The top three most-appraised vehicles Canadian dealers saw last month were, you guessed it, trucks.
To be more specific, they were light-duty trucks, and you probably won’t be surprised which ones they are, because they’re the usual suspects: Ford F-150, GMC Sierra 1500 and Ram 1500.
That’s according to Dealertrack’s monthly Tradetracker report for the month of January. The top five weren’t all trucks, though; those three goliaths were followed up by the Toyota Corolla and the Dodge Grand Caravan, respectively, to round out the top five most-appraised vehicles, overall, by Canadian dealers last month.
Broken down by domestic and import dealer, the results of January’s Tradetracker report are more of the same. The domestic vehicle most appraised by domestic and import dealers? The F-150. The import vehicle most appraised by import dealers? The Corolla. And the import vehicle most appraised by domestic dealers is Mazda’s Mazda3.
From the other side, the vehicles most looked at by trade-in owners boils down to just two vehicles, regardless of dealer type: the F-150 (domestic) and the Toyota RAV4 (import).
The Tradetracker brand of the month for January, Honda, experienced a bit different vehicle interest last month. Canadian Honda dealers’ most-appraised vehicles last month were the Corolla, Hyundai Elantra and Grand Caravan, respectively. From the other end, the vehicles most looked at by trade-in shoppers at Honda store last month were the Honda CR-V and the Civic.
All of the fast-paced, real-time, instant gratification of buying a car at auction – with none of the expense of transporting yourself or your vehicles to auction – all crammed into your desktop or mobile device’s screen. And no listing fees.
Sound good to you? Michael Ryan O’Connor, eBlock’s president and chief executive officer, sure hopes so. And after a successful first auction on Tuesday afternoon, it appears as though at least a few dealer buyers and sellers are on track to possibly make eBlock part of their daily routine.
If you’re saying, “Did I just see ‘daily’ and ‘auction’ in the same sentence?” to yourself, don’t worry, you read that correctly. eBlock currently plans to operate one Canada-wide online auction, for every province, at 3:30 p.m. EST every day. And just like the physical auction – each vehicle is sold, or not sold, in roughly a minute.
If the name O’Connor is ringing a bell, that’s because he’s also the president and CEO of Carmigo.com and the president and co-founder of eDealer, as well as a member of our 2015 class of “Remarketing’s 40 Under 40.”
O’Connor invited Auto Remarketing Canada to take part in eBlock’s first auction on Tuesday. And with over 700 dealers, mostly in Ontario, having signed up for the service over the previous five weeks, it was looking to be a success.
Limited to a 125-unit run list for Ontario and Quebec for its first day, eBlock sold 53 units, which were comprised mostly of late model vehicles and quite a few trucks and SUVs, resulting in just over $1 million in sales. The auction sold another 35 units during Wednesday's sale, bringing eBlock's two-day total sales to roughly $1.6 million.
Not too shabby considering each auction only takes about an hour to complete.
And although the majority of the dealers currently signed up for eBlock’s services are currently in the Ontario area, O’Connor says that the company now has two representatives in British Columbia and two in Quebec, and expects that eBlock will be operating nationwide within the next six months.
And with a brand slogan of “it’s about time,” eBlock really has set its focus on selling vehicles as conveniently and expediently as possible. With each province’s lane running four vehicles at a time, each vehicle starts with 45 seconds on the “block,” but the timer won’t stop until the vehicle has gone 15 seconds without a bid. The application updates the current bid in real time, visually showing the name of the current high bidder and time remaining for transparency.
Like a traditional auction, eBlock even has “if bids” in case the required minimum reserve isn’t met – a nifty feature if you consider the fact that 25 percent of Tuesday’s sales closed in the “if bid” stage. The “if bids” remain open until noon the day after the sale. If an agreement can’t be made, the dealer can always relist it for free in the next day’s sale.
“Used cars are not a commodity anymore,” O’Connor said. “So remarketing them should not be an expense. And that’s our angle.”
To get an idea of the application’s aesthetics, which is quite reminiscent of a Tinder app for auto auctions, check out eBlock’s YouTube video above or here. For more information on its functionality, check out its site.
Full of anticipation the evening prior to eBlock’s first sale, O’Connor sat down with Auto Remarketing Canada to discuss why his company has decided to throw its hat into the crowded online auction space.
Interestingly enough, eDealer was working on a trade appraisal tool when TradeRev launched. The company decided to park the project – and O’Connor says that’s when he felt the large potential to grab market share on the online auction side of the industry.
