Wholesale price movement for the first month of 2015 for ADESA Canada and Manheim Canada was minor, showing little change from the end of last year.
Based on numbers provided by the two companies, there appear to be very slight shifts in overall pricing as Manheim has reported a 0.3 percent decrease in its January index, while ADESA Canada reported a 0.3 percent month-over-month increase in overall wholesale prices in January.
ADESA attributes its increases in part to a second month of consecutive spikes in consumer confidence, up 2.7 points to reach 107, fueled by a slightly lower Canadian unemployment rate (0.1 percentage point drop to 6.6 percent) and a decrease in national gas prices ( 5 cent drop, per liter, to 91 cents at the end of the month) despite the Canadian dollar’s five-year low of $0.7813 compared to the United States’ dollar at the end of the month.
Despite its slight overall pricing decrease compared to December, Manheim’s January numbers were still up 7.3 percent year-over-year. Broken down into segments, the company reported that its monthly declines came from compacts (-5.1), full-size vehicles (-28), pickups (-0.1), sports cars (-12.4) and vans (-3.9) while luxury, midsize and SUVs all experienced month-over-month increases.
ADESA experienced similar results in its specific denominations, seeing the biggest drop in pricing with minivans, which fell 8 percent, or $792, in January, followed by compact SUVs (4 percent, $502). The company saw gains in its other categories, most notably reflected by a 17 percent, or $2,234, increase in price for midsize SUVs, followed by fullsize pickups (7 percent or $1,249), midsize vehicles (5 percent or $435), and mid-compact vehicles (4 percent or $358).
Overall, ADESA reported that light-duty vehicle sales increased 3.4 percent year-over-year while passenger car sales fell 4.2 percent, contrasted by an 8.2 percent increase in light truck sales.
TradeRev announced this week it's partnership with the Quebec dealers association CCAQ (La Corporation des Concessionaires d'automobiles du Québec).
TradeRev is now the dealer association’s exclusive partner for automotive online wholesale products and services.
TradeRev explained that this latest move further “extends and solidifies” its presence across the province of Quebec, and said it will be working with CCAQ and reaching out to its over-820 membership of dealers in an effort to introduce them to its online automotive auction system for trade-in vehicles.
TradeRev offers dealers the ability to launch and participate in real-time Trade Appraisal Auctions from their mobile devices and desktops.
Once a car is launched, sellers receive real-time, live-money bids from their own "Trusted Buyer Network,” TradeRev management explained.
This is one in a series of new partnerships TradeRev announced recently.
Having recently partnered with ADESA, TradeRev is now working on growing its footprint in the dealer-to-dealer online space in both the U.S. and Canadian markets.
This past August, ADESA parent company KAR Auction Services announced that its that its business unit acquired a 50-percent stake in Toronto-based Nth Gen Software and its online vehicle remarketing system — and that system, of course, isTradeRev.
ADESA also announced last year that it has entered into a joint marketing agreement with TradeRev to assist in expanding its footprint in the dealer-to-dealer online space in the U.S. and Canadian markets.
ALTESO, auto remarketing software developer and holding company, announced this week that its white-label auction platform division — iBidSmart — is separating from the ALTESO group of companies.
With iBidSmart taking off on its own, Mark Buffa, who has over 20 years of related industry experience, will be the new chief executive officer of the company, reporting to a new board of directors and investors.
“I am extremely honored and excited to be focusing my efforts on iBidSmart and the niche market segments that are pursuing private-label remarketing platforms. This separation and injection of capital will solidify iBidSmart’s market placement and help to propel iBidSmart to new heights in these markets,” Buffa said.
The separation of iBidSmart is set to begin immediately, but will take some time to transition, company management said.
The company explained this latest move is due to iBidSmart’s extensive growth.
“We are getting a lot of traction with iBidSmart as large institutional vehicle suppliers look for ways to easily and quickly put their assets in front of their direct, preferred buyer network that is often very specialized to their product and industry,” stated Yury Kaganov, founder and partner of iBidSmart.“iBidSmart’s growth and new business prospects have put some strain on ALTESO’s core resources and it has become very apparent that we need to separate this product as a stand-alone entity.”
