It’s no secret that the used car market is booming in 2023, invigorated by improving vehicle supply and strong demand levels despite the economic challenges. This performance is clear to see on Dealer Auction, with tens of thousands of auctions ending in Q1 alone, generating over 281,000 bids.
Strong performance
Dealers on our platform have truly reaped the benefits of digital auctions in Q1, with vehicles taking on average just 2.9 days to sell – much faster than traditional remarketing routes. Dealer Auction puts the power into the hands of the dealer, and the option of same-day auctions is helping them to sell their vehicles and get faster returns.
What’s more, the demand for quality used stock is helping to maintain the high prices we’ve become accustomed to in recent years, with an average sold price in the open market of £7,680 and CAP clean performance of 109%.
Finger on the pulse
The demand for quality used stock means dealers are using every tool at their disposal to get ahead of the competition. On Dealer Auction, savvy dealers are setting up stock preferences so they can be notified as soon as a vehicle they need hits the platform. In Q1, we sent out more than 2 million such alerts – now that’s what we call harnessing the power of digital.
Impact on market
It’s our mission to make buying and selling more profitable for both buyers and sellers, and in Q1 we helped dealers to boost their bottom lines. In total, we estimate that the vehicles sold on Dealer Auction generated just shy of £5 million in trade profit alone, with those same vehicles going on to achieve a total retail value of £135 million.
ICE vehicles still dominate
According to Cox Automotive’s latest AutoFocus report it is estimated that by the end of this year more than 20% of the 0-1-year-old vehicles in the UK parc will be electric. It’s clear the ‘Net Zero’ future is on its way, and while used electric vehicles are beginning to trickle into the wholesale arena, ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles still dominate with 96% of all vehicles sold on Dealer Auction in Q1 being petrol or diesel.
You can find the right stock on Dealer Auction
We pride ourselves on being the remarketing platform that brings the greatest number of stock sources into one place, so any dealer can find what they’re looking for. So far in 2023 we’ve sold vehicles ranging from £128 all the way to £115,550 – now that’s choice.
What’s more, our most common buyers fee was just £80, meaning dealers are not just using Dealer Auction to find the right vehicles for their forecourt, but they are also reaping the benefits of low costs and greater margins.
4×4 dominate the retail margin list
Big is better – at least that’s what consumers appear to be saying! Just by driving on UK roads it’s clear to see how popular some larger models have become, and our sold data shows this as well. By comparing the average sold price of models on Dealer Auction with the average retail price on Auto Trader we can see that large 4x4s are generating the biggest margins for dealers, with the Discovery Sport a clear stand out at £3,343.
Old favourites performing well
While large 4x4s are generating the most retail margin for dealers, when analysing purely trade sales it’s clear that some old favourites are big money makers for sellers on our platform. Standouts include the Peugeot 207 and Fiat Panda, both family hatchbacks which are massively outperforming their book prices.
The UK’s smartest digital wholesale marketplace
Dealer Auction is all about making buying and selling used vehicles easier and more profitable for everyone. We’re backed by unique data insights and clever tools that help you make the best decisions.
Sound good? Why not sign up for a free 90-day trial?
