Canadian used-car prices in May were up an average of 0.5 percent from April, according to a report accompanying the latest ADESA Canada Used Vehicle Price Index, powered by ALG.
Within the individual segments, monthly price movement varied greatly — for instance, compact SUV prices were down 10 percent month-over-month, while midsize SUVs were up 2.1 percent.
The biggest increase was in the midsize car class, as its prices climbed 2.8 percent. Minivan prices also increased (up 0.5 percent).
Full-size pickup prices fell 3.6 percent and mid-compact cars were off 0.4 percent.
Manheim index results
Manheim Canada also released its monthly index on used-car prices, indicating it was down 1.7 points month-over-month but up 16.2 points year-over-year.
Notes accompanying the index indicate that luxury vehicles were up 2.3 points, while sports cars were down 20 points (the largest decline) and midsize cars were down 5.9 points (second-largest).
Canadian auto auctions are officially adopting the National Auto Auction Association’s uniform system of used-vehicle quality standards next month, NAAA said in a news release late Tuesday afternoon.
Beginning June 1, Canadian auctions will implement NAAA’s National Certification Standards, meaning the association’s entire North American membership will have access to the program that NAAA launched in 2011.
NCS, which the International Automotive Remarketers Alliance has endorsed, provides three quality levels (platinum, gold, silver) to manage requirements of various vehicle types.
It includes a 48-item criteria checklist to address vehicle selection. There are inspection, reconditioning, and marketing requirements, as well. The guidelines are provided in English, French and Spanish on NAAA.com, which also includes metric measurement conversions and the changes needed to comply with the Canadian Federal and Provincial laws and regulations.
"Since its initial implementation in the U.S. over five years ago, NCS has proven effective with achieved its goals of building, promoting a greater understanding including trust and confidence among auctions, buyers and sellers," Frank Hackett, chief executive officer at NAAA, said in the news release.
"Auctions here have seen that NAAA Certified means better business practices that translates to better business success, and we're glad that our Canadian members have decided to employ this easy-to-use tool that, while comprehensive in its scope, requires only a minimal investment of time for both training and application by auction staff," Hackett said.
Dan Heinrich the senior vice president of remarketing at GM Financial, said the program goes beyond a ratings system.
"We use the Gold and Silver standards in the U.S. for our vehicles because we've found that reconditioning to those levels brings more value as a consignor for at least two reasons," Heinrich noted. "First, it's the extra time and effort put into the work to meet those standards, and second certification by the program instills confidence in our buyers."
John Paonessa, GM Financial’s vice president of Canadian remarketing, said NCS can provide the Canadian remarketing business with the same benefits.
"This system creates a common method of comparison and transparency in transactions — whether in-lane or online, at any auction, anywhere — which builds trust by removing doubt," he said. "And that promotes peace of mind and a higher degree of comfort among auctions, buyers and sellers for the benefit of all. We look forward to launching the program at GM Financial's June 14 elite sale at Manheim Toronto."
Hackett added: "From our beginning in 1961, we've used good common sense every day in resolving subjective evaluations of damages and defects in everything from writing condition reports to arbitration decisions, but having a uniform set of standards will be helpful to our auction staff and valuable to our customers. Adopting the program guarantees that everyone is on the same page and NCS certification gives us that seal of a quality vehicle recognized across the industry."
He also noted that implementation could take some time, as it is an industrywide process.
"We encourage Canada's auctions to adopt NCS as soon as possible and inform their national accounts that they're on board with the program," he said.
For more information or to download promotional material, visit NAAA.com.
ADESA has announced the launch of ADESA Windsor, its 14th full-service auction location in Canada.
Formerly ADESA Kitchener’s satellite location in Tilbury, the newly renovated ADESA Windsor facility will serve southwestern Ontario and U.S. dealers, brokers, manufacturers and others. The facility features two lanes, a detail shop, mechanical shop, transportation services, post-sale inspections, conditions reports and more. Anil de Silva will continue as manager.
“This location has been operating successfully as a satellite facility for ADESA Kitchener. Due to consistently increasing customer demand in the region, it was time to renovate the facility into a full-service auction,” said Trevor Henderson, chief operating officer of ADESA Canada.
“ADESA Canada is committed to providing superior service to our nationwide buyer base, and that includes ensuring our customers have convenient, efficient access to our physical sites and a wide variety of inventory,” he said.
Grand-opening events featuring refreshments, gifts and giveaways are slated from 10 a.m. to noon June 10 and June 17.
ADESA has announced changes to three of its Canadian auction management teams.
Scott Rennie has been promoted to general manager at ADESA Ottawa; he previously was assistant GM at ADESA Toronto. Richard Kennedy, former general manager of ADESA Halifax, is now assistant GM of ADESA Toronto. Finally, James Murphy has been promoted from assistant general manager to GM of ADESA Halifax.