The new standalone company offers online digital features such as static buy-now/bid-now sales, sealed bid sales and live audio/visual sales that combine with a website front-end and back-office auction management functionality.
Kaganov likened the news to “watching your children grow up and leave the nest."
“This is what we work for every day: the opportunity to identify a market opportunity, do research and build a product that becomes recognized as a value-added business tool that drives profitability, both for customers as well as shareholders,” Kaganov said.
Reports of rising auction prices are coming in from November — a seasonally unusual trend as we head toward the end of the year.
Though prices in the lanes normally trend downward before gaining strength in the first couple months of the year, the Manheim Canada November Index increased nearly 2 points from October to sit at 95.8 last month.
This is up 4 points from November 2013.
Compact cars saw the biggest price increases in the lanes this past month, rising 6 points on the Manheim index. Even as gas prices drop dramatically, Manheim indicated there remains high demand for fuel efficient vehicles, keeping prices strong at auction.
Pickups were the only other segment to see a monthly price spike, rising by 1 point in November.
The remaining segments saw month-over-month decreases, according to Manheim, with vans leading the way.
Vans slipped 8 points on the index, the largest segment depreciation rate recorded for November.
The midsize car segment also saw larger-than-average declines, with a a 5.4-point drop last month,
Next up were the luxury cars with a 2.9 point decline, followed by the SUVs with a 2.8-point drop.
When asked to comment on the Index, Don Wallace, GM of Manheim Toronto noted: “Honestly, I think it’s really just an issue of supply and demand — vehicles that aren’t as available as others tend to have higher prices, and the vehicles with more inventory see lower prices.”
And Manheim wasn't the only industry observer to notice wholesale prices moving higher.
In November, the ADESA Canada Used Vehicle Price Index, powered by ALG, also showed spikes in auction rates, rising by an average of 0.9 percent from October rates.
Most dealers are crunched for used supply these days, as off-lease vehicles remain scarce — even though rumors of expanding supply are on the horizon.
And as dealers look to alternative sourcing methods to fill their used-car lots, one term they have most likely been hearing about quite a bit this past year is dealer-to-dealer auctions.
Just this fall, both TRADER and XLane revealed new dealer-to-dealer online auctions.
TRADER Exchange rolled out to Ontario dealers in November with a nationwide launch scheduled for 2015, while XLane’s Instant Auction hit the Web this past October.
And dealers have been using tried and true tools such as TradeRev’s online marketplace for years now for their sourcing needs.
With all this expansion from big names in the remarketing industry, Auto Remarketing Canada reached out to a few experts in the field to gauge the dealer benefits and impact on the wholesale business of the current dealer-to-dealer auction boom.
A Growing Need
Of course, when leasing fell off and supply tightened after the most recent economic downturn in 2008, dealers had to look to alternative sourcing options.
And with supply still tight today, experts say the need for tools such as dealer-to-dealer auctions is bound to keep growing.
Robert Rath, vice president of dealership products and business development at TRADER, said, “There has been a growing need. With the decline in off-lease inventory from the financial crisis, more efficient options are needed to source and dispose of inventory at a reasonable price.”
And as retail sales continue to grow for both new and used vehicles, so does the need for dealers to have an effective way to appraise and sell trade-ins and aged inventory.
That’s according to TradeRev chief operating officer Brad Hart, who also pointed out that 80 percent of wholesale vehicle transactions occur outside of traditional physical auctions.
Technology like TradeRev brings the competitive auction marketplace directly to the point and time of sale, says Hart.
Explaining one of the key draws of dealer-to-dealer marketplaces, Hart said, “Now the largest segment of wholesale auto transactions can benefit from live competitive bidding in an efficient marketplace that was previously available only through traditional remarketing channels.”
The Trust Factor
Over the past few years, with the rise of more and more options to buy wholesale vehicles online, confidence among dealers to purchase vehicles without being able to touch or inspect the physical unit has grown, as well.
