Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - (Page 18) 18 • NOVEMBER 24, 2008 remarketing Wholesale prices hit 14-year low Arlena Sawyers asawyers@crain.com Average wholesale used-vehicle prices, October Average price October 2008 Average price September 2008 Average price October 2007 % change vs. September 2008 % change vs. October 2007 Small and midrange Sporty Traditional Upscale Total car Small pickups Full-sized pickups Minivans Full-sized vans Lower midrange SUVs Large SUVs Other SUVs Total light truck TOTAL WHOLESALE $7,390 11,083 5,920 12,204 $8,055 $6,375 9,198 6,118 6,778 8,589 10,154 13,300 $9,151 $8,628 $8,563 12,102 6,479 13,428 $9,217 $6,978 9,834 6,710 7,506 9,230 10,507 14,165 $9,839 $9,540 $7,681 12,429 8,286 13,405 $8,573 $7,189 11,571 7,960 8,788 10,478 12,993 14,965 $10,907 $9,721 –13.7 –8.4 –8.6 –9.1 –12.6 –8.6 –6.5 –8.8 –9.7 –7.0 –3.4 –6.1 –7.0 –9.6 –3.8 –10.8 –28.6 –9.0 –6.0 –11.3 –20.5 –23.1 –22.9 –18.0 –21.8 –11.1 –16.1 –11.3 Toyota Financial aims to boost Web used-vehicle sales Arlena Sawyers asawyers@crain.com Wholesale used-vehicle prices plunged last month to their lowest point in nearly 14 years, the nation’s two largest auto auction companies reported. In October, used cars and trucks sold at auction for an average price of $8,628 — 9.6 percent below the previous month’s price and down 11.3 percent from October 2007. Last month’s average, which is not adjusted for inflation, was the lowest since February 1995, ADESA Inc. reports. Manheim’s used-vehicle value index stood at 104.2 in October, down 6.0 percent from September 2008 and 8.5 percent from October 2007. The monthly decline was the largest since Manheim launched the index with a value of 100 in January 1995. Tom Kontos, ADESA’s executive vice president of customer strategies and analytics, said he sees little prospect for improvement in wholesale used-vehicle prices next year. Note: Based on approximately a half million AuctionNet wholesale vehicle transactions a month *Includes standard and premium crossovers and small, upper mid-range and premium SUVs Source: ADESA Analytical Services based on AuctionNet data and Automotive News market classifications “Consignors at auction would be best advised to brace themselves for continued softness in wholesale prices through the remainder of the year and well into 2009,” Kontos said in an online commentary. Big trucks continued their year-toyear price slide in October, but their monthly decline was less steep because of falling gasoline prices. Full-sized pickups sold last month for an average wholesale price of $9,198, down 20.5 percent from October 2007 and 6.5 percent from September 2008. Large SUVs sold on average for $10,154, a 21.8 percent drop from the year-ago month and 3.4 percent below the September 2008 price. Manheim chief economist Tom Webb described the wholesale usedvehicle market in October as “horrible.” He said the credit crunch and poor economy are making it hard for dealers and consumers to buy used cars and trucks. Said Webb: “Financing, both at retail and wholesale, is more restrictive, more costly or simply not available in some cases.” c Toyota Financial Services is changing its remarketing Web site in an effort to help dealers feel more confident buying and selling used vehicles online. “A lot of people are comfortable purchasing online, but a segment of our dealer population is not,” says Ralph Fisco, Toyota Financial’s national remarketing manager. “We are redesigning our portal to make it more engaging.” Toyota Financial’s Ralph Fisco: Web searches will get easier. sidering whether to offer the vehicles for sale at a fixed price. “This will allow flexibility of dealership personnel to purchase a Toyota or Lexus vehicle 24 hours a day,” Fisco says. Tim Cox, used-vehicle manager at Hennessy Lexus in suburban Atlanta, says he is excited about the prospect of working with other Lexus dealers online to buy and sell certified used vehicles. Cox says he spends about $2,600 to recondition a vehicle for certification, not counting the $995 certification fee imposed by Lexus. If he can’t sell the vehicle within 60 days and must send it to a physical auction, he says, the dealership likely loses its investment in certification. But he believes other Lexus dealers using Toyota Financial’s sales Web site would pay extra for a certified vehicle if they have a buyer for it. Electronic notification Fisco says the changes to the Dealer Direct site are scheduled for mid2009. The revamped site aims to simplify searching for and buying vehicles. It will notify dealers electronically when a specific vehicle is available for purchase, he says. Toyota Financial is considering a site tool that would enable dealers to buy and sell vehicles to each other