Follow the dark passage with the blue lights to the cavernous hall with the wraparound screen: it sounds like the directions for an underground rave, but it was in fact the way to the Fleet Europe Remarketing Summit, this Wednesday in Luxembourg. There was no dancing, but there were other types of joy: a day full of talks rich in useful insights and practical examples, but perhaps most of all: a sense of community, optimism, and fun. Yes, AI is important. True, everybody’s getting more specialized. But in the end, remarketing is about partnerships, and about people.
The same, but better: every year, the Remarketing Summit takes centre stage for the first of the two Fleet Europe Days. Every year, the event gets a bit closer to finding the perfect balance between information and experience.
This year, the Remarketing Village was integrated into the larger Fleet Europe Village, located in the magnificent Luxexpo centre in Luxembourg. It gave the remarketing community the opportunity to sample everything that’s good and great out in the remarketing and wider fleet industry today.
The remarketers kept being drawn back into the remarketing sessions however, which presented not simply food for thought, but rather a sumptuous banquet of key insights and best practices.
The Summit hit the ground running with Björn Huetter (S&P Global Mobility), who shared a data-rich overview of the state of global vehicle demand.
The share of ‘New Energy Vehicles’ – the preferred Chinese term – was more than 50% in China in the third quarter of this year, a first. In Europe’s Big Five markets, that figure is at 26%, while the U.S. was stuck at 11%. “Subsidies are what’s to watch, with Germany for example re-introducing incentives for EVs”.
A graph of Chinese vehicle sales in Europe showed how tariffs had not really dented their progress. And Mr Huetter revealed the favourite route to market for Chinese OEMs in Europe – via Norway first, Europe’s most electrified market.
Octavian Chelu (Frost & Sullivan) presented a technical but revealing overview of where battery technology is headed. The title contained a hint: ‘Beyond lithium’.
“From a remarketing perspective, residual value of BEVs will be tied to the reputation of the four big battery makers”, he said. Those manufacturers – all East Asian – represent 70% of the market. Expect any potential scandal that hits any of them to have a direct impact on residual values.
Also impactful for battery technology: the EU’s introduction of a battery passport, from 2027, and the requirement, from 2030, for minimum recycled content in batteries.
The future for battery technology is diverse: automakers will match specific types of batteries – including new ones, like sodium-ion, and solid-state batteries – to specific vehicle categories.
Mr Chelu also predicted what is not likely to happen: “Battery prices have already dropped a lot. Prices are now linear, and will not go much lower. The good news: lifespan will continue to extend.” A battery with a 20-year life, anyone?
Bertrand Chataing (Autobiz) and Marina Picard (Stellantis) presented the first of several case studies highlighting the practical, positive effects of collaborations in the remarketing space – in their case, on automated damage recognition. They co-created Carcheck.AI, which is now being piloted by Stellantis in France and Spain, and is still being continuously improved via machine learning – but has already fulfilled its key promise: automate and speed up vehicle inspections, now reduced to less than 10 minutes.
Next up: Tobias Münch (BCA Europe) and René Lorr (Alphabet) explained how they worked together to roll out an automated fleet workflow system integrated into an auction platform across Europe. Lots of technical details and good news about better, faster, smoother, more profitable operations. Including via an exciting 30-second countdown clock for higher bidding, porting the excitement of physical auctions into the online space. The key, though: “This isn’t just about cars. It’s about data – and about people. And about how we can work together to drive change”. A message that resonated throughout the day.
Martin Rezab (ScaleVoice) and Mike Allen (Aures) presented a breakthrough case of using voice AI to source vehicles – both reactively and, innovatively, also proactively. “Our human call agents can’t keep up. The AI agent keeps getting better all the time”, Mr Allen said. Not bad for something that sounded like science fiction only a few years ago.
Talking about AI: Lizy CEO Sam Heymans explained how artificial intelligence is key to help his used BEV leasing company automate remarketing processes at scale. Interesting take: “We are currently using the worst AI models we’ll ever use – because they will keep getting better.”
