First experimentation of dynamic pricing applied to the used car market
New: autobiz has developed a programme capable of adjusting the prices of a used-vehicle stock in real-time. The software, developed jointly with the SAMM laboratory at La Sorbonne and a major French manufacturer, is now entering a test phase on several pilot sites.
autobiz has developed a programme capable of adjusting in real-time the prices of a used car stock according to supply and demand. The software, developed jointly with the SAMM laboratory at La Sorbonne and a major French manufacturer, is now entering a test phase on several pilot sites.
autobiz announces the creation of the first dynamic pricing tool applied to the automotive trade. Designed for distribution professionals, this programme takes into account their fixed costs, their stock potential and their performance objectives. Its algorithms then dynamically calculate the optimal price for each used car, based on real-time analysis of supply and demand to apply an optimal pricing grid.
This project, which began in 2013 and was co-financed by BPI France, mobilised researchers from the SAMM laboratory at the University of Paris-Sorbonne, as well as the sales department of a major French manufacturer.
Our specifications called for between 5 and 10% additional margins on an entire stock, and to reduce the average holding time of a vehicle by around ten days
says Daniel Urbah, autobiz’s R&D director.
Thirty months later, the programme is now going to be tested on several pilot sites of autobiz.fr from December. This network, created in 2012, is the number 1 in automobile trade-in in France.
Price has become an essential purchasing criterion since consumers have become accustomed to going on the Internet to select the used car of their choice. Our dynamic pricing programme is at the service of sales managers. It shows them daily how to position the prices of their vehicles on the market so that they can optimise their margins over time.
says Christophe Louvard, CEO of autobiz.
autobiz is one of the world’s leading car valuation companies, with 35 million monthly price valuations in 22 countries. Since 2004, the company has been offering a whole range of tools to develop the used car business of professionals in the distribution, rental and insurance sectors. Launched in 2012, the autobiz.fr vehicle trade-in platform for private individuals is now operational on the French and Spanish markets. It will be deployed in Germany, Italy and Belgium by the end of 2015, and in five other countries in 2016.
A member of the BPI Excellence community, autobiz has strong growth potential for BPI France. The company devotes 15% of its turnover to R&D each year.
About autobiz
Since 2004, autobiz has been supporting all European players in the automotive industry with trade-in solutions. This support is based on 20 years of data history as well as web, software, and the business know-how of the company’s 280 employees. Today based in La Défense (92), autobiz also has offices in Berlin, Valencia (Spain) and Milan. autobiz assists more than 20 leaders in used remarketing (manufacturers, bankers, leasers, bidders…) as well as 5,000 points-of-sale in 22 countries across Europe.