On Monday, KAR Global announced the launch of a revamped website for its ADESA Canada marketplace.
The company said the redesigned ADESA.ca aims to provide “greater clarity of products and services for both buyers and sellers — allowing current and prospective customers to easily navigate and find the tools they need.”
In a news release, ADESA Canada chief operating officer Trevor Henderson said: “We have led the move to online wholesale marketplaces in Canada for two decades, and this shows our continued focus on empowering customers to drive the results they need.
“These enhancements make it easier than ever for dealers to access and explore inventory, and understand the wraparound services and offerings we provide that can help further drive sales and improved outcomes for their business,” Henderson said.
On the revamped site, which is now live for ADESA Canada customers, new features include consignor locations, buyer/seller demos and an updated purchases page. The latter allows buyers to manage their purchases on the ADESA Canada and TradeRev platform from one place.
“We spend a lot of time with our customers to better understand their needs, and our teams are continuously working to refine and simplify the customer experience—from providing additional insights to simplifying transactions on the site,” said James Coyle, chief digital officer at KAR Global, in a news release. “All of these developments further drive success for our customers and their businesses.”
IAA, Inc. said Thursday that its Impact Auto Auction business unit in Canada has rebranded to the IAA global brand.
In a news release, IAA said this move “underscores IAA’s commitment to investment, innovation and customer excellence in the Canadian market” and “highlights the recent series of technology launches in the Canadian market.”
Impact, which joined IAA in 2007, has 14 facilities in Canada. Those locations “will continue to provide the same high level of service for Canadian customers under the IAA brand, without change to the operations or organizational structure,” the company said.
“Aligning the Canadian business under IAA’s global brand will reinforce our customers’ access to the industry’s best products and services, innovative technology and expansive global buyer base,” said Terry Daniels, who is senior vice president of international operations for IAA.
“For nearly 15 years, the Canadian business model has successfully leveraged the resources of IAA to support our local infrastructure, leadership and service delivery,” Daniels said.
IAA chief executive officer and president John Kett said: “The IAA brand reflects the strong global marketplace that we’ve built to quickly and efficiently connect buyers and sellers of vehicles.
“We will continue to combine the Canadian team’s long tradition of exceptional customer service with IAA’s industry-leading innovation to build on our market-leading position in Canada.”
Wholesale vehicle prices in Canada have now fallen for five straight weeks, but take that trend with a grain of salt.
According to Canadian Black Book’s latest weekly COVID-19 Market Update, the declines are lower than seasonally expected and pale in comparison to November 2019, thanks to basic supply and demand (more on that later).
Specifically, there was a 0.16% price dip, on average, for car segments last week, while truck prices were down an average of 0.21%.
Car prices have fallen an average of 0.14% per week over the last month, according to CBB, with truck prices dropping 0.11%.
Last November, car values were falling an average of 0.39% each week and trucks were softening 0.29%.
“The fundamental rules of supply and demand are to be blamed here,” CBB said in the report. “With shorter supply, prices are not undergoing the seasonal decline we would normally see at this time of year and therefore showing smaller levels of depreciation.”
So, let’s look at some supply dynamics.
As CBB explains, November typically begins the “quieter times” in wholesale that lasts through early March, and this year appears to be no different. Auction volumes have dropped roughly 20% over the past few weeks, CBB estimates, amid low supply overall.
To illustrate this point, CBB shares the example of off-lease supply, which perhaps isn’t having the market impact it was once expected to this year.
“As a reminder, the industry was expecting to see a record number of leases returning to the market. We are now three years after the best sales year on record; hence those 36-month leases are finished,” CBB explained.
“Given the tight supply in general, a large portion of lease returns are being purchased by retailers processing the lease returns and not moving to wholesale,” it added. “Of the lease return vehicles not purchased by the grounding dealers, many are processed through the private upstream channels of the leasing company.”
CBB anticipates short wholesale supply will continue throughout the month.
But the shortage — driven by lack of trade-ins, stemming from slower retail sales in earlier months — shouldn’t be long-lasting. In fact, CBB called for a “slow build-up” in wholesale sales during fall and winter months.
