Digital channels see growth in vehicle buyers and sellers.
Fast moving business Image: OVE |
Corporate customers such as dealers, rental companies and fleet owners are turning increasingly to digital agencies to buy and sell used vehicles.
In the US, during the first half of 2018, 45% of all pre-owned vehicles sold to a digital buyer were through global vehicle remarketing company Manheim Marketplace's trading operations including Manheim.com, OEM-specific Private Stores, OVE or Simulcast. OVE alone has completed around three million transactions since it launched in 2013.
Last year saw a 32.6% increase in digital offsite dealer sales, outside a physical auction location, for the Manheim organisation.
Co-operation between the different digital operators has led to vehicles being listed on more than one site at the same time. This is not unique to the US. In the UK, for example, dealerships will use multiple sites - such as AutoTrader, Motors.co.uk and car pricing specialists Parkers - to advertise a single vehicle.
According to the latest data from UK-based automotive analysts, Sophus3, some 1.3 billion visits were tracked globally to car brand websites in 2017. The average site visit lasted just under three minutes, with the average number of brands being considered by car buyers increasing to around six.
While the US figures show strong digital growth, Sophus3 noted that China is displacing the US as the leader in automotive and digital marketing innovation, also stating that, in general terms, new retail formats can succeed with a strong digital component.