The wholesale auction landscape is undergoing a transformation as the business grapples with a major digital shift, new competitors, defecting dealer customers, shrinking vehicle inventories and significant strategy moves by leading players.
While the evolution to digital was already happening, the start of the coronavirus pandemic more than two years ago accelerated the shift to online practices. Production constraints and inventory shortages have further reduced volume and increased prices at auctions. And dealers, stressed by increases in wholesale vehicle prices and higher auction fees, have turned elsewhere when they can — both trying to buy more vehicles directly from consumers and experimenting with new digital sourcing options offered by traditional companies and new rivals.
The developments have major players in the remarketing realm looking at how to reinvent their operations for the long term — and some are making big moves in the hopes of cementing their reach in the evolving market.