One of the trends that will be looked back on in decades to come will be the crazy used car prices of 2020.
Prices shot through the roof after lockdown as demand outstripped supply, so dealers needed a valuations partner that had huge data resources and real time sales information to give them a superb picture of exactly what was happening in the used car market.
Auto Trader has succeeded in this space for years but dealers really rated them in 2020 and the firm snatched the top gong.
‘It’s very humbling,’ says Auto Trader’s commercial director, Ian Plummer.
‘The award brings great industry credibility which we are grateful for, it’s amazing recognition for our data and the science we apply to that data, and all the hard work the Auto Trader team puts behind our valuations.
‘Valuations are more crucial than ever and we are delighted to have been providing insight and data to our partners across the automotive landscape, but in particular our retailer customers that have had to navigate through some extremely challenging times.
‘Using data to drive insightful and real time decision making has been one of the key tenets of the successful path our retailer partners have navigated through these tough times and we are very proud of that.’
Auto Trader’s valuations are based on observed pricing data from retailers and to determine them it has a team of data scientists that monitor nearly two million vehicles each day.
They analyse vehicle updates and vehicles added and removed from Auto Trader, along with data from trade listings on the Auto Trader website and retailer forecourt and website data, and data from auctions houses, leasing companies, OEMs and more.
It’s all of that makes the Auto Trader Index an accurate picture of the retail market, which dealers clearly love.
‘Crucially, we don’t control the data set,’ says Plummmer. ‘We don’t provide opinion, we just reflect retailer pricing, and ultimately the retailer reaction to live trends and supply and consumer demand.
‘It’s that genuine and accurate reflection of the market which we believe our retailer partners really want and need to identify trends and adapt to a dynamic market – never more so that today!’
For more Car Dealer Power winners visit the dedicated section here.
