3:57 pm, January 16, 2020
DEALER Auction has officially relaunched with automotive partners Cox Automotive and Auto Trader as it sets out to change the way that vehicles are remarketed.
Already the UK’s largest online auction remarketing platform, Dealer Auction has set about radically changing its platform – merging insight from Auto Trader and its ‘Smart Buying’ B2B service with Cox Automotive’s auction-based expertise.
Changing from Dealer-Auction.com to Dealerauction.co.uk, the rebranded site aims to give its customers better access to quality stock, while also being able to use unique data sources that competitors don’t have access to – such as information on profit margins and the Auto Trader Retail Price Index.
The website itself typically has 1,200 active listings at any one time, with a host of new features being implemented, and more to follow throughout this quarter.
Dedicated search functionality now makes it simpler for dealers to find cars that meet their search criteria, with dealers able to set up bespoke alerts for when a car meets their requirements.
Alongside auctions, sellers are also now able to set a ‘buy it now’ price – meaning that should a dealer be looking for a specific vehicle, they don’t have to wait for up to five days for the auction to end, but could buy it then and there.
Truly exciting
Le Etta Pearce, CEO of Dealer Auction, pictured, said: ‘We’re setting out to disrupt the way that vehicles are remarketed. This is a truly exciting new platform that’s built to meet the real needs of our customers.
‘While we’re drawing on a bank of expertise and experience from our parent companies, Dealer Auction is its own business with a clear goal of transforming the way vehicles are remarketed. We want to provide our customers with more choice, better insights and greater margin.’
The new Dealer Auction platform represents a significant shift compared to the old interface, with the website taking a similar format to Auto Trader, while also incorporating some 30,000 private sale listings from the UK’s largest automotive marketplace.
Dealer Auction has also blended online with physical auctions, with the help of Manheim. Essentially, if a listing on Dealer Auction fails to sell or meet its reserve online, it could be quickly entered into a physical Manheim auction.
Alongside the main Dealer Auction platform, which has more than 7,500 active users, the new firm has spoken with manufacturers and large dealer groups about having closed networks.
For example, for Volkswagen, it would rather keep its own cars within its network at first, and then open them up to specialist dealerships, which is something the platform is looking to incorporate.
Customers were migrated to the new auction platform in December, with the site now live following slight refinements and revisions that have come from customer feedback. Dealer Auction is targeting 30,000-40,000 incremental units within the next 12 to 18 months as the site bids to take a greater chunk out of the vehicle remarketing segment.
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