work to grow the business at fixed locations and work with the major consignors, auction companies and independent auctions to provide inspection services and technology solutions to meet the needs of buyers and sellers. He will report to AiM senior vice president of operations Tom Gardner.
“Michael is well respected for his business acumen and integrity,” Gardner said. “He’s a terrific addition to AiM’s team, and brings tremendous experience in directing business operations and a great track record with national accounts for major corporations.”
In his new role, Gaetz will be responsible for designing and implementing new business models and tactics, evaluating current plans and identifying specific areas in need of improvement. Gaetz will report directly to AiM senior vice president of sales and marketing Eric Widmer.
“Over the course of the last year, Jeff has become a pivotal team member in expanding our auctions business throughout the U.S. and Canada,” Widmer said. “His understanding of the industry landscape is clearly an asset to our growing business, and we want to utilize his strengths on a broader scale.”
For more information about AiM, visit aiminspections.com.