Rath said the confidence factor has a lot to do with convenience, but it didn’t happen overnight.
“Online auctions have been available in Canada for over a decade. The convenience and cost of online auctions appeals to dealers,” said Rath. “Dealers are willing to use online auctions if they have the right disclosure mechanisms, policies and technologies to support anytime/ anywhere sourcing and disposal.”
A big part of the growing confidence and acceptance amongst dealers to purchase vehicles online it tied to technological improvements and innovation.
“Improving online technology has made it easier for all buyers to find, evaluate and purchase vehicles online. In addition, people of all ages are becoming more technology-savvy and are doing more of their everyday business online,” said Hart. “Not to mention the new generation of youth who grow up using computers and mobile devices. They are conditioned to embrace technology and prefer to do business online.”
A variety of factors are making it more comfortable for dealers to buy online. Among those are high-resolution photos and videos, reliable vehicle history reports and mobile inspection services.
These services and tools take out the need for buyers to physically inspect the vehicles and means less time out of the office for busy dealers.
Hart offered this example: “Many physical auction buyers do their homework online before the auction. They use the auctions condition reports and history reports to determine what they will buy and for how much.”
He added: “This sure beats wandering around a parking lot in February to actually ‘touch’ vehicles.”
When it comes to automotive wholesale, Hart says “all the stars are aligned towards online.”
But it’s not just about trusting the company or auction you are using online, with dealer-to-dealer auctions, it is crucial that buyers and sellers trust each other.
Most dealer-to-dealer marketplaces, such as TradeRev and TRADER Exchange, conduct rigorous background checks to ensure users are registered dealers and are password and username protected.
And customers must have access to other dealers’ experiences with either the buyer or seller, Rath said.
In other words, buyers and sellers must be able to see the buying and selling history of the individual they are doing business with, much like how eBay reviews and ratings work.
“Companies that provide online marketplaces need to provide the tools that contribute to full disclosure from sellers,” said Hart. “They must create and enforce fairness between buyers and sellers while, at the same time, requiring all parties to be responsible for their actions as automotive professionals.”
For example, on top of condition reports and arbitration policies — which are also key to creating an environment that builds confidence in buyers and sellers — TradeRev also provides buyers and sellers the opportunity to rate each other with every transaction.
Users are able to rate individuals on a five-star rating system and have the ability to leave written comments, so each user can be held accountable for their actions. This also helps increase transparency on the site.
Supply and the Dealer Benefits
Experts agree that low used supply and high wholesale prices helped create an even bigger need for alternative sourcing methods for Canada’s used-car dealers over the course of the last six years.
And Rath said, “Non-traditional methods are key for dealers to find the right inventory at the right price to meet the needs of their customers,” regardless of the supply environment.
Part of the reason these online dealer-to-dealer auctions are so crucial when supply is low? Geography.
Through an online marketplace, “buyers gain access to vehicles every day of the week from a large geographic area and can use search tools to pinpoint the exact models they are looking for,” said Hart.
“Taking advantage of the large geographic reach of online auctions allows buyers to source low supply vehicles in their market from other markets that have a larger supply,” said Hart. “Conversely, sellers can use online auctions to expose their vehicles in markets where they are more in demand relative to supply.”
These tools also save buyers and sellers time, and let dealerships update inventory much more frequently than in generations past.
“Gone are the days when a buyer would stock his lot in one or two days of buying each month, thus carrying a higher average inventory volume,” Hart said. “Today’s online buying tools allow retailers to purchase on a daily basis and maintain an optimal and consistent inventory level at all times.”
Dealer-to-dealer online marketplaces, in particular, take out the middle man for dealers acquiring wholesale vehicles. What are some of the benefits?
Rath said that outside of the cost efficiency, accountability is a big factor when it comes to using dealer-to-dealer tools.
“Dealer principals can track where inventory is going and how much money was lost or saved,” he said.
Increased sale prices on trade-ins and aged inventory and reduced purchasing prices to retail dealers play a role, as well, on top a competitive bidding process and transparency.
