Simply put, CarsOnTheWeb.com is an online auction house for second-hand cars. As CEO Johan Meyssen stresses, this facility is also available to any business that can benefit from it: “CarsOnTheWeb.com is there for leasing companies, as well as motor manufacturers and owners of large fleets who need to sell large volumes of vehicles on a regular basis. That is why we offer a comprehensive solution through our website.”
Operational since 2005, the website’s online auctions resulted in 1,800 car trades in the first year alone. By 2007, this figure was up to 7,000. So what is the secret of the success of CarsOnTheWeb.com?
User-friendly comprehensive solution
“Probably, the greatest strength of our initiative lies in the fact that it is a comprehensive solution,” explains Meyssen. “Once registered online, motor traders wishing to buy cars through the system can start immediately taking part in the auction. Buyers only need a PC with an internet connection.”
Likewise, on the selling side, it is easy to execute the entire remarketing process through CarsOnTheWeb.com. The cars are photographed and a detailed damage report and specifications are produced. A few hours later these vehicles will be up for auction online. At the end of the auction they will receive all bids and can decide which ones to accept. CarsOnTheWeb.com will subsequently arrange payment, transport and finalise the sale. Incidentally, the seller does not pay anything for the auction, just a fixed commission on the sale. No sale, no pay!
It is clearly visible that the website is built with user-friendliness in mind: very simple and to the point. “This was a very conscious decision,” adds Meyssen. “We certainly don’t want a very showy appearance. It is much more important that the content should be accurate, and for the underlying system to work properly at all times, as it rightly should.” By the way, CarsOnTheWeb won an ICT award in recognition of its technological innovation.
CarsOnTheWeb.com means, above all, transparency and integrity in the remarketing process. “Users are provided with a clear description of the car, and are shown clearly what is on offer at all times throughout the auction process,” explains Meyssen. “Anyone selling his car knows that, through CarsOnTheWeb.com, the job will be done in the best possible way by professional traders, and thus generating the highest possible value.”
Increasingly international
For a while now, the success of CarsOnTheWeb.com has not been limited to just Belgium. Last year, four new branches—in Germany, France, Italy and Spain—became operational. And to support its international expansion, CarsOnTheWeb.com is also deploying the experience of Hugo Levecke, former CEO of LeasePlan Corporation and current chairman of the board of directors.
This international expansion is therefore no coincidence, according to Meyssen: “Whichever way you look at it, vehicle remarketing is now quite simply an international business. Out of all the cars being sold in their respective countries, over 75 percent go to customers abroad. With that in mind it is quite logical that we should be expanding our services and branch network to reflect this trend. That is why we now want to offer a truly comprehensive solution.”
For further information: www.carsontheweb.com; dimitri@carsontheweb.com