“CBB believes this shortage to be temporary, with more supply expected in the coming months, especially as repossessions will begin to happen in greater numbers as personal bankruptcy filings increase and lenders begin to focus more resources on collecting past due accounts,” it noted.
CBB also projects more than 400,000 lease terminations next year, which is on par with 2020.
“These units coming to market in 2021 will help provide much-needed supply relief,” CBB said.
Turning back to the pricing side, the company said in a separate analysis that the Canadian Black Book Used Vehicle Retention Index has broken records for two straight months. And that, again, ties back into supply.
It was at 110.5 in October after reaching 109 in September.
“The record high levels are primarily due to shortages in supply of used vehicles in the marketplace,” CBB said. “Many months of lower new car sales have reduced the volume of vehicles entering the market as trade-ins.
“High demand for used vehicle for export to the U.S. market has also siphoned off considerable volume of supply from Canada.”
The index record also touched on the impact of lease returns, which despite being at record highs, have been gobbled up by grounding dealers to take care of inventory needs amid low supply. But expect some opening in supply next year.
“It is expected that the level of supply in the market will grow in 2021 as repossessions slowly rise and consumer demand stumbles,” CBB said.
With the company’s founder and chief information officer Ryan O'Connor saying its growth is “rooted in our team’s commitment to developing the best-in-class product for our dealers,” EBlock said it placed as the highest ranked automotive company on the 2020 Report on Business ranking of Canada’s Top Growing Companies.
EBlock also placed No. 30 overall on the list, which comes from media company, The Globe and Mail.
O’Connor said that at the time of EBlock’s founding in 2015, company leaders knew that the future of auto auctions would be digital.
“However, we underestimated how fast this would happen,” O’Connor said in a news release.
O’Connor continued, “We are very fortunate that our technology back then fully aligned with the automotive industry of today. We are humbled by the overwhelming dealer support that has continued to grow since our very first auction. Thank you to all of our partners and team members for helping us achieve this success.”
CanadaWheels.ca, an online marketplace for automotive wheels, tires and parts; and finance company Canada Drives were among additional auto-related companies on the list.
The full list of 2020 winners is available.
The Canada's Top Growing Companies ranking launched in 2019 and celebrates Canadian entrepreneurial achievement by “identifying and amplifying” the success of Canadian independent businesses. A total of 400 companies earned a spot on this year’s list.
The stories of the companies on the list are especially relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Report on Business magazine editor James Cowan.
“As businesses work to rebuild the economy, their resilience and innovation make for essential reading,” Cowan said.
Manheim Edmonton announced on Nov. 26 that it will expand its existing weekly dealer and commercial auction to public auctions and continue the Osman Auction legacy under the Manheim Edmonton name.
The move took place beginning with the public auction that took place on Nov. 23. Manheim said Osman is now part of the Cox Automotive family.
But Osman customers will get the same local experience along with Manheim's 70-plus years in business.
Manheim said Osman customers will also benefit from a strong selection of vehicles and access to a range of mechanical, financing, fleet and retail-ready services.
Those services include 24/7 digital listings through its recently launched MUVIT digital auction marketplace.
Manheim Edmonton said operations at both locations will remain “business-as-usual” and that several Osman employees are joining the Manheim team to maintain a consistent user experience.
Osman Auction chief executive officer and president Sam Osman said the business has been in the Osman family for 37 years and that he was happy that the Osman Auction “will remain in good hands.”
“We want to thank all our customers for the many years of support and I look forward to Manheim continuing the legacy,” Osman said in a news release.
Cox Automotive Canada vice president, inventory & financial solutions Jerome Dwight said Cox Automotive is a family organization itself and looks forward to “building upon the 37 years of proud traditions and community values that the Osman family has provided to Alberta residents, while adding many of the benefits that our size, advanced technology and experience can deliver.”
Dwight continued, “With the most robust suite of services in the market, Cox Automotive is constantly evolving to deliver solutions that fit the very specific needs of our Canadian customers.”
A 24-acre expansion to Copart’s Montreal site in Quebec will allow the location to grow its vehicle inventory and offer more choices to members, said Copart Canada managing director Steve Macaluso.
