With used vehicle sales up 13% from 2020 to 2021, and auction volumes at historic lows, obtaining vehicles directly from consumers offers an opportunity for dealers to maintain a profitable sales pipeline. The key for dealers is to understand how their sales stack up against other local dealers — and more specifically, what types of vehicles those competitive dealers are selling.
Dealers should take advantage of market visibility
Experian’s marketing solution, the Automotive Intelligence Engine (AIE), offers dealers market visibility of pre-owned sales trends and recommends marketing strategies to help acquire used vehicle inventory. AIE provides specific strategies to help dealers acquire the most desired units and reach/resonate with consumers who are most likely to bring those units in on trade.
Dealers can view:
- Who owns desirable vehicles the dealer would like to purchase
- Strategies to acquire and sell used units
- Sales trends such as segment, class, model, make and model
- Financing trends such as credit score, term, and lender
- Audience makeup: demographic and psychographic characteristics, who owns what type of vehicle, and where they live.
By understanding the used owner, dealers can use messaging that resonates to help upsell them into a newer vehicle they desire—helping dealers stay competitive in today’s market.
Dealers should also look at lending trends
Exploring the world of used vehicle sales should also extend into lending trends. Since used vehicles are not included in OEM lending incentives, understanding trends helps dealers make more informed decisions. Used vehicles can qualify for special OEM sponsored CPO financing.
With AIE, dealers have visibility into the amount financeable percentages, APR trends, terms, and tiers for lenders within their market. This benefits dealers to know which lenders are covering more significant percentages like 140% of NADA and what lenders are covering lower credit tiers. Knowing options on the lending side of the transaction empowers dealers to expand their financing options to work with lenders who facilitate lower credit scores or cover higher percentages.
Learn how Experian’s Automotive Intelligence Engine can help you make more informed decisions about used car inventory acquisition. You may also be interested in reading more about audience segmentation and AIE in our blog, Data-Driven Audience Segmentation Empowers More Effective Omnichannel Marketing.
