Appetite for internet
purchasing has grown rapidly since 2008. Claire Hack
reports
Go deeper with GlobalData
The Manheim Group is
responding to demand from vendors and buyers with a new online
trade sales operation, to replace its vehicle remarketing solutions
(VRS) offering.
Manheim Direct will give trade
buyers immediate access to purchase from a rolling stock of up to
1,000 vehicles, 24 hours a day, from all of the company’s
remarketing sales channels.
This includes Manheim’s physical
auctions; Simulcast, the online link to auction; buy-now resale
stock from the new service; and a number of other electronic
auctions.
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By GlobalDataBid and chat
online
Manheim Remarketing managing
director Mike Pilkington said: “In essence, a buyer can purchase a
vehicle immediately for the screen price and they have also got the
opportunity to bid and chat online.
“From one site, dealers have
alternative ways of buying stock. For vendors, this additional
sales channel offers an alternative route to market without
additional movement costs.”
Manheim Direct is to take the place
of VRS, which had been trading since 2003 and will now no longer
exist, and will allow vendors to list all vehicles offered through
Manheim Remarketing under a single integrated search engine.
Pilkington added: “VRS was a
separate proposition – it was part of Manheim, but it had its own
website, its own communication channels and it also has separate
stock allocation.
“Now, essentially, stock can be
sitting at physical auction on site at Manheim Direct or a defleet
centre and can be offered from one Manheim channel to another.”
This means that if a vehicle does
not sell at a fixed price, it can be transferred directly to
auction.
“It means more choice for both
parties – people selling and buying. Demand has been there for some
time and online sales have increased since we first launched
Simulcast in 2004,” Pilkington said.
“We doubled volumes sold via
Simulcast in 2009 and the appetite for using the internet to
purchase stock continues to rise as buyers become more comfortable
with the technology.
“Because the technology is there,
the buyers’ appetite is there.”
Pilkington said that, while vendors
are increasingly looking for alternative ways to remarket vehicles,
buyers also want the convenience of being able to purchase
online.
Major funders
Currently, Manheim works with a
number of major funders, including Lombard, Hitachi Capital,
Alphabet, Arval and Lex Autolease, as well as with manufacturers
such as Ford, Skoda, and Mercedes – all of whose vehicles for
resale will be available through the new service.
Pilkington said: “Although the
majority of cars on offer are ex-manufacturer or fleet stock, we
will be offering dealer part exchange products shortly.”
Vehicles will be located at Manheim
Auction Centres, Manheim Direct’s Coventry premises and various
other remarketing centres in the UK.
“With the Manheim Direct
proposition, the vehicles can be delivered easily and
cost-effectively – we expect buyers to want the hassle taken out of
the process,” Pilkington said.
At the moment, according to
Manheim, the new service is unique in the remarketing industry and,
Pilkington claims, it will “set the standard” for other
companies.
“There is simply nothing else like this in the UK remarketing
industry and we are looking forward to welcoming new buyers to
Manheim Direct,” he said.