“We are excited to grow our capacity in Canada by expanding our Montreal location,” Macaluso said in a news release.
Copart Montreal general manager Yves Poulin added, “With this expansion, we can more efficiently serve our customers and support their growth.”
Copart’s Montreal auctions take place every Tuesday at 9 a.m. CT. Copart Montreal is one of seven Copart locations in Canada. The others include Calgary, Edmonton, Moncton, Halifax, London and Toronto.
In 2003, Copart first entered the Canadian market with the opening of its Toronto location.
During NADA Show 2019, Nick shared a conversation with ADESA Canada chief operating officer Trevor Henderson about how the wholesale market behaved in 2018.
Along with assessing the volume migrating from Canada into the United States, Henderson also described how both dealerships and commercial consignors are making the most of their auction opportunities.
The full discussion can be found below.
The episode is a glimpse into the in-depth discussions set for the Auto Remarketing Canada Conference next month in Toronto.
The conference runs from March 19-20 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.
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KAR Auction Services is responding to another request from its Canadian dealer customers who scour the salvage space.
On Thursday, Impact Auto Auctions and Automotive Finance Corp. (AFC) announced the launch of real-time, convenient, seamless financing and buying options for Impact Auto Auctions customers.
Impact Auto Auctions buyers can now view their available AFC credit in real time and floorplan their purchases upon checkout — allowing customers to buy and transport the same day, saving time and potential storage costs.
"Our Canadian customers have asked for more convenience, and we have answered their request with a fully integrated and streamlined purchasing process,” said Blair Earle, managing director for Impact Auto Auctions."
Providing customers with instant access to floorplan financing and giving them immediate snapshots of their available credit helps our customers make quicker buying decisions — generating additional buying opportunity and helping them successfully operate and grow their business.”
Impact Auto Auctions is a leading Canadian salvage auto auction with a large facility footprint, serving the automotive total-loss industry with more than 14 corporate-owned facilities across Canada. Impact Auto Auctions provides a marketplace for the sale and purchase of high-mileage, aged or damaged insurance, rental, fleet, lease, finance and manufacturer vehicles.
AFC provides financial and business solutions to independent automotive dealers from more than 100 branch locations throughout the U.S. and Canada.
AFC financing is available to Impact Auto Auctions customers on their desktop, tablet or smartphone. Dealers can visit impactauto.ca for more information.
Attention, auto auctions: Auto Remarketing Canada is putting together an “Auction Life” photo spread for our next print issue.
If your auction or auction group would like to participate, submit photos via email to senior editor Joe Overby at joverby@autoremarketing.com no later than close of business on Monday, Nov. 19.
If you are sending large or multiple pictures, a zip file or using a site like Dropbox might be a better option.
These photos can run the gamut: We want to see everything from the daily business operations and sales days to the life and fun that occurs at your auction (for example: cookouts, special events, holiday parties, team-building activities, etc.).
They will need to be in high-resolution, JPG format.
Please send captions, if they are available, as well. And while we strongly encourage these photo submissions, we cannot guarantee we will be able to print every photo.
For reference, here is an example of an Auction Life photo spread froom a previous edition of Auto Remarketing Canada. .
It’s not just Hulu, Amazon and Netflix that are joining TV networks to get in on original programming. So, too, is the car business — more specifically, autoTRADER.ca.
The online marketplace, which is part of the TRADER Corp. family, has launched “Ungaraging,” a series that spotlights professional athletes and their garages.
The first episode will feature Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks, with Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins starting in the second one.
This is the latest in a line of lifestyle and entertainment content that autoTRADER.ca has added to its news and features section.
“With Ungaraging we wanted to create something original that not only offers a glimpse into the vehicles players drive, but also offers a behind the scenes look at the lives and memories that come along with growing up in and around their garage – something quintessentially Canadian," says Kevin Cheng, director of SEO and content at autoTRADER.ca.
“While cars and unique vehicles play a strong role in our series, these stories speak even more broadly to what it means to be growing up chasing a dream — something we can all relate to,” Cheng added.
The first episode is available at autoTRADER.ca/BrentBurns. The second episode will be available soon.