“Scott, Richard and James are all outstanding talents in the auction industry,” said Trevor Henderson, chief operating officer of ADESA Canada. “We are always working to strengthen our offerings to better support our robust, nationwide buyer base. Scott, Richard and James are all strong, innovative leaders who will help us consistently deliver excellent service not only in their respective major markets, but across our entire Canadian footprint.”
Rennie started with ADESA through Canadian Auction Group in 1998, where he worked in a variety of sales positions, including inside and outside sales and sales manager. He then spent five years as sales manager for North Toronto Auction before returning to ADESA Toronto, where he served as receiving manager, sales manager and then assistant general manager.
Kennedy started with ADESA Toronto in 1999, and served as service manager, operations manager and assistant general manager there before moving into his most recent role as general manager of ADESA Halifax. In addition to his return to ADESA Toronto as assistant general manager, Kennedy will serve as director of arbitration for all of ADESA’s Canadian auctions.
Murphy joined the ADESA Halifax accounting department in 2006. He advanced to operations manager in 2009, and spent the last six months as assistant general manager.
Manheim has expanded to Quebec City, making it the company's second auction in province of Quebec and its sixth in Canada.
“By expanding our inventory service offerings in Quebec City, we will be able to better support our clients, adding value and convenience,” Maria Soklis, president of Cox Automotive Canada, said in a news release.
Manheim Quebec City opened April 26 with a sale time of 1 p.m. Tuesdays, but starting May 24, that will bump up to 9:30 a.m. Also, effective May 26, Manheim Montreal, the company’s other Quebec auction, will hold sales at 9 a.m. Thursdays.
Cox Automotive Canada in January announced Manheim Edmonton as part of a strategy to expand its Canadian operations.
ADESA, a business unit of KAR Auction Services, announced it has promoted a new regional vice president for Eastern Canada.
General manager of ADESA Montreal Simon Robitaille has been chosen for this role.
In his new role, Robitaille will be responsible for providing guidance throughout the region and helping to expand and enhance operations in these key markets, the company said.
He will also continue heading up ADESA Montreal, as well.
“Simon’s vast knowledge of the industry paired with his experience running our largest Canadian auction makes him a great fit for this position,” said Trevor Henderson, chief operating officer of ADESA Canada. “His strong relationships and expertise will be important assets as we continue to strengthen our robust Canadian footprint.”
The new regional VP has more than 17 years of experience in the auto business and has been with ADESA since 2007, when he came on board at ADESA Montreal as the business development manager.
Over the course of his tenure with ADESA, he has held a number of management roles, including operations manager for ADESA Montreal and general manager for ADESA Quebec City.
He was promoted to the GM position in Montreal in 2011.
“I am excited to accept this new role as regional vice president of eastern Canada and this opportunity to take ADESA’s presence here to the next level,” said Robitaille. “I also look forward to leveraging and further expanding ADESA’s partnership with TradeRev as a key differentiator in the eastern Canadian market.”
ADESA, a business unit of KAR Auction Services, announced today it has promoted a new chief client officer for ADESA Canada.
Chosen for the position is Lisa Scott, who was most recently senior vice president of sales, marketing and operations at ADESA Canada. In her new role, she will be responsible for all efforts to design and enhance the client experience across ADESA business units and locations throughout Canada, the company said.
Furthermore, she will also develop solutions and implement customer-centric strategies to serve the diverse needs of the company’s client base.
Scott will continue to report to ADESA Canada chief operating officer Trevor Henderson.
“Lisa is a proven leader with a passion for serving our customers and our industry,” said Henderson. “I am excited to expand her role with an increased focus on collaboration and integration between business units, including ADESA, OPENLANE and TradeRev. Her prior experience integrating the ADESA and OPENLANE sales teams positions her well to lead our client strategies in a cohesive way as we expand our offerings and services.”
Scott first joined ADESA in 1999 and has more than 25 years of experience in the auction and remarketing industry. In her most recent role as senior vice president of sales, marketing and operations, Scott was responsible for driving sales, identifying and implementing sales efficiencies, as well as directing profitability and brand awareness.
She has also served as chair of the Canadian committee of the National Auto Auction Association and co-chair of the Canadian chapter of the International Automotive Remarketers Alliance (IARA).
And in 2013, she was recognized as a leading woman of the industry by Auto Remarketing’s annual Women in Remarketing honor.
“I am very excited to take on this new role and look forward to continuing to provide our customers with an outstanding experience throughout all of our business units,” said Scott. “Our business is continually evolving, and it’s wonderful to be at the forefront of a company that is so committed to bringing innovative and compelling solutions to our clients.”
Ford Motor Co. of Canada is taking the time to honor its top-performing auction partners. The automaker recently announced the recipients of the 2015 Auction Quality Award and the 2015 Reconditioning Excellence Award.
