digital remarketing Archives | Auto Remarketing

With combination of marketplaces, TradeRev’s US users moving to BacklotCars

The TradeRev and BacklotCars online dealer-to-dealer platforms are being combined into one marketplace, parent company KAR Global said Wednesday.

U.S. dealers are moving from TradeRev to BacklotCars. Meantime, the company’s Canadian dealer customers will continue to use the TradeRev platform exclusively, KAR said.

That migration began on Feb. 1 with the hope of it being completed by the end of March, company leadership said in an earnings call.

 “We’re excited to give U.S. dealers the best of both worlds by combining these platforms into a single, consolidated marketplace,” KAR president Peter Kelly said in a news release Tuesday afternoon. “Since the acquisition of BacklotCars, we’ve surveyed our dealers and performed extensive analysis to develop the very best solution for our dealers.

“BacklotCars delivers sellers higher conversion and consistently higher proceeds than a wholesaler, physical auction or other dealer-to-dealer platform,” Kelly said. “And for buyers, BacklotCars offers fees as low as $100, a fully transparent bidding environment, condition reports based on independent mechanical inspections and a 5-day guarantee on major items.”

There is now inventory from thousands of dealers on the newly combined marketplace, KAR said. And 80% of that inventory is bought by dealers beyond the market of the respective seller.

Sales and operations teams have also been combined to aid in onboarding and activating customers.

KAR plans to integrate select features/functions from TradeRev into BacklotCars in the next few months, including the option for dealers to use ADESA physical auctions for tasks such as reconditioning, storage, logistics and sales.

“BacklotCars is all about making wholesale easy so our dealers can be more successful,” BacklotCars co-founder and president Justin Davis said. “We’ll inspect and launch your cars from your lot whenever it works for you — no fees, no risk and no hassles, guaranteed.

“And for buyers, say goodbye to logging in and out of an app all day to keep up with multiple timed auctions. BacklotCars’ bid-ask marketplace lets you browse and buy on your schedule and still closes most deals in under one day,” he said.

KAR announced in September it had reached a deal to purchase BacklotCars for $425 million. That deal closed in November.

Though the BacklotCars platform is “similar to TradeRev,” that the actual format of its auctions is “slightly different” in that it uses a bid-ask marketplace that’s open 24-7, KAR chief executive Jim Hallett explained during a September conference call.

TradeRev uses timed auctions.

Auto Remarketing will have more on this combination in subsequent reporting.

VW Credit turns to Manheim’s upstream platform for direct sales to dealers

Through the use of Manheim’s advanced upstream remarketing platform, VW Credit has officially launched the new VolkswagenDirect and AudiDirect sites.

Manheim said that with the integration of the sites into the Manheim Marketplace, VW Credit gains a seamless method of offering unsold pre-owned vehicles to Manheim’s base of franchise and independent buyers.

Franchise dealers using the sites gain access to fresh off-lease inventory. VCI can use a flexible solution for its vehicle portfolio management.

The VolkswagenDirect and AudiDirect sites launched near the end of last year, and Manheim said thousands of vehicles have already been grounded and sold In the two months since the sites have been live.

Manheim and VW Credit designed and delivered a configurable solution allowing VW Credit to adapt to what Manheim described as rapidly evolving technologies and buyer requirements in remarketing off-lease inventory to franchise and non-franchise dealers.

With Manheim’s upstream remarketing platform, VCI gains an end-to-end solution for grounding and pricing vehicles, conducting online sales, monitoring stop sales, and optimizing vehicle portfolio management.

That results in a remarketing management system with advanced reporting capabilities and analytics, Manheim said.

With co-listing capability, VCI vehicles can be offered on OVE, Manheim.com, and the VCI Direct sites simultaneously. That brings a strong expansion of the demand base without the need to physically move the vehicles.

Tight integrations with Manheim Market Report, Cox Automotive sister companies, industry partners, and VCI’s own key systems bring data and analytics that can improve the dealer experience and boost remarketing returns.

“We’re proud to be VCI’s partner of choice for its new upstream remarketing platform, providing full support throughout the vehicle lifecycle,” Zach Hallowell, senior vice president, Manheim Digital Solutions, said in a news release.

Hallowell also said, “We built this platform with our clients in mind — modern, flexible, and deeply integrated into the broader Manheim and Cox Automotive ecosystem to bring the most value to our clients, their dealers, and the rest of the Manheim Marketplace.”

“As we looked to the future of our upstream portfolio management, we knew we needed a partner who could provide a flexible, customizable platform, deep integrations with other technologies, and the ability to get our vehicles in front of the most buyers,” said Robert Hodge, vice president, remarketing — North American Region, for VW Credit. “Manheim provides that and more.”