Toyota will be auctioning used cars from all brands that will be checked by company professionals and certified on 203 parameters.
Toyota India will soon start auctioning used vehicles in the country, a practice it follows globally, in a bid to expand its business and add some life to its otherwise stagnant sales in the new car market. For auctioning vehicles, the Japanese automaker has setup a new sub-brand called ‘Toyota Auction Mart’ that will commence operations from September 2015 in Bangalore and a dedicated auction facility has also been established in Bidadi, Karnataka close to the automaker’s manufacturing facility. The new auction service is in addition to the automaker’s used car business Toyota U Trust that currently deals with the buying and selling of used vehicles.
Toyota further stated that the cars from all brands will be part of the auction and will be inspected by trained company professionals and certified before the auction. The company engineers will be rating the vehicles on 203 set parameters to assess its worth and price for the auction. This is different from the current practice of dealers buying used cars and disposing them unprofessionally, stated the company. Moreover, the consumers will have the final say in auctioning of their used cars that will help renew confidence of the customers.
The used car market is showing more growth compared to the sluggish new car sales and is turning out to be a new revenue generator for several carmakers. Internationally, Toyota conducts car auctions through its own sub-brands such as Toyota Auto Auction and Chubu Auto Auction in Japan and Hotai Auto Auction in Taiwan. The Corolla maker is aiming to make the used car business more transparent and reliable to customers.
Launched in 2007, Toyota’s U-Trust has been dealing with the used car sales for the automaker and operates out of 56 markets across 19 states. The new auction feature will be the first of its kind in the country to be initiated by a manufacturer. The used car market reportedly witnesses more than 3 million used vehicles traded in the country every year.
Source – EconomicTimes.com