U.K.-based online automotive marketplace Carwow has now added light commercial vans (LCVs) and pickups to its daily auctions.
Carwow decided to add these new vehicle types following feedback from its U.K. network of dealers. The company ran a pilot for two weeks in September to test out the demand and saw hundreds of LCVs listed.
The new LCV listings include pickups, vans, minibuses and commercial 4x4s. The most popular models so far have included used Ford Ranger, Land Rover Defenders, Ford Transits, VW Transporters and Nissan Navara.
Almost half, 45%, of listings have been for vehicles under 5-years-old and 55% had less than 60,000 miles on the clock, important criteria for potential buyers searching for used LCVs.
Carwow launched its consumer-facing ‘Sell My Car’ service in 2021. It provides customers with an instant valuation of their vehicle and helps dealers meet demand for used cars. It launched a new website for dealers to source used cars in July 2022 and the volume of cars acquired by dealers has been growing quickly, according to an update from the company last month.
Carwow has used its regular Dealer Councils to help improve and evolve the service based on feedback, which led it to shift to a digital auction model and to upgrade the pre-sale appraisal process.
“We know quality is critical for dealers, so every LCV listing is pre-qualified by our team of experts, just like our typical used-car stock, to ensure a complete service history, background checks are conducted before a vehicle reaches our auctions, and we can support with documentation and transportation,” said Carwow U.K. MD Sally Foote.
“We’ve listened to our dealer partners to ensure we know exactly what profile of LCV they are really looking for, and that’s coupled with consistently low acquisition costs and no subscription fees to help maximise dealers’ margins.”
Earlier this week, Carwow published its 2022 financial results, which showed the company’s losses more than doubled to $36 million, despite a 10% increase in revenue for the year.
