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The Manheim Consulting team's track record in helping clients improve their business performance is without peer in the remarketing industry. Seasoned professionals tap the vast Manheim database, their knowledge of the wholesale used vehicle marketplace and their understanding of economic events to help clients refine fleet management and remarketing strategies.
We work one-on-one to ensure that the results of our research provide actionable advice that is specific to each client. Our work is done in complete confidence and always without bias.
We invite you to contact Manheim Consulting or your Manheim representative to discuss the full range of analytical services, studies and resources that make Manheim Consulting such an important partner in the remarketing industry.
Manheim, the leading wholesale vehicle auction and remarketing company in North America, formally established Manheim Consulting in 2005 as a separate research unit. Manheim recognized an opportunity for commercial consignors and dealers to develop remarketing strategies around data-driven research. Wholesale vehicle transactions through all Manheim channels comprise a historic and real-time database that permits clients to examine any aspect of their remarketing strategy.
Clients have examined seasonal, regional and national pricing behavior for their vehicle portfolios in addition to more granular questions related to the value of specific vehicle features, condition, setting reserve prices, and impact of channel selection. Manheim Consulting provides periodic performance reviews for customers and conducts one-of-a-kind research tailored to specific client objectives.
The Manheim Consulting staff has also conducted research into topics identified by clients that have broad and important implications for them and the remarketing industry as a whole. These white papers and case studies of research undertaken for individual clients demonstrate but a part of the department's capabilities.
Manheim Consulting also monitors the impact of economic events on the wholesale and retail used vehicle markets through its monthly Auto Industry Brief and annual and mid-year editions of the Used Car Market Reports. Tom Webb, Manheim's chief economist, writes these reports as well as the most accurate and authoritative data on wholesale vehicle price trends. Tom updates the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index monthly and hosts a quarterly conference call where he answers participant questions following his presentation.
Our Staff | Our Services | Used Vehicle Industry
Our Staff
Lynn Morgan
Vice President, Marketing and Consulting
Lynn Morgan is the Vice President responsible for Manheim Consulting, Manheim Marketing, as well as Manheim's DRIVE innovation center. Lynn not only oversees this team of professionals but also engages directly with Manheim clients in developing research and analytical projects.
Lynn has had extensive business experience with Cox Enterprises prior to joining Manheim as the director of the DRIVE center, Manheim's remarketing think tank. In 2005 Lynn assumed full responsibility for Manheim Consulting. Since that time, she led the creation of a skilled team of professionals who have contributed their knowledge of the remarketing industry, database expertise, and financial acumen to provide a full range of analytical services to Manheim clients as well as clients in a wide array of other sectors.
Under Lynn's guidance, Manheim Consulting has expanded the amount of information available to the public through quarterly conference calls, the mid-year Used Car Market Report, monthly Auto Briefs and the annual issue of the Used Car Market Report. This has raised the visibility and understanding of the economic and business importance of the wholesale used vehicle industry.
Erik Kibler
Senior Director, Consulting & Analytics
Erik joined Manheim Consulting in 2005 as a senior consultant after spending one year at Manheim Auctions in the marketing department, where he was manager of national accounts marketing. Erik provides a number of key consulting services including custom analytics, market research, and sales performance benchmarking.
Erik brought extensive automotive experience to Manheim, having worked for a multi-franchise dealer where he was responsible for implementing marketing, market research, advertising, and promotional campaign development.
Erik holds a bachelor's degree and an MBA with a concentration in management information systems.
Tom Webb
Chief Economist
Tom Webb joined Manheim as chief economist in 2001, bringing to the position his unique understanding of the automotive retail and wholesale industries. As the chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association for 26 years, Tom was already recognized for his authoritative research and commentary on economic trends and their impact on vehicle demand. At Manheim, Tom continues in his role as commentator on the economy and vehicle markets and is a frequent guest at Manheim client and automotive events, in the media and as a contributor to automotive and remarketing publications.
In 2001 Tom launched the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, the only measurement of wholesale vehicle pricing that is based on wholesale market transaction data and adjusted for seasonality and mileage. The MUVVI has become the most widely referenced indicator of wholesale used vehicle market trends. Tom is also the author of all Manheim Consulting publications that are available to Manheim clients as well as to the automotive community.
Our Staff | Our Services | Used Vehicle Industry
Our Services
Manheim Consulting: Your Partner for Remarketing Success
The remarketing process involves a multitude of tasks and decisions that influence outcomes. Since 2005, the Manheim Consulting team has been helping Manheim clients refine their remarketing strategies using customized research, mathematical modeling and data mining. We know that applying analytical techniques has enabled vehicle consignors to achieve more predictable results and optimize their remarketing strategies.
The Manheim Consulting team is dedicated to enabling commercial consignors and dealers improve their remarketing performance by applying data mining, targeted research and quantitative analysis. We access the massive database represented by the more than 10 million vehicles that are posted annually on line or run in Manheim auction lanes. Even when vehicles fail to sell for whatever reason, those outcomes provide as much valuable information as the results for vehicles that sell in their first trip through the lane or within minutes of being listed online.