“Most dealers are pricing their own trades. They do their best to take it in right and maximize profit when selling,” he said. “So when a dealer owns that car we are saying, ‘Hey, throw it up on eBlock and see what happens. Zero cost.’ Because of the set auction times and buyer experience, we believe we will be able to get more eyes on cars and hopefully better results for the seller. If it doesn't sell they can always run it at the block or use other platforms.”
Again, the key point that O’Connor reiterates behind the eBlock system is its focus on saving dealers’ time. And for the average dealer, O’Connor says eBlock may save a lot more than just time. Putting himself in their shoes, he proposed a hypothetical situation to demonstrate his thought process.
“Forget this product,” he said. “Say I’m the dealer and the closest auction is an hour and a half away. I’ve either got to get drivers together or transport my cars to the auction. So I’ve got that expense. So let’s say I took that car in on a trade on a Saturday and I call the auction, which (has its sale) on a Wednesday, and I get a relatively (bad) run number. I end up no-selling it to run it the following week. I’ve now sat on that car for almost two weeks. And guess what, I’m never bringing that car home. Eventually I end up cutting. And I’ve got seller’s fees, and my transportation fees, and my money’s been out for 10 or 11 days. This tool allows the seller to list it on Monday. Have the car sold. And if it doesn’t sell on Monday, he can run it again on Tuesday.”
While the eBlock system doesn't have seller's fees to list vehicles, it does have buyer's fees that are taken out of the vehicle's selling price. Check out those rates below.
eBlock's Buyer Fees
| Selling Price |
Buyer Fees |
| $0 – $499 |
$50 |
| $500 – $999 |
$90 |
| $1,000 – $2,499 |
$125 |
| $2,500 – $4,999 |
$150 |
| $5,000 – $7,499 |
$200 |
| $7,500 – $9,999 |
$225 |
| $10,000 – $14,999 |
$250 |
| $15,000 – $19,999 |
$275 |
| $20,000 – $29,999 |
$300 |
| $30,000 – $39,999 |
$350 |
| $40,000+ |
1% of sell price |
It was announced this morning that after a successful three-year partnership, Cox Auto Canada — through its Manheim Canada business — has acquired 100 percent ownership of the Manheim Source Edmonton auction.
The move serves to extend Cox Auto Canada’s footprint in Western Canada.
The auction will now operate as Manheim Edmonton and will continue to serve clients in the Edmonton and Alberta markets.
“We are appreciative of the partnership that we had with Manheim Source Edmonton that served our clients in the Alberta market,” said Maria Soklis, president of Cox Automotive Canada. “Today’s announcement will allow for Manheim Canada to continue to service our clients and offer a full suite of products and services.”
Danny Fayad, president and chief executive officer of Source Auto Auction, also expressed enthusiasm for the news: “The partnership with Manheim Canada has served well for both parties in the Edmonton market,” he said.
“We are grateful to have been associated with an industry leader like Manheim and are especially proud of our collaborative results in the Edmonton market,” Fayad added.
This news follows Cox’s announcement of Manheim Vancouver’s opening in October, a move which was also part of a strategy to expand the company’s presence in Western Canada.
Cox Automotive Canada, along with its Manheim Canada operations, announced this morning it has partnered with XLane to design a new dealer-to-dealer online auction tool.
The dealer-to-dealer online multi-platform, InstantAuction, is crafted to make the process of buying and selling vehicles easier, quicker and more transparent.
"We are delighted to have partnered with XLane to introduce InstantAuction, one of several tools which we are in the process of launching together," said Maria Soklis, president of Cox Automotive Canada. "The attributes of this platform align with Cox Automotive's mission to simplify the trusted exchange of vehicles and maximize value for our customers and, based on early results, InstantAuction is doing just that."
Through the platform, buyers and sellers can see who is viewing the listed vehicle as well as who is bidding. It also features a “buy now” option, as well.
All transactions through InstantAuction are supported by Manheim's auction services across Canada and are open to all Manheim customer segments, including non-franchise dealers, commercial customers and fleet and lease companies.
The InstantAuction app is available for iOS on the App Store, or customers can visit www.instantauction.ca and sign in using their existing Manheim Canada credentials.
Cox Automotive Canada management said the tool is crafted to give the dealer control of the entire remarketing process, “deciding when and where to create a live auction, anytime, anywhere.”
XLane is known for its cloud-based mobile solutions for the auto industry and is headquartered in Montreal.