online. The company also is looking at allowing dealers to buy vehicles online at fixed prices before they are sent to physical auctions. About one-third of Toyota and Lexus dealers use Dealer Direct to buy off-lease vehicles from Toyota Financial, the captive finance company of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. Fisco says he hopes the revamped Web site will help double that share. Toyota Financial expects to sell about 50,000 off-lease cars and trucks online this year. Fisco says the company wants to boost those sales to about 80,000 in the next year or two. Auction Broadcasting shifts focus to Internet Arlena Sawyers asawyers@crain.com Auction Broadcasting Co. is amending its business strategy to emphasize online sales and smaller physical auctions. Auction Broadcasting needs less space to store vehicles because it is selling more used cars and trucks online, said Jason Hockett, the Indianapolis company’s executive vice president of sales and marketing. This summer, Auction Broadcasting sold its 82-acre auction in Minneapolis and its 60-acre site in Nashville to ADESA Inc., the secondlargest auction company. Auction Broadcasting now operates six sites that average 30 acres, Hockett said. The company is looking to acquire smaller auctions, he added. “If we do a good job for the dealer, we’re going to do a great job for a Auction Broadcasting’s Jason Hockett: More used vehicles are being sold online. small captive finance company or a leasing company,” Hockett told Automotive News. Hockett said each of the company’s auctions sells 200 to 600 vehicles a week, with most of those cars and trucks coming from franchised and independent dealerships. Hockett declined to disclose Auction Broadcasting’s annual sales. Auction Broadcasting makes about 10 percent of its sales via Online Ringman, a Web site that lets dealers buy vehicles at physical auctions from remote locations. Auction Broadcasting is working with vehicle finance companies to conduct “float” sales that do not require immediate payment, Hockett said. Dealers get 30 to 60 days to pay for vehicles — usually enough time to sell them, he said. Hockett, 39, oversees Auction Broadcasting’s day-to-day operations. He owned Chevrolet and Ford dealerships in suburban Indianapolis from 2002 until he sold them in 2004. Hockett’s family owns a Buick-Pontiac-GMC-Mazda dealership in Indianapolis. Hockett is the son of Mike Hockett, who founded ADESA and sold the company in 1995. Mike Hockett founded Auction Broadcasting in 2000. “We’re all in the auction business,” said Jason Hockett of his family. “It’s in our blood.” c ‘I can’t wait’ Cox says he expects the other upgrades to the Web site will help dealers sell used vehicles faster and save money they now spend to send vehicles to auction. “I can’t wait,” Cox says. “This is going to help everybody.” Last month, Lexus dealers sold 4,287 certified used vehicles, 3.5 percent more than in October 2007. From January through October, they sold 44,537 certified vehicles, up 5.9 percent from the year-ago period. The industry sold 119,611 certified vehicles in October, down 10.7 percent from the year-ago month. Through October, the industry sold 1,425,752 certified cars and trucks, up 0.3 percent from the same period of 2007. c Off-lease options Toyota Financial gives Toyota and Lexus dealers first crack at buying its end-of-lease vehicles. After that, vehicles are offered on Dealer Direct in daily auctions. Vehicles that don’t sell there go to physical auctions open only to Toyota and Lexus dealers. Fisco says Toyota Financial is con- AN AUCTION WHERE EVERYTHING JUST CLICKS. Any make. Any model. From anywhere. Now you can fill your inventory 24 hours a day, 7 days a week just by clicking on ADESA.COM. Give it a try and see just how easy it is. Log on to DealerBlock today. ©2008 ADESA, INC. http://www.ADESA.COM http://www.ADESA.COM http://www.ADESA.COM
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - November 24, 2008 Iacocca tip: 'Equality of sacrifice' Ch. 11 would hit dealers hard â fast Detroit 3: Bankruptcy = doom Down the road and a continent away Used-vehicle demand shrivels O'Neill will lead Power GM tweaks production plan Mitsubishi: No to Detroit Ford will cut more output Nardelli: Chrysler is running on fumes GMAC on brink of bankruptcy, S&P warns Off with their heads! (But whose?) In defense (kind of) of Detroit Bailout Motors? Britain went down that road CEOs could have pre-empted the grilling Ford: We still want Mazda expertise Imports clog ports as sales plunge Volvo's N.A. boss will resume leases to boost volume Nissan expects Chrysler pickup deal will survive Toyota: Venza is a trendsetter, not a crossover It's time to put partisanship aside; Detroit needs help What GM