AUTO1.com Launches Dealer Auctions – A New Auction Channel

Berlin, July 29, 2024 – AUTO1.com, the leading wholesale platform for used cars in Europe, is expanding its offering with an innovative new auction channel: Dealer Auctions. This new channel provides partners with an efficient and transparent way to market and acquire vehicles, enabling buyers to benefit from curated car selections and reliably predictable sourcing. Sellers benefit from the opportunity to offer their cars in a branded and exclusive auction space prominently on AUTO1.com to allow for demand maximization and improved matchmaking. Dealer Auctions end in the morning and add additional, highly attractive opportunities to strike deals before the usual high-traffic daily auctions run out in the evenings.

Dealer Auctions: Efficient and Thematic Vehicle Marketing

The Dealer Auctions allow sellers to auction their vehicles in thematic batches, enabling targeted searches and efficient planning for buying dealers. Each car has a dedicated Hotbid Phase slot so that buyers can plan ahead and do not need to track a queue of cars; instead they can efficiently be online and bid at the right time. For buyers who cannot make it to the Hotbid Phase, pre-bidding opens on the evening before. To allow buyers to perfectly prepare their bids, cars can be reviewed in full depth for a few days in advance of the Hotbid Phase.

Dealer Auctions are available to all buying AUTO1.com partners across our more than 30 markets in Europe right from the start. On the seller side, AUTO1.com Dealer Auctions has started with selected premium partners from Germany, Spain, and France and will further roll out to more seller markets and selling partners in the coming weeks.

Benefits for Buyers and Sellers

Buyers benefit from thematically organized auctions that allow for focused selection and predictable purchasing decisions, which can be especially advantageous for buyers seeking selections of similar cars. Sellers benefit from being able to leverage their seller brand on their stock to motivate strong demand during the peak bidding phase and enhanced visibility of their vehicles through the Preview Phase. Sellers appreciate and leverage the possibility to offer their cars in a distinguished, recognizable, and branded section of AUTO1.com.

Simple and Fast Purchasing Process

The process begins with a Preview Phase, where all cars are visible days ahead, allowing buyers to study them in detail and add their favorite cars to their watchlist for the Hotbid Phase. At the end of the Preview Phase, on the evening before the Hotbid Phase, buyers have the option to place prebids. All prebids at this stage already count but are only visible to the bidder until they are shown to everyone at the start of the Hotbid Phase.

Each car will be auctioned at a specific time in the morning, enabling buyers to plan their time efficiently. The Hotbid Phases run for 3 minutes, and all bids are visible. Each bid placed towards the end of the Hotbid Phase extends the bidding period by an additional 30 seconds.

"With the launch of Dealer Auctions, we are offering our partners another innovative and efficient way to buy and sell cars Europe-wide. The thematic grouping and then quick auction process support our dealers in achieving their business goals even more effectively," says Moritz Lück, SVP Sales & Operations of AUTO1 Group.