"This partnership provides Manheim with a fully transparent virtual auction solution to support their physical locations across Canada," said Tave Della Porta, chief executive officer and founder of XLane Holdings Inc. "Dealers are already excited about this tool because of its functionality and ease of use."
Copart Canada announced Friday morning the grand opening of its Moncton, New Brunswick location, which serves to grow the company's footprint in Eastern Canada.
The company also shared it has completed the full integration of Copart’s Virtual Bidding – The Third Generation (VB3) technology at the Montreal, Quebec facility.
“We are excited about our growth in Canada and our ability to provide a first-class, online auction experience in both English and French Canadian,” said Steve Macaluso, managing director of Copart Canada. “Launching these locations as a part of Copart Canada has been a team effort across the company. We are also grateful for the support from these communities as well as our insurance partners.”
Copart Moncton hosted its first sale on Oct. 13 and will be hosting an auction every second Tuesday going forward, the company shared.
Highlighting the company’s VB3 technology, both the Moncton and Montreal locations have now successfully hosted online auctions using the tool. Copart management said the online auctions “have received a high level of engagement from Copart’s international buyer base.”
The VB3 technology is new to the Montreal location, as well. Copart Canada purchased Encan Berpa, what is known known as Copart Montreal, back in November of 2013. And the company announced today that after upgrading and developing new technology, VB3 was fully integrated and translated to French Canadian.
“Prior to this upgrade, the auction was a traditional live auction with a broadcast web tool,” the company said. “Now, with VB3, this location joins the rest of the Copart auctions using the leading patented auction technology.
Copart Montreal offered its first fully online auction on Nov. 3 and experienced record auction attendance compared to attendance numbers prior to the integration. Now, online auctions for Montreal are hosted weekly, on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. EST.
It was announced this afternoon that Sudbury Auto Auction has changed hands.
Impact Auto Auctions — a subsidiary of Insurance Auto Auctions and a business unit of KAR Auction Services — has purchased the assets of the facility, a move that will serve to give Impact Auto Auction’s Remarketing Division a chance to expand into northern Ontario.
Sudbury Auto Auction, which covers 17 acres, serves the northern Ontario fleet and dealer communities. The auction will continue to operate under its current name.
Through the transaction, Impact Auto Auctions also becomes the sole owner of Impact Auto Auction Sudbury.
"We are excited to be adding the talented team at Sudbury Auto Auction to our national auction network," said Terry Daniels, managing director at Impact Auto Auctions. "Owners Dale and Lynda Harnden have been great partners for more than 23 years in helping to develop and serve the northern Ontario salvage market. We look forward to leveraging the strengths of both businesses and continuing the great tradition of whole car services that SAA is known for in this important market."
The Harndens will continue to support and consult with the business during and after the ownership transition.
SAA, which launched in 1986, has a solid presence in the Sudbury community. Lynda Harnden’s father built the business from the ground up, and SAA now sells dealer, rental, lease, fleet and finance vehicles.
Secondary to that business is a public auction company known as Nor Ontario Auctions, which provides public buyers with the opportunity to purchase dealer, repo and corporate consigned vehicles at auction prices, Impact Auto Auctions shared when the news came out.
This sale also includes commercial vehicles and a variety of recreational vehicles such as ATV's, boats, campers, motorcycles, snowmobiles and more.
"We felt honored to be asked to formally join Impact Auto Auctions," said Dale Harnden. "It's been wonderful doing business with the team from Impact Auto Auctions who we've come to know and trust over the last 23 years. We're excited about this opportunity, and we expect this relationship will only grow stronger in the years to come."
Anyone in the used-car biz knows just how important the role of commercial consignors are in the remarketing cycle.
And that’s why Auto Remarketing Canada decided to launch its inaugural “Spotlight on Commercial Consignors” section.
This section, highlighting the leading consignors in the Canadian used-car industry, will run in the upcoming Auto Remarketing Canada Wholesale Issue, which will arrive in your inboxes later this fall.
This section will provide listings of commercial consignors that include addresses and primary contacts for each company, as well as a bit of info about what makes each of these companies stand out.
If you are part of a consignment business in Canada, listen up! To make sure your company makes it into this new section, you will need to send the following information to Auto Remarketing Canada editor Sarah Rubenoff by Friday, Nov. 6:
- Name of company
- Address
- Phone number
- Primary Contact, title, and headshot
- Company logo
- Consignors are also invited to provide a brief quote about their services
To see an example of a “Spotlight on Commercial Consignors” section, take a look at sister publication Auto Remarketing’s recent issue.
We look forward to highlighting Canada’s top consignors and offering our readers even more information to improve their businesses and make more industry partnerships.