It is also very important to ensure dealers can utilize dealer-to-dealer marketplaces on various devices.
These days, it’s not enough to host the dealer-to-dealer marketplace only on desktops. Dealers need to be able to be on the go, while also having access to stocking and sourcing sites.
At TRADER, Rath said mobile and desktop tools are developed to be used interchangeably, which provides flexibility and convenience.
And TradeRev’s mobile application enable dealers to load vehicles for sale in real-time.
“Our buyers are mobile themselves and need constant access to TradeRev’s daily auctions where vehicles are launched for sale at all hours of the business day,” said Hart. “Today, smart mobile technology has converted the verbal deal into digital transactions between dealers.
“In the foreseeable future, more wholesale automobile transactions will take place on mobile devices than over any other medium,” he said.
Dealer-to-Dealer: For Franchised or Independent?
When asked whether dealer-to-dealer marketplaces best suit independent or franchised dealers, Rath said both benefit equally.
“Franchised dealers get access to an affordable marketplace to dispose of vehicles that don’t work in their marketplace. Independent dealers get access to inventory which may not end up in auction at a reasonable price,” said Rath.
Though these marketplaces benefit both franchised and independent dealers equally, the perks are quite different.
For example, large franchised dealer groups can benefit from using these marketplaces To trade vehicles within the dealer group, using closed networks.
Hart offered this scenario to illustrate the franchised need for dealer-to-dealer marketplaces.
“When a Toyota dealership takes a VW in on trade, the best home for that trade is likely the VW franchise dealership within the same dealer group,” he said.
And tools like this are especially important in a low supply marketplace, as “keeping vehicles within the dealer group adds to the synergies and efficiencies dealer groups already enjoy in many other parts of their business,” Hart said.
And independent dealers — which are primarily buyers on dealer-to-dealer marketplaces — have access to trade-ins and wholesale units provided by larger franchised dealers.
Hart said independent dealers are also served well by these marketplaces because it cuts down on the number of hands the unit is passed through in the wholesale channel as well as added costs associated with many traditional wholesale options.
“Dealer-to-dealer markets eliminate middlemen with the reduced costs being shared equally between buyers and sellers. As a result, dealership gross profits benefit from the efficiency of these markets,” he said.
Though benefits may be equal for franchised and independent dealers, Hart said the size of the business plays a role.
The large franchised and independent dealers have more resources to pull from when it comes to selling and sourcing wholesale vehicles.
“For this reason, effective online tools have a huge relative impact on the smaller dealers’ operations by leveling the playing field in the competition to buy and sell in the wholesale market,” Hart said.
Multi-Platform Connection
These days, it seems you cannot hold a conversation about online wholesale marketplaces — or auctions, in general — without touching on the topic of multi-platform selling.
More and more dealers and others in the industry are warming to the concept of having vehicles loaded for sale on one channel simultaneously appear on other channels available for bidding or purchase — and dealer-to-dealer auctions have a direct connection.
Multi-platform selling will benefit both buyers and sellers in the long-run by exposing inventory to a wider audience, says Rath, “And dealer-to-dealer networks will need to evolve to support MPS (multi-platform selling) as long as long as dealers see a need.”
Though the need may arise, Hart said multi-platform selling is more prevalent in retail vehicle sales where dealers post their vehicles on multiple third-party sites at the same time.
That said, these sites are non-transactional. “Platforms like TradeRev, which offer instant interactive bidding during a timed auction period, do not lend themselves to multi-platform selling because of the time sensitivity of these auctions,” said Hart.
Hart argues that although platforms (such as dealer-to-dealer auctions) that list vehicles for several hours or days may be ideal candidates for multi-platform selling, it could push down on conversion rates and push transaction time up.
“TradeRev believes that successful online dealer-to-dealer auctions are more based on the quality of the platform process rather than the quantity of platforms,” Hart said. “In other words, offering vehicles on similar multiple platforms has very little added value. Instead, offering vehicles on the right platform with the most effective auction format is the key to maximizing returns in the shortest period of time.”