The Manheim database allows the analytical team to research questions related to vehicles themselves, local, regional, national price trends, buyer behavior in various auction settings including online, the impact of services such as reconditioning on prices and much more. We always let the data speak for itself in providing our clients with unbiased reporting of our conclusions and work with our clients to set the parameters for our studies. Click here to see examples of customized research for individual clients.
Our Staff | Our Services | Used Vehicle Industry
Used Vehicle Industry
There are more than 250 million vehicles on the road in the United States. As the vehicle population has expanded, the average vehicle has gotten older. Modern cars and trucks retain value long into their lives because of continuous improvements in design, engineering and quality. These trends underpin annual retail demand for used vehicles at about three times the level of new vehicle sales. Today's new car or truck will have more owners over its life than in the past, and a family's vehicle is often among its most valuable possessions.
Each time a used vehicle is sold to a new owner, market conditions determine price and enable sellers to unlock the value in the vehicle. There is no better example of the dynamic nature of the used vehicle market than the open bidding in live and online wholesale auctions. In these venues, the market value of any vehicle, irrespective of age or condition, can be determined. Those values reflect all economic, business and model-specific factors that could influence the price of any vehicle.
The importance of the used vehicle industry to the overall financial health of the automotive industry cannot be underestimated. The liquidity of the wholesale market and pricing data generated in auctions supports vehicle lending and leasing, fleet management decisions, dealership profitability and inventory management, and even automakers' marketing strategies.
Manheim Consulting clients have improved their remarketing performance by challenging our analytical staff. Read the conclusions of just a few of these in-depth studies.
Case Studies
Consignors Increase Returns by Selling Ample Volume Alongside Peers
Manheim Consulting determined that consignors selling at least 20 units per sale at the same time as peers boosted returns and drew potential buyers into the lane.
Recon Opportunities for Units Valued at $5,000 or Less
Sellers achieved a return on investment of $2.35 for every $1 spent on reconditioning services when the reconditioning resulted in an increased inspection grade.
Condition Reports Boost Simulcast Sales for Dealers
Manheim Consulting study determined that dealer vehicles with a condition report received a higher amount of online bids, resulting in increased online sales %, fewer arbitrations, and a general lift in retention.
Arbitrage Analysis Prompts Major Dealer To Alter Its Wholesaling Practices
After comparing the prices his vehicles realized with the final prices obtained by wholesalers for many of those same vehicles in Manheim auctions, the dealer adjusted his remarketing practices to achieve higher values.
Depreciation Analysis Aids Rental Company's Sourcing of Risk Vehicles
Manheim analysts reviewed three years of vehicle transaction data and isolated the factors that resulted in variations in depreciation rates. These findings helped the rental company to optimize its risk vehicle acquisitions.
Fleet Consignor Researches Impact of Options on Residual Values
A seemingly simple request to study the impact of color and option packages on wholesale values produced some surprising findings that enabled to fleet operator to alter his vehicle purchases.
Reconditioning Process Efficiency Improved After Review by Manheim Consulting
A client requested that Manheim Consulting review their process efficiency for reconditioning and repair work. Process simulation measured and analyzed all aspects of the client's operation. The suggestions made improved the client's efficiency.
A National Consignor Requested a Study of In-Lane and Online Buyers
The findings of the analysis enabled the consignor to target its remarketing efforts to ensure that it attracted the right buyers to its auctions.
White Papers
Auction Recon and Certification Pay for Themselves
Nearly 90,000 transactions by financial institutions were analyzed to determine the financial impact, if any, from reconditioning and certification. The results demonstrated a significant ROI for the seller for these services.
Delayed Titles Reduce Consignor Revenues
Delayed titles are an industrywide problem for both buyers and sellers. This white paper measures bidder behavior and pricing on vehicles with delayed titles.
Financial Implications of "No Sales" and Multiple Registrations
This white paper analyzes the reduction in transaction prices that results when a vehicle is a ìno saleî and is registered in subsequent sales.
Rising Fuel Prices Impact Domestic and Foreign Used Vehicle Pricing
A review of all transactions through all Manheim channels from 2007 to mid-2009 illustrated the impact of fuel prices by vehicle segment for domestic and foreign brands during the previous run-up in fuel prices.
Tom Webb's Recent Presentations
Tom Webb is a frequent speaker at automotive and economic conferences. His PowerPoint presentations enable the reader to understand the impact of macro trends on the vehicle markets. Please visit this website periodically to view Tom's latest presentations.
Industry Update for Larry H Miller Automotive, January 19, 2011
User Car Market Report, NADA Press Conference, February 5, 2011
Trends in the Used Vehicle Market - Causes & Consequences, ACVL Webinar, February 10, 2011
By applying statistical analysis to its database of more than 5 million used vehicle transactions annually, Manheim has developed a measurement of used vehicle prices that is independent of underlying shifts in the characteristics of vehicles being sold.
The Manheim Index is increasingly recognized by both financial and economic analysts as the premier indicator of pricing trends in the used vehicle market but should not be considered indicative or predictive of any individual remarketer's results.