Tasks that took days, now take minutes, he explained. And perhaps seconds a few months from now. Not only quality will improve, also quantity: “The used car market in Europe is worth close to one trillion euros. That’s a huge blue ocean for lease companies.” Most are only still toe-dipping in that vast body of opportunity. Mr Heymans’ advice to companies wanting to explore what AI can do for them: “Start small. Organize hackathons. And don’t reinvent the wheel – find strategic partners.”
Just before lunch, Morten Holmsten (Autorola) and Michael Schwaiger (Santander Austria) explained how their collaboration had helped overcome the limitations of Santander’s self-built remarketing platform. Scale, efficiency, and – crucially – cross-border remarketing 30% of the stock – had helped reduce leadtimes and increase profitability. Here too, an echo of one of the day’s recurring themes: “I truly believe that the best communication is human to human”, said Mr Holmsten. “But supported, where it makes sense, by AI.”
After the walking lunch in the Village, Eric Caruso (Arval) asked: “Is sustainable remarketing about more than reselling used BEVs?” His perspective was ESG, and his answer, a resounding yes. There are so many ways to avoid pollution and resource depletion. If you sell the car to the driver, you avoid collecting and transporting the vehicle. If you have to transport it, why not use ‘jockeys’ to drive the cars rather than high-emission trucks? And ask yourself – and the prospective buyer: Could we avoid repairing the car if they’re willing to pay a bit less?
“It would be wrong to see ESG as an obligation”, Mr Caruso said. “It’s also an opportunity to engage with clients and suppliers.” So, where others see constraints, look for opportunities.
Cloud analytics are rewriting the rules of EV remarketing. That was the key message of the joint presentation by Roberto Sportiello (Drivalia) and Christiane Soppa (Bosch). By creating ‘digital twins’ of 100 EVs in the first half of this year, their collaboration made it possible to have a constant view of battery state of health, to detect anomalies, and to determine the right moment to remarket EVs, leading to an appreciable uptick in their residual value.
Gablini is a Hungarian dealer for 10 brands, and a certified repairer of EV batteries for several of those. There is a lot of money in battery repairs – to earn, for the repairers, and to save, by the customers. “The average new battery costs between €15,000 andf €35,000, while it costs between €1,000 and €3,000 to repair it”, Mr Pataki said.
In principle, Gablini can repair any faulty battery. But in practice, most brands don’t sell the separate modules they need to effect the repairs. Contrary to the principle of sustainability, they prefer to deliver new batteries entirely, rather than the components. That certainly needs changing. An interesting space to watch – and perhaps, to invest in.
The Inspiring Women in Fleet initiative has been a Fleet Europe fixture for some years now, and it made its first appearance at the Remarketing Summit in Luxembourg. In a panel discussion, four leading female remarketeers – Julie Meynard (Arval), Grainne van Berkum (Openlane Europe), Svitlana Malko (Hyundai) and Stefanie van Dijk-Meenink (#DCDW) – laid out the importance and advantages of having a more gender-balanced industry, also in remarketing.
“60% of car buyers today is female”, said Ms Malko. A more diverse workforce creates a wider and more interesting set of opinions, the panel intoned. “The men in this industry need to give women the opportunities and the network to succeed”, said Ms Van Berkum, who noted the scarcity of women in remarketing, for now.
Rodrigo Ferreira da Silva (CECRA) gave a high-level presentation detailing the global trends influencing the industry, and then zoomed in on the business models that are battling it out for prominence in used vehicle retail: franchise versus agency. The latter was up and coming, but now seems past its prime.
Craig Anderson (ACV Auctions) brought an American perspective: his U.S.-based auction company is now busy expanding in Europe, providing him – and the audience – with an interesting opportunity to compare and contrast the practices and tools used on either side of the Atlantic. Conclusion: Europe has a thing or two to learn from the Americans.
Concluding the event, an executive panel consisting of Steven Schoefs (Nexus Communication) Mr Ferreira da Silva, Luis Maria Perez Serrano (CARA) and Bertrand Donck (Macadam Europe) reflected on lessons learned during the day. Yes, AI is important. And yes, we’re all looking to be the best at our particular bit of the remarketing value chain. But that only increases the importance of the two things that make remarketing profitable, and fun, the panel agreed: partnerships, and people.
