The Gavel – March 2023

Andy Conde – Cars

Since my last update for The Gavel, I am delighted to report a big uplift in vehicles coming through our auction lanes. This is in no small part thanks to a number of new contracts sealed by Cox Automotive.

We are proud to offer our customers choice to buy and sell the way they want to, whether that’s in-lane or online. In recent times it’s become abundantly clear that our vendors and buyers are resonating with this approach with physical attendances across Manheim continuing to grow and an online buyer base that is as strong as ever.

The choice we offer is certainly reflected in the results produced and we continue to see high conversion rates as well as some eye watering prices.

From an auctioneer’s perspective I think it’s fair to say that we have had to ‘dig in’ a little bit more of late, especially on the older product and those vehicles that require extra love and attention, but that’s the challenge us auctioneers love. Sometimes it’s good to be able to test your metal and to prove that we are still bid makers and not just bid takers and over the last few weeks, the team have demonstrated their ability to generate bids when there is little interest by using all their skills. This has made a change from dealing with bids coming in thick and fast as buyers fight over every single lot! At Manheim we have the best auctioneer team in the business who can deliver results for our customers regardless of the market conditions.

EVs continue to be a challenge as retail customers are not 100% confident in the product but on the flipside, many electric vehicles on sale within the auctions are looking like incredible value for money at current values. Having said that, I do expect to see another drop in value during the spring months.

Outside of EVs, the demand for quality retail stock continues with many prices achieved well over CAP Clean. Amazingly, prestige and high end 4x4 markets continue to go from strength to strength and the prestige sales at our Colchester auction centre are really capturing this marketplace with another big sale last week and a 100% result across the board.

However, the older, less desirable stock is harder work now which often points towards a slowing down of the markets, as is traditional at this time of year.

As I travel all over the UK I must say there appears to be more ‘23 plates on the roads than I expected, a sign that new vehicles are becoming easier to get than we have seen over the last two to three years.

Looking ahead, I expect current market trends to continue for the foreseeable future with quality vehicles selling well but with vendors having to react accordingly to those that are less desirable. And as ever, our incredible auction teams are here to offer advice to vendors and buyers alike on navigating the market, so don’t be afraid to ask!

Stuart Peak - LCVs

After a storming start to 2023, I am pleased to report that the LCV market in February kicked into yet another gear, with first-time conversions improving to 84% and our total volume of LCVs sold was up 3% on January despite it being the shortest month on the calendar. Days to sell also reduced by three days, which considering the other results indicates a very healthy market.?

I mentioned in last month’s update about guide prices being much more aligned to the market compared to a year ago, and February was no different with overall LCV sales coming in at 100.02% CAP Average. Small vans, dropsides and minibuses were in hot demand throughout February, and first-time conversions only started to dip on vehicles with over 120,000 miles.?

Looking at stock levels and stock profile, it is clear to see that there are more older vehicles coming back into the market which has been fully expected. We have seen a number of the largest van operators in the country defleeting over the last few months and the demand for this stock has led to some incredibly strong results.

Physical auctions continue to pick up traction with a further 2% increase in physical buyer attendance. Since re-launching our physical auction programme in summer 2022 we have closely monitored the demand for these sales and it’s great to see many buyers appreciating having the choice to buy in person.?

Euro 5 vans have performed well in recent times, achieving a shade under 104% guide values throughout February. The trend that we started to see last year when we re-opened physical sales was how physical buyers tended to buy more Euro 5 than Euro 6. This has continued, and overall, we are selling 34% of Euro 5 vans to a physical buyer vs 25% of Euro 6 to a physical buyer.

Consistency is key, and that is something that you will find regardless of whether you attend in person or online via Simulcast. At Manheim you get a great range of stock, from the country’s leading vendors and a vastly experienced and varied team that knows LCVs inside out.

So far, our sales in March have continued in the same positive vein so I look forward to reporting back on Q1 as a whole in next month’s update.