needs is GMAC.2 'Buy American' talk won't help industry Readers weigh in on auto industy woes No one bailed out Oldsmobile It's time to move to mass transport We still need manufacturing Bankruptcy is a bet Let's get wages under control Will America be better off? First step: Bring the jobs home America owes it to GM to help The answer is simple: Leasing What about dealerships? Detroit 3 CEOs must offer to quit Oct. truck sales fall 17.4% Honda plant adds parts center They're sold on Camaro Drawn to Ferrari Japan poised to control key batteries Europe's worst month hits all automakers Dealers BMW: Diesel 7 series could come to U.S. Honda's FC Sport mixes green and go Infiniti G37's hard top retracts in 30 seconds Redesign of Lexus RX series hard to see Mini electric: Jolt comes from sticker Ford hybrid sedans aim at Camry After only 3 years, Ford revamps Fusion Hyundai plans new crossover, turbo engine Restyled Mustang: More refinement, horsepower Honda: Don't count on CR-Z gasoline variant '09 Nissan Z delivers more of what fans like Mazda3 gets new look, powertrains Nissan Cube joins the box brigade Infiniti upgrades powertrains Lincoln MKZ gets a makeover Porsche won't stall Panamera 2010 GLK priced below rival Bentley's Azure T gets 500 hp Detroit 3 squeezed by credit, cash â politics Waxman could mean trouble for Detroit GM formulates a 'Plan B' if it doesn't get federal loan Infiniti replaces Igo Sharks vs. Jets, D.C.-style What's good for â uh, how'd that go again? Mazda deal imperils Ford training ground More like Toyota, Honda? Careful what you wish for Maybe he's Buck-a-year Bob now Romney: Bankruptcy, not bailout Automotive News - November 24, 2008 Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - (Page Intro) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Detroit 3: Bankruptcy = doom (Page 1) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Detroit 3: Bankruptcy = doom (Page 2) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Ford will cut more output (Page 3) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Off with their heads! (But whose?) (Page 4) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Off with their heads! (But whose?) (Page 5) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - CEOs could have pre-empted the grilling (Page 6) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - CEOs could have pre-empted the grilling (Page 7) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Volvo's N.A. boss will resume leases to boost volume (Page 8) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Volvo's N.A. boss will resume leases to boost volume (Page 9) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Toyota: Venza is a trendsetter, not a crossover (Page 10) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Toyota: Venza is a trendsetter, not a crossover (Page 11) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - 'Buy American' talk won't help industry (Page 12) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - 'Buy American' talk won't help industry (Page 13) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Detroit 3 CEOs must offer to quit (Page 14) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Drawn to Ferrari (Page 15) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Japan poised to control key batteries (Page 16) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Dealers (Page 17) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Dealers (Page 18) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Dealers (Page 19) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Dealers (Page 20) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Dealers (Page 21) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Dealers (Page 22) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Mini electric: Jolt comes from sticker (Page 23) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Restyled Mustang: More refinement, horsepower (Page 24) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Bentley's Azure T gets 500 hp (Page 25) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Bentley's Azure T gets 500 hp (Page 26) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - GM formulates a 'Plan B' if it doesn't get federal loan (Page 27) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Infiniti replaces Igo (Page 28) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Infiniti replaces Igo (Page 29) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Romney: Bankruptcy, not bailout (Page 30) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Romney: Bankruptcy, not bailout (Page 31) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Romney: Bankruptcy, not bailout (Page 32)
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