Current Monthly Index
Manheim Index Rises Again in December
Wholesale used vehicle prices (on a mix-, mileage-, and seasonally adjusted basis) rose 1.1% in December, which resulted in a year-over-year gain of 0.6%. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index stood at 125.1 for December, and the annual average for all of 2011 was 124.9, which represented a 3.7% increase from 2010.
Support for wholesale used vehicle values has been provided by improving retail demand (in both the new and used vehicle markets) and by the ongoing reduction in available wholesale supplies. The importance of the retail demand component was evident in the fourth quarter, as wholesale supplies began to rise for vehicles of particular makes, age, and price points, but without any adverse impact on pricing.
Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index
Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index
December new vehicle sales show strength. New cars and light-duty trucks sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of just under 13.6 million in December. The full year total came in at 12.8 million and the pattern during the year clearly showed the impact of the supply disruptions resulting from Japan's earthquake. The seasonally adjusted annual selling rate was 13.1 million during the first four months of the year, and it was 13.4 during the final four months. It was the middle four months, with a pace of only 11.9 million, that kept the full year tally from exceeding 13 million.
Importantly, the increase in new vehicles sales in 2011 was not driven by sales into fleet (retail deliveries rose 12%, while fleet sales were up only 3%) or by heavy incentives. (In fact, industry-wide incentive spending was down for the year and net new vehicle transaction prices were up substantially for the second consecutive year.) This pricing discipline, which was enabled by industry restructurings and strong new product offerings, played a major role in boosting used vehicle residuals in 2011.
Used vehicle retail sales also finish the year strong. It was a good year for used vehicle sales in 2011. Sales rose 5% and the ratio of total used vehicle sales to new vehicle sales remained high at more than 3-to-1 for the third consecutive year. Manufacturer certified pre-owned sales reached a record of more than 1.7 million units and dealers of all types enjoyed faster inventory turns and more retail financing options for their customers.
Off-rental units continued to command strong prices at auction. The average auction price for rental risk units was basically a flat line from March through December. And it was a flat line at record levels. That steady performance reflects the strength of underlying retail demand, since the percentage change in the number of units offered each month varied from double-digit declines in the first half of the year to double-digit increases in the fourth quarter.
Prices for end-of-service commercial fleet vehicles rebound. December pricing for end-of-service midsize fleet cars continued to rebound from what now appears to have been temporary weakness in October. There was the normal seasonal decline in the number of full-size vans and pickups coming out of fleets in December, but adjusted prices were up modestly.
Price movements by market class. Auction prices for luxury vehicles weakened in the fourth quarter as some manufacturers in that segment pushed year-end promotions. Sports cars, meanwhile, enjoyed a significant lift in pricing in December. It was a rise that came well ahead of their normal spring rebound.
For the year – indeed for the past two years – it continued to be compact and midsize cars that posted the largest price increases in the wholesale market. Mark this up to strong product offerings in the new vehicle market and to what are likely to be long-term shifts in customer demand.
Price Changes for Selective Market Classes
Index Release Dates
On the fifth business day of each month, Manheim Consulting releases the latest update of its Used Vehicle Value Index. To receive a monthly reminder about this update, as well as reminders for Tom Webb's quarterly conference calls, please e-mail manheimindex@ketchum.com.
Quarterly Conference Calls
You are invited to join Tom Webb, Manheim's chief economist and the compiler of the Index, as he discusses the major economic and industry trends that have shaped the quarter. Tom will also take your questions following the presentation.
Next Conference Call: April 6, 2012 11am ET
- Call-in number: TBD
- Conference ID: TBD
- Program Title: Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index
View the Quarterly Conference Call Presentation
Tom's presentation will be available one hour before the conference call. For questions or to RSVP for the quarterly conference call, please email manheimindex@ketchum.com
What happens in the used vehicle market impacts every aspect of the automotive industry, from retail finance, fleet management, vehicle affordability and demand, to company profitability. Manheim's economist, Tom Webb, provides insights into the economic and business trends that influence used vehicle demand and pricing.
The Auto Industry Brief is published monthly and is distributed electronically to subscribers. This one-of-a-kind report covers all critical economic, automotive and remarketing industry events that influence retail and wholesale used vehicle demand. To subscribe, e-mail us at consulting@manheim.com for information.
Manheim has published the annual Used Car Market Report since 1995. This comprehensive report examines every aspect of wholesale and retail used vehicle market conditions and buyer and seller strategies in the wholesale market. The report also includes an analysis of salvage vehicle business trends. The report relies heavily upon proprietary Manheim data as well as industry and government data. Publication of the Used Car Market Report coincides with the annual NADA convention. Click here to purchase recent editions of the UCMR.
The Used Car Market Report is now available via iPhone, iPad and Android devices at no additional charge. Your purchase includes access to the apps in addition to traditional .pdf format.
Used Car Market Report
2012 - Order a copy now
2011 Mid-Year UCMR - Order a copy now
2011 - Order a copy now
2010 - Order a copy now