Future Growth
The number of dealer-to-dealer marketplaces have been growing at a rapid rate this year, but that expansion could escalate even more in coming years.
In fact, we may be at a turning point in terms of the number of dealer-to-dealer solutions in the market.
“The net benefit is that dealers will start to realize that they need to step out of their comfort zone in order to sell and buy inventory from non-traditional sources,” said Rath. “Solutions that offer quality inventory, have transparent and enforceable policies, mobile tools, a critical mass of buyers and sellers, and integration with a dealers’ existing workflow will succeed.”
As the number of dealer-to-dealer online marketplaces continues to grow, this expansion is bound to have an impact on the entire wholesale market.
“As a result (of dealer-to-dealer growth), the wholesale market will become more efficient and will more quickly reflect the ebb and flow of supply and demand on a national and international level. Online auctions remove geographic barriers to trade and help to smooth regional supply and demand related price variations,” said Hart.
“The wholesale transactional cost will also fall as vehicles move directly from the first point of supply to the point of sale to the consumer. This lower transaction cost is the result of lower auction fees, less vehicle movement and fewer days to sale,” he concluded.
This story ran in Auto Remarketing Canada's Year-End Intelligence Report. Check out the latest issue for further news on the year's biggest stories.
Manheim appointed six new general managers this week, one of which will head up its Montreal location.
As part of what the company calls “its continuing focus on developing talent and improving its customer experience," Christina St-Germain has been promoted to general manager of Manheim Montral, located at 715, rue Dubois in St Eustache, Quebec.
“A key part developing talent and creating a great customer experience is to have the right leaders in place,” said Mike McKinney, regional vice president of East Region Operations. “We are excited to promote Christina, an experienced and talented individual who has delivered strong business results and will continue to help us and our customers further prosper.”
St-Germain, who joined the company in 2013, was formerly assistant general manager of the Montreal auction and is bilingual in French and English.
Before joining Manheim, St-Germain served as Quebec regional manager for DMT Development Systems Group of Winnipeg, Manitoba, from 2011 to 2013, a solution developer for the automotive industry.
Manheim also appointed a series of GMs at their U.S. locations, as well.
The include include: Alex Fraser (Manheim Portland), Ryan Mason (Manheim Fort Lauderdale), Jeff Modjeski (Manheim Dallas), Toni Williams (Manheim Daytona Beach and Jacksonville) and Robert Zakaib (Manheim Palm Beach).
As of last week, Ontario dealers now have another choice when acquiring and selling inventory online.
TRADER Corp. has officially launched its dealer-to-dealer TRADER Exchange platform to the Ontario market.
The new online auction product launched last week with 230 vehicles already available for auction. The tool is scheduled to launch in provinces across the country throughout 2015.
“TRADER Exchange is a great addition to TRADER’s set of products and services. With TRADER Exchange we’re taking a giant leap forward in meeting the wholesale needs of our dealer clients.” says Robert Rath, vice president of dealership products and business development.
Exchange integrates with TRADER customer’s existing desktop inventory management system, ControlCenter, as well as the TRADER mobile app.
“We took our time to really research and develop the product based on the needs of today’s Canadian automotive dealer in mind. From a purely wholesale perspective, regardless of whether it’s online or live, we knew that there were a lot of improvements that could be made,” says Rath.
“From the feedback we have received thus far I think we’ve done a good job of creating a more transparent and efficient channel for dealer wholesale activity and we look forward to continuing to enhance the product moving forward,” he continued.
And the company has already demonstrated its commitment to transparency for buyers and sellers. This past September, it announced partnerships with both CarProof and Apex Inspection Services, in order to ensure TRADER Exchange users are privy to vehicle history reports and reconditioning reports, as well as inspections they can trust.
With the recent announcement that the company will be entering the vehicle valuation market, it is evident CarProof has had a busy couple of years.
Just last year, it jumped into the reconditioning market with its new RECON tool, and with its latest acquisition of Canadian Red Book, the company will be launching the first installation of its planned vehicle valuation product suite during the first half of 2015.
