Autorola Helps the Car Remarketing Industry Beat the Economic Crisis

Despite the crisis, Autorola sells 22.8 % more cars in the first half year of 2009

The online vehicle remarketing group Autorola has in the ongoing economic crisis proven its worth for leasing companies, car makers and financial institutions all over Europe. In the first half of 2009, Autorola has managed to create growth and has remarketed 22.8% more cars for its customers compared to the same period in 2008. In some countries like the Czech Republic Autorola has tripled its sales.
Not only has the Autorola group sold significantly more cars for its existing customers in 2009; the group has also gained more customers and potential buyers. Around 67,000 car dealers in 31 countries around Europe are now approved, registered and ready to bid for vehicles. Lately, dealers in Latvia, Bulgaria and Estonia have signed up.
“More dealers are bidding and with greater aggression than last year. The number of buyers on our online car auction has gone up by 15 percent this year”, Peter Grøftehauge, CEO and President of the Autorola Group Holding A/S said.
One of the explanations is the low sales of new passenger cars:
“In many European countries the sales of new passenger cars has dropped dramatically. On a European scale this is an 11 percent difference for the first half of 2009 compared to the same period in 20081. For this reason dealers have been looking to remarketed cars instead”, Peter Grøftehauge added.
“The car scrappage schemes in 13 European countries* have diminished the supply of used cars in the market. This has led to an increased demand for cars from leasing companies and financial institutions. Dealers know from experience that these are premium cars and are on occasion bidding so high that the end prices are well above reserve. It is a change in dynamic for sellers who have feared seeing their stock of used cars stack up”, Peter Grøftehauge added.
“Autorola is pleased to be able to help the remarketing business through the crisis. We sell cars unit by unit, are getting high prices and have efficient and transparent processes with immediate payment to the seller. Furthermore, our online system is able to handle cross border trading. This means that sellers are getting the right market price, not on a national level but on a European level”, Peter Grøftehauge stated.
Autorola is confident that a further increase of sellers and buyers will find their way to www.autorola.com this autumn. Based on August figures, the growth rate seems to get even stronger in the second half of 2009.

* According to ACEA

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The Danish company Autorola Group Holding A/S was founded by the brothers Peter and Martin Grøftehauge and their father, former car dealer Niels Grøftehauge. Peter Grøftehauge is the CEO and President. In 2001, the company started online car auctions in Denmark and following its success it initiated a European expansion in 2005. The company now has more than 230 employees and host on-line car auctions in 17 countries: Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Portugal, Australia and Ireland. More subsidiaries both in and outside Europe are on their way. The number of cars registered for auctions is expected to rise by 50 percent this year. The number of registered car dealers is 67,000. Autorola offers lean remarketing services based on online auctioning producing long tail buying power for fleet, OEM, bank and leasing companies. We provide customers optimal prices with lean processes from de-fleet to cleared funds leading to improved cash flow, simplified logistics and minimized asset risk.

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