Dealer-to-dealer auction platform TradeRev and ADESA Vancouver announced today a partnership with one of the country’s fastest-growing dealer groups.
The two companies are entering an exclusive used-vehicle trade-in partnership with Canada’s OpenRoad Auto Group, which was featured in this year’s Auto Remarketing Canada Leading Dealer Groups Issue.
Now, all of OpenRoad Auto Group’s trade-in units are listed and sold through TradeRev and ADESA Vancouver. Through the partnership, which was established in July 2015, the companies explained they have built a “complete vehicle trade-in and remarketing process.”
“This exclusive partnership with such a prominent automotive group in one of our core markets represents an outstanding opportunity for TradeRev, and we’re confident that our technology will provide OpenRoad Auto Group with an innovative and profitable process for selling cars to their customers,” said Mark Endras, TradeRev president and co-founder. “Our advanced car auctioning system will help support the ongoing growth efforts of OpenRoad Auto Group.”
Established as Multiland Investment Ltd in 1977, OpenRoad Auto Group was rebranded in 2000 and is one of the largest and fastest growing automotive retail groups in Canada. The company has over 850 associates that represents 14 new-car brands and over 500 used vehicles throughout 16 locations in British Columbia, Canada.
“We are proud to have created a trade-in work flow integration for the OpenRoad Auto Group with an ADESA/TradeRev combined service offering that is both transparent and efficient, all while maximizing total sales,” said John MacDonald, general manager of ADESA Vancouver. “With thousands of active buyers in-lane and online at each auction, we can offer one of the largest international buyer bases for our consigners.”
We are in the home stretch — the fourth quarter of 2015. Where did the year go?
Well, we at Auto Remarketing Canada want to know what your auctions have been up to over the course of the year that has felt like it has flown by.
In order to give our readers a window into Canadian auctions’ day-to-day operations, as well as give you a chance to show off your achievements, we are including an “Auction Life” photo spread in our November/December Wholesale issue of Auto Remarketing Canada Digital Magazine.
For this new special section, we are inviting auctions to submit photos of daily auction life from the past year.
If you need ideas on what kind of photos to send, see sister publication Auto Remarketing’s photo spread in the recent NAAA Convention issue.
If you and your auction(s) would like to participate, please have photo submissions emailed to Auto Remarketing Canada editor Sarah Rubenoff no later than 5 p.m. (EST) on Nov. 6.
If you are sending large or multiple pictures, a zip file or a photo-sharing site might be a good 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 won’t be able to include every photo in the issue. That said, we will be including Digital Extra buttons in our edition that will link to even more of your auction photos!
Thank you, and we look forward to seeing what Canada’s auto auctions have been up to this year!
Cox Automotive Canada is broadening its offerings in Western Canada as Manheim Vancouver is set to host its first dealer sale this week.
To meet customer demand for an expanded presence in the West, the company said, Manheim Vancouver will be hosting its inaugural dealer sale tomorrow at 10 a.m.
The sale will be held at Unit 7-19335 Langley Bypass in Surrey, British Columbia.
"We are extremely excited to expand our presence and service commercial and dealer customers from coast-to-coast," said Maria Soklis, president of Cox Automotive Canada. "This expansion will offer both loyal and prospective customers a local remarketing solution that will simplify the trusted exchange of vehicles and maximize value for both dealers and manufacturers."
Company management said they have already consigned a “sizeable” number of vehicles for the upcoming sales and are expecting significant attendance from both Canadian and American buyers.
In a recent interview with Auto Remarketing Canada, Soklis touched on the new offering in Vancouver in regards to the company’s efforts to enter new markets.
“Growing the Manheim auction presence in Canada is in fact one of my primary responsibilities. I am very excited to announce that we will be expanding into Vancouver in order to provide vehicle remarketing services to our customers in the west,” Soklis said.
Recent reports have stated Cox wants to grow “in a way that makes sense for the Canadian market.”
When asked about some of the ways this growth will manifest within Cox Automotive, Soklis explained, “Cox Automotive has demonstrated their commitment to Canada by recently establishing a Canadian Headquarters. This commitment acknowledges differences that exist in the Canadian Automotive landscape and the interest and willingness of Cox Automotive to provide relevant solutions to their Canadian customers.”
Editor’s Note: Stay tuned to Thursday’s Auto Remarketing Canada Weekly for more information on Cox Automotive Canada’s growth in Vancouver with insight from Sandy Schwartz, president of Cox Automotive.