These are all moves to address the company’s goal of creating next generation solutions to address automotive industry “pain points” across all markets.
Company management told Auto Remarketing Canada that, without a doubt, CarProof has always known vehicle history reports would eventually just be one element of its portfolio of products.
The company is working toward being involved in all stages of the vehicle remarketing cycle. And that means everything from appraising, trading, buying, selling and more.
“We feel as if we have value to add at every stage, no matter who the stakeholder is,” said Paul Antony, president, chief executive officer and chairman of CarProof.
He explained the underlying core belief behind the company’s vision for expansion and the consistent theme behind these tactics is transparency.
“We truly believe that transparency in a transaction builds confidence and allows more transactions to occur,” said Antony. “That can be B2B (Business-to-Business), B2C (Business-to-Consumer), and C2B (Consumer-to-Business). This strategy has worked very well with VHR, and that is our plan with RECON and the other products in the pipeline.”
CarProof also shared what’s on the agenda for 2015: a next generation appraisal tool, VIN specific valuation and RECON, with a focus on virtual auctions.
In fact, the RECON tool is already integrated with TRADER’s Exchange dealer-to-dealer marketplace, and it will also be used to fire condition reports to auctions through ADESA’s OPENLANE as well having the capability to condition grounded off-lease vehicles.
But Joe Varkey, vice president of marketing and communications at CarProof, pointed out that all this growth does not put VHRs on the back burner.
“We are continuously improving VHRs and are not losing sight of our core VHR products. We are adding millions of records and a very robust way to accurately determine the number of previous owners,” Varkey said.
The Importance of Client Feedback
In the throes of all this growth and movement, Varkey says the focus for many of these new tool’s development has been client feedback.
The company announced its vehicle valuation plans this fall at its second annual client advisory board meeting.
And the inaugural board meeting held in 2013 was used to announce the company’s new RECON tool.
“These meetings are priceless. Nothing is more important than the voice of the customer,” said Varkey. “When you are sitting around in a product meeting or marketing meeting, what you think is neat and a great idea might be neat, but it also might not be what your customers want or need.”
To avoid answering the questions nobody is asking, Varkey says CarProof turns to its customers.
“Our national sales force, of course, deals with our clients every day. But the beauty of something like this is you actually get the opportunity to sit down with your customers in a fairly intimate setting and explain your roadmap and your plans, and they give you very candid feedback on what is working, what you should keep doing, what you should stop doing and what you should start doing,” Varkey explained.
In fact, the annual meetings have provided such value, the company will be holding regional dealer-facing advisory boards next year across the country.
Entering the Recon Market
Just last year, the company moved beyond the VHR market and tackled reconditioning.
Company management says the 1.0 version of RECON is on the market, and reception has been positive.
Once again, Antony pointed out the product, like the company’s core beliefs, is built on transparency and providing insight through information.
“It’s built on our core belief in the importance of transparency and how increased transparency helps both parties, buying and selling, to know what they are getting into and to attach the right price to it,” Antony said. “If both parties are transparent, both parties trust each other, and more transactions occur. This is especially important in a virtual world.”
As the retail and wholesale markets continuously move more and more online, more tools will be required to create confidence in the transaction between buyer and seller, as touching the physical vehicle before buying wholesale slowly becomes a thing of the past.
“Adding RECON, not only does it build on our core principles, but we also want to make it an ingrained part of the buying and selling process in the retail and wholesale channels,” said Varkey.
The company is now focused on promoting the tool to potential partners, such as the recent deal with TRADER Exchange, as Varkey said clients are asking the company to integrate the product with more and more tools.
On top of partnering with TRADER and OPENLANE, the company is also talking to other parties in the remarketing value chain to plan future integration.
First Move Toward Valuation
A recent move towards the valuation market came with the company’s acquisition of Canadian Red Book earlier this fall.
“We have an overall valuation strategy that CarProof is strategically committed to executing aggressively against. Red Book is an established brand with a thriving customer base in the insurance, government and consumer space, so it is a great way to get our foot into the valuation space and accelerate our plans,” said Varkey.
