9:05 am, August 2, 2021
Dealers are being given new access to more than 30,000 used cars sourced straight from consumers, thanks to a hook-up between Auto Trader and Dealer Auction.
As well as private stock advertised on Auto Trader’s marketplace, vehicles gained via its Guaranteed Part-Exchange product and private sales made through its consumer-facing Instant Cash Offer will be listed exclusively on the Dealer Auction platform.
Auto Trader said it would give its Guaranteed Part-Exchange customers subscription-free access, although auction fees and transportation costs will still apply.
Guaranteed Part-Exchange – which is now available to all of Auto Trader’s dealer partners after a beta trial – and Instant Cash Offer, which was launched in July 2020, are powered by Auto Trader’s valuations and underwritten by Manheim Auction Services, which is part of Cox Automotive UK.
Karolina Edwards-Smajda, Auto Trader’s commercial product director, said: ‘We designed Guaranteed Part-Exchange in response to changing consumer demands, and to provide our retailer partners with a profitable new channel for sourcing vital new stock.
‘At a time when circa half a million vehicles are being taken out of the market each year by car-buying services, we saw an opportunity to make the part-exchange process work even harder for retailers.
‘We have partnered with Cox Automotive to unlock new sources of stock, which will ultimately put vehicles back into the hands of retailers and on to their forecourts.’
As well as the estimated 31,000 private consumer listings on Auto Trader, more than 700 vehicles are directed to Dealer Auction every month via Guaranteed Part-Exchange, which was launched in March 2021.
That figure is set to accelerate significantly however, said Auto Trader, thanks to a major new marketing campaign starting this week.
Le Etta Pearce, chief executive of Dealer Auction, said: ‘One of the biggest challenges for our industry right now is sourcing stock.
‘It’s an issue that this joint initiative with Auto Trader will help relieve. We’re delighted to be offering more retailers access to quality stock, quickly and conveniently.
‘Like consumers, retailers have turned to digital solutions in the past 12 months to buy stock and we see this trend continuing – not only giving greater choice but driving big efficiencies.’