The Auction Quality program is designed to assess and evaluate the service provided at each Ford sponsored auction facility. The program encourages the auctions to provide a high-level of service as it relates to the standards and metrics established by Ford of Canada. All ADESA Canada auction locations, as well as two Manheim Canada auctions (Manheim Toronto and Montreal) participated in the 2015 program.
The Ford Auction Quality Awards are given in recognition of the facilities’ outstanding contribution to auction quality excellence. Performance is measured by evaluating operational processes coupled with measuring satisfaction scores from Ford of Canada dealers across Canada.
Auctions are divided in two categories to compete for the Auction Quality and Reconditioning Excellence Awards. Group A includes larger auctions, while Group B includes smaller auctions that host Ford-sponsored sales.
Ford of Canada has compiled the results from 2015 and announced the below recipients of the 2015 Auction Quality Award and Reconditioning Excellence Award.
The 2015 Auction Quality Award winners are:
Group A: ADESA Montreal, with an overall score of 9.02 on a 10-point scale
Group B: ADESA Quebec City, with an overall score of 9.00 on a 10-point scale
Ford of Canada congratulated the leaders of the winning auctions on a fantastic year. ADESA Montreal is led by Simon Robitaille; ADESA Quebec City by Daniel Demers.
The recipient of the 2015 Reconditioning Excellence Award is the facility that achieved the highest satisfaction rating in the area of automobile reconditioning from Ford of Canada Dealers over the course of 2015.
The winner of the 2015 Reconditioning Excellence Award is:
ADESA Halifax, with an overall score of 5.00 on a 5-point scale
Ford of Canada recognized and further applauded the continued efforts of both ADESA Quebec City and ADESA Halifax by honouring them with their 2nd and 5th consecutive award wins, respectively.
“We thank our Ford Sponsored Auction partners, from both ADESA and Manheim, for their continued commitment of delivering exceptional services. Their contribution has been instrumental in ensuring that we continue to offer our customers an impressive selection of high quality, pre-owned vehicles,” concluded Doug Collis, Ford of Canada’s remarketing sales manager.
ADESA and Manheim have both released their respective used vehicle price indexes for the month of January and both reflect increases.
The ADESA Index, powered by ALG, reported that wholesale prices increased, on average, by 0.6 percent compared to December after adjusting for seasonality. The Manheim Canada January index increased by nearly 5 points from December, maintaining a year-over-year increase of 26.1 points.
According to Manheim, the month’s increase was bolstered by an increase in sports car values (which had a 25.6 point increase in January) and luxury values (which had a 6.7 point increase). Manheim says the only category that declined was the full-size vehicles, which dropped 3.2 points last month.
Looking at ADESA’s January numbers, price movements were positive for all segments. Minivans experienced the most rapid increase, seeing prices rise by 12 percent ($1,246), followed by midsize cars (6.9 percent, $636), mid-compact cars (5.2 percent, $388), full-size pickups (4.9 percent, $1,171), midsize SUVs (4.1 percent, $607) and compact SUVs (1.7 percent, $245).
According to ADESA, consumer confidence in Canada fell by 10.9 points in January to 80.1, the lowest level since the end of 2011. The unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percent to 7.2 percent, while the national gas price fell by approximately $0.10 per liter to $0.87 per liter.
Looking at the Canadian loonie, the value had fallen to a 12-year low by January 19, to $0.687 against the U.S. dollar, with a monthly average of $0.7051.
ADESA reports that overall light-duty vehicle sales in Canada increased by 9.6 percent year-over-year in January, with the SAAR currently tracking at 1.94 million units. January passenger car sales declined by 3.8 percent (to 33,826 units) year-over-year but light truck sales increased by 17 percent (to 74,727 units).
Impact Auto Auctions, a subsidiary of Insurance Auto Auctions and a business unit of KAR Auction Services, announced Thursday the opening of the first phase of its new Edmonton area facility.
The company announced it has begun to direct all Edmonton area assignments and Early Tow and Appraisal Vehicles to the site. Business operations will be housed in temporary office units until the construction is finished for its 12,500 square-foot main building later this year.
The new facility — located at 26419 Twp. Road 525A in Acheson, Alberta — will hold its first auction on Monday.
"Impact has experienced significant growth in northern Alberta over the last several years and this new facility, will ensure we continue to meet the needs of our customers in this market for many years to come," said Terry Daniels, Impact's managing director. "We are extremely excited about the opening of this first phase, and look forward to delivering an enhanced service experience to our customers when construction is complete and the site fully opens later this year."
Construction is scheduled to be completed this fall. When it’s finished, the site will provide 47 acres of vehicle storage and allow Impact to consolidate its Greater Edmonton operations into a single facility.
The company said it will keep customers up to speed on construction progress over the coming months.
In late December, Impact Auto Auctions added another auction to its lineup with the purchase of Sudbury Auto Auction.