The company officially announced the acquisition in mid-October and outlined plans to launch a vehicle valuation tool that uses all the data available to CarProof, creating a holistic view of the vehicle that simply isn’t available anywhere else.
What prompted the move into valuation?
Varkey and Antony spelled it out as follows:
“It’s interesting to know what a vehicle might have been listed for but accurate decision-making around pricing requires connecting the dots across a number of different data sources in a way that doesn’t exist today,” said Antony.”
“Through three plus years of gathering data and building relationships, we have built what we think is the industry’s largest and most powerful real-time automotive transactional database in Canada. The key value add of our solution is created by the synergy of combining much of our data including sold data/take data (both wholesale and retail), listings data/asking price and market supply/demand data with all the unique data currently included in the CarProof Vehicle History Report. Together, this empowers members of the automotive ecosystem to make more accurate judgments on how to value a car. The combination of unique data at unmatched scale with world class analytics results in a unique offering from CarProof that no one else can create or duplicate.” It really is the next generation for informed decision-making,” said Varkey.
Though there are other parties with some sold data, Antony asserts the magnitude of the sold data compiled by CarProof along with the data that drives CarProof’s proprietary vehicle history report materially raises the level of the playing field.
A version of the company’s next generation vehicle valuation product is expected to launch in the first half of 2015, and the company will have an even more elaborate VIN-specific version out by the end of next year.
The Canadian Auction Express brand is expanding.
Veteran auctioneer and entrepreneur Gord McComb and his son Jim McComb, vice president of operations and also an auctioneer, are opening a new auction designed to serve dealers.
The new Canadian Auction Express is located at 43 Somers Drive in Moncton, New Brunswick’s Caledonia Industrial Park.
Gord McComb touts more than 40 years of experience in the auction business, and he has appointed Peter Beers as general manager of the new location.
Canadian Auto Express holds another location in Greenwood, Nova Scotia.
Auction management shared Gord McComb is no stranger to the Moncton area, and has been involved in business ventures in the area since 1978. He is also known for his donations to the area’s hospitals through holding charity auctions.
McComb also holds the annual Bobby Orr charity Golf Tournament for cancer research, and most recently, he held the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Foundation’s charity auction at Royal Oaks Golf Course in Mocton.
Management said the new Canadian Auction Express location is “looking from past experience to succeed in a highly competitive industry.”
The new location will be open to dealers only. The next sale is scheduled for October 29.
For more information, Canadian Auction Express can be reached at (506) 389-3890 and at www.auctionexpress.ca.
Manheim Toronto is 50 years old this year, and the auction chose to celebrate this milestone earlier this month.
Manheim Toronto, which opened in August 1964, hosted anniversary sales during its regular consignment sales on Oct. 7 at 10 a.m. and Oct. 9 at 6:30 p.m.
The Town of Milton, Ontario, Mayor Gord Krantz even made an appearance to honor the business on its Oct. 7 sale day.
According to the latest edition of the Front Line newsletter from the Used Car Dealers Association of Ontario, the auction celebrated 50 years with a pre-sale ceremony.
“We were delighted to host a pair of sales to celebrate Manheim’s 50 years in Toronto,” Manheim Toronto general manager Don Wallace said. “It’s an honor to be a part of the company that forged the way for the auction industry in Canada, and also enjoyable to recognize so many of our longtime employees and customers. We look forward to the next 50 years!”
What is now known as Manheim Toronto was originally opened by Homer Stephens and Ruth Hart-Stephens.
The UCDA is directly connected to the auction as Homer Stephens was instrumental in getting the association off its feet by spreading word about the new organization, according to the recent newsletter.
And Ruth Hart-Stephens stayed on as general manager after the auction was bought by Manheim and eventually served as the vice president of Canadian business operations for Manheim until she passed away in 2007.
The 50-year-old auction is now run by general manager Don Wallace. And the UCDA still partners with the auction by sponsoring lanes and offering special promotions for members at Manheim Toronto.
