BCA has launched a new daily sales program to support its customers, providing vehicles in a condition that are ready to be retailed and to a used vehicle quality standard that sits ahead of any of the current standard auction grading.
All BCA Forecourt Ready vehicles are enhanced to be better than a Grade 1 cosmetic condition, and all also have a clean Assured mechanical report. Every vehicle has recently passed a MOT – with BCA rectifying any mechanical and safety issues – and all vehicles have been serviced. This new offering will generate a sustainable source of retail quality stock that is expected to meet the approved used vehicle selling standards of most UK retailers.
With ongoing skilled labour shortages making it more difficult for used car retailers to get pre-sale work done quickly, BCA is using its in-house refurbishment network to present fresh-to-market vehicles in the very best condition exclusively to its buyer base.
This new initiative effectively helps to fill the shortage created by much reduced levels of direct-entered OEM stock at auction, a situation that is unlikely to change as long as the new car market continues to experience supply chain shortages. In addition, the shortage of skilled automotive technicians across the industry means that it can be difficult to get work done in a timely fashion.
The online BCA Forecourt Ready programme features daily sales, with around 1,000 cars offered each week initially. BCA will tailor the programme to satisfy buyer demand, providing BCA’s customers with a new source of stock that they can retail quickly, with minimal additional pre-sale investment or preparation required. Vehicles can be marketed immediately as BCA also provides a suite of high quality imagery which can be used to generate retail interest prior to vehicles being delivered, improving churn and cash flow.
Stuart Pearson, BCA COO UK said: “BCA Forecourt Ready is an innovative sales programme that only becomes possible thanks to BCA’s nationwide remarketing, refurbishment and logistics networks along with our access to the best sources of used vehicle stock in the UK. We recognise that with the pressure on new car supply, many of the traditional sources for retail prepped vehicles now have severely restricted volumes, making these cars incredibly difficult to source.”
“BCA Forecourt Ready has been created to plug a gap in the market and ensure that BCA’s buyer customers have access to a regular, aggregated daily supply of these high demand, retail prepared vehicles. BCA buyers can begin marketing their purchases immediately using our high quality imagery, safe in the knowledge that the vehicle will require little or no pre-sale preparation when it arrives at their dealership.
“BCA is using it’s scale to further support retail dealers, by managing the complex, exacting and time consuming refurbishment activities necessary to bring used vehicles up to approved retail standards.”
Used car values averaged £8,451 at BCA in May 2022, while performance against guide values rebounded after a sluggish start to the month.
While May 2022 values were down month-on-month (-£131/-1.5%), they were ahead year-on-year by just over 0.5%, with an increase of £44 compared to those seen in May 2021. The May Bank Holiday and anticipation over the Platinum Jubilee caused less disruption to trading than may have been expected and BCA staged successful online sales every day during the Jubilee celebration four-day weekend.
Data from BCA Valuations shows that used car demand from dealers and car supermarkets is increasingly focussed on vehicles that can be retailed quickly to meet the needs of retail customers. The best presented and prepared cars with higher condition grades attract a lot of competitive bidding, while lower grade, often older and higher mileage vehicles need to be competitively valued if they are to sell first time.
Reflecting this demand, BCA has already extended the new Forecourt Ready sale programme to a daily event, with up to 1,000 vehicles being offered over the course of a week. BCA Forecourt Ready sales feature stock refurbished to Grade 1 Plus standard with a clean BCA Assured Report, a recent service, a full MOT and retail quality imagery, which BCA’s buyers can immediately use to start marketing the vehicles they purchase through the programme.
Pearson said: “Anecdotal feedback from our professional buyers suggests that the retail market remains tough, however there is reasonable demand in certain sectors and segments and their focus remains on stock turn to get head of any future pricing change that the market experiences.”
“The same external pressures continue to influence the marketplace as last month, with the cost of living squeeze and rising energy and fuel prices and now the spectre of a ‘summer of discontent’ ahead with strike action being talked about across a number of public services. These issues cause economic uncertainty that make it more likely that consumers will rein in their spending and this will inevitably impact used car retailers and the wholesale used vehicle sector.”
“This leads us to a familiar position where a two tier market develops with strong demand for vehicles that are properly prepared, well-presented with a strong provenance and a clean grade, while less attractive vehicles need to be incredibly competitively valued if they are to sell first time.”
Pearson added, “Buyers are competing strongly for cars that are ready to be taken away and retailed with minimal effort, and we have already extended the reach of our new BCA Forecourt Ready sales programme to meet this demand. Our buyers now have access to a regular, aggregated daily supply of vehicles prepared to a new industry standard. They can begin marketing their purchases immediately using our high quality imagery, safe in the knowledge that the vehicle will require little or no pre-sale preparation when it arrives at their dealership.
“BCA’s Forecourt proposition is yet another example of how we’re utilising our scale, expertise and innovation to support our customers in an ever changing market. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that the best presented vehicles are selling even in a difficult market, and we’ll be engaging with our customers to further refine the proposition as the summer months progress”.
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