City Auction Group and G3 Remarketing have both celebrated record years at their respective vehicle auction facilities during 2018.

Belfast-based City Auction Group saw vehicle sales at its Belfast and Rockingham remarketing centres grow by 11% as Leeds-based G3 Remarketing boosted its volumes by 18% with the help of its new online sales platform.

City Auction Group said that its most successful year since its launch in 2010 was also bolstered by a 17% uplift in vehicles offered through the Group’s online auction service – with 18,500 recorded in 2018.

Michael Tomalin, managing director of City Auction Group, said: “We are delighted with our success and it’s thanks to all the hard work of our dedicated teams across Belfast and Rockingham, as well as the recent investment we have made in upgrading our physical and online auction facilities.

“The used vehicle sector is seeing steady growth during Q1 2019, as new car sales continue to encounter challenging trading conditions. Demand for quality used vehicles across the UK remains consistently high, as our recent figures show.”

City Auction Group recently experienced a record sale at its auction facility in Belfast. A total of 275 vehicles were sold on behalf of LeasePlan UK, Toyota & Lexus, Trust Ford, FCA Group, Citroen UK, PSA Finance and Santander achieving over £2 million of total sales at 95% conversion at 99% of CAP clean earlier this month.

Tomalin added: “We expect the current trend to continue throughout Q1/Q2 across the Group. Challenges continue to face franchised dealers, thanks to the drop in demand for new vehicles and Brexit, which is driving consumers to be cautious and to spend their money wisely. Hence the conversion to the ‘newly new’ used product.”

Independent vehicle auction, G3 Remarketing, said that the introduction of new vendors, including First Response Finance, alongside a significant uplift in volume from Motability Operations during Q3 and Q4, helped it to achieve record throughput results.

A 26% increase in buyer attendance was also credited for the positive year’s trading, which saw the business break its predicted £80m overall hammer value..

G3’s joint managing director, Matt Dale, said: "Whilst we are immensely proud that 2018 has been our most successful year to date, the story certainly doesn't stop here. 

“In what will be our 10-year anniversary of trading, 2019 will see the business commence an ambitious three-year growth plan to double our volumes and significantly increase our acreage capacity.”

G3 is already working hard to offer a modern an integrated auction experience, with the introduction of 360-degree internal and external videos and its own mobile inspection and asset management application - AVID – helping to bolster online buyer activity by providing enhanced assessment of a vehicle’s condition. 

These business developments underpinned a 24% increase in bids throughout the year - with a significant boost in online buyer activity recorded, a trend G3 believe will only increase in 2019.