Dealer Auction has been launched by Cox Automotive and Auto Trader in a joint venture to create a new automotive wholesale marketplace.
Called Dealer Auction, the JV will be a digital marketplace for wholesale vehicles.
Both companies will co-own the online auction service. It will be run by Le Etta Pearce, who has held senior roles within both Auto Trader and Cox Automotive.
Dealer Auction says it will provide fleet companies, manufacturers and retailers with a more efficient and convenient way to dispose of their stock of vehicles.
The JV Agreement is conditional upon clearance from the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK.
Subject to clearance, the new business will combine three businesses onto a single platform.
Cox Automotive will transfer its Dealer-Auction.com and Manheim Online businesses to the joint venture.
Auto Trader will transfer Smart Buying (formally known as Autotrade-mail), its retailer-to-retailer platform.
The end game for Dealer Auction is to provide a connected platform that enables a speedier end-to-end solution that gives buyers access to a single, data-driven wholesale marketplace with integrated access to NextGear Capital funding, Auto Trader and Motors.co.uk consumer listings, logistics through Movex and Motor Trade Delivery, and Manheim’s services to inspect, image, recondition, and prepare vehicles.
