Automotive fleet remarketing: How to drive the highest returns
November 28, 2024
Remarketing strategies play a key role in shaping the financial success of your fleet. By understanding the dynamics between a vehicle's sale price and its book value, you can uncover significant financial opportunities—or risks.
Maximize your returns by making informed decisions that align with your financial goals. Explore effective strategies to get the best value from your remarketing efforts.
Understand fleet remarketing and its importance
Fleet vehicle remarketing is the sale of fleet vehicles once they’ve reached the end of their lease or lifecycle.
This process includes:
- Reconditioning the vehicles and removing any identifying logos or signage.
- Handling all administrative tasks, such as:
- Sales invoices
- Executing titles
- Sales forms - each municipality may require legal documentation
- Transport logistics.
Remarketing isn’t just about selling your used cars; it's about maximizing value from vehicles that are no longer needed. By effectively managing your fleet's remarketing process, you can ensure a smoother transition of assets, reduce holding costs, and generate higher resale values.
5 key fleet vehicle remarketing strategies
It's crucial to define clear objectives that align with your overall business strategy. Consider what you aim to achieve through remarketing—whether it's maximizing profitability, reducing fleet size, or updating vehicle models. Ultimately, you’re looking to get the best price for your vehicles in the shortest amount of time.
- Conduct a fleet performance report
A successful remarketing strategy begins with understanding your current fleet inventory.- Check condition: Assess each vehicle’s condition, age, mileage, and market value.
- Collect data: Gather information from maintenance logs and usage stats.
- Spot patterns: Find patterns and issues that might affect resale value.
- Choose the right time: fleet vehicle lifecycle strategy
Figuring out when to sell your fleet vehicles to maximize your returns plays a vital role in fleet remarketing. Start by understanding the fleet vehicle lifecycle, and then determine your optimal vehicle replacement timeline as part of this process.
Additionally, factor in the influence of market trends so you can strategically plan your remarketing efforts for the best results.
Seasonality factors:- Timing is influenced by seasonal market trends, with spring/fall being more favorable than summer/winter.
- Holiday periods: Sales can be challenging from October to January due to consumer distractions and bad weather.
- New vehicle introductions: New models are typically introduced in early fall, affecting replacement timing.
- Model year differences: The cost of a new model can be up to $1,200 more than the previous year's model.
Timing your remarketing efforts to coincide with lease expirations or planned fleet upgrades can help streamline the transition and minimize holding costs.
- Use data analytics for informed decision-making
By using advanced analytics, you can predict market trends, identify high-demand vehicles, and improve pricing strategies. With valuable insights you can enhance decision-making and continuously adjust as necessary.
Analytics enable you to see the data points such as supply and demand dynamics, seasonal variations, odometer and buyer preferences. This will help you tailor your remarketing efforts and increase your chances of achieving top-dollar sales when you follow a fleet vehicle replacement strategy that works.
Furthermore, data-driven insights can help you find potential areas for improvement within your fleet management operations. By improving processes based on real-time data, you can enhance efficiency and cost savings.
- Choose the right channels for fleet remarketing
Choosing the right channels for selling your vehicles is a key component of a successful remarketing strategy. Each channel has its pros and cons, and selecting the right one depends on your specific goals and resources.
How do you choose the best remarketing channels for your fleet vehicles? We recommend a multi-channel sales approach:
Direct sales to drivers or employees
If your policy allows vehicles to be sold to your employees or drivers, this can be the most efficient way in terms of time and money. This is the best option because vehicles are available at a client’s location where employees or drivers can buy them directly.
Advantages- Best price and lowest time investment.
- Lowest environmental impact: vehicle does not need to travel.
Upstream from auction
This involves putting the vehicle up for sale before it goes to auction.
Advantages- Shorter time period and reduced sale expenses.
- No need for transportation.
- Low environmental impact: Reduces the vehicle's travel, consumption, and pollution, contributing to a smaller environmental footprint.
Traditional auction
The conventional method of selling vehicles at a physical auction.
Advantages- Competitive bidding with dealers attending in person, ensuring the best price.
Salvage sales
For vehicles that are totaled from an accident, flooded, or damaged by fire, salvage sales are conducted through compliance auctions.
Advantages- More sustainable as vehicles are often bought by recyclers that must adhere to environmentally compliant standards.
- Vehicles are sold on salvage branded titles or certificates of destruction in compliance with state regulations.
- Invest in fleet vehicle reconditioning
Improving the condition of your vehicles before selling them can significantly enhance their resale value. Reconditioned vehicles are more appealing to potential buyers, justifying a higher price and ultimately increasing your returns.
When the mechanical functionality of the vehicle is in good working order, it provides a sense of reliability to buyers. By investing in reconditioning, vehicles will stand out in the market and bring about quicker sales. This investment in quality is often recouped through improved resale value, making it a smart strategy for fleet managers.
Fleet remarketing services to guide you
We’re here to offer you strategic guidance through your remarketing process by getting to know your fleet. We provide a fleet performance report that will help you understand which vehicles are ready to sell to keep your inventory up to date. You will be able to quickly adjust to market changes and seize new opportunities, keeping your fleet competitive.
Guaranteed resale value:
Benefit from our unique Advanced purchase program which offers you a guaranteed resale value. Gain confidence with a level of assurance and predictability in the remarketing process. This guarantee can help reduce risks associated with fluctuating market conditions, offering you peace of mind and a more stable financial outlook.
The remarketing process can be complicated – we're here to make it simple for you.
Learn more about how we can help or contact us today.
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