AUSTRALIA AND

NEW ZEALAND

NEW CEO FOR CAA

DEALERCELL WELCOMED TO THE COX

AUTOMOTIVE FAMILY DOWN UNDER

IN OTHER NEWS...

NEWS

David joined Cox Automotive most recently from Inchcape where he spent the past 19 years, working in senior roles in Australia, Asia and the UK/Europe. With over 25 years’ experience in the automotive industry, he returned to Australia in 2020, after 12 years of working overseas. David is based in Sydney and when travel restrictions allow he is looking forward to getting around to all of our offices and sites across Australia and New Zealand to meet all our team members. In line with our existing strategic priorities and David’s ambitions for the business, CAA recently made some structural changes in a number of areas, to ensure the company is better structured for customer success and more aligned internally to meet objectives in 2021 and beyond.


On behalf of all team members at CAA, we also wanted to thank Rob for all the work he has done for the business.

It is an exciting time for both CAA and the DealerCell team and they have been warmly welcomed into the Cox Automotive family. New CEO David Colwell and CEO of Dealer Solutions, Michael Sommerton joined DealerCell CEO Mark Lancaster and his team for an induction event at their Wollongong office. Other members of the CAA Operating Board joined via Zoom along with some remotely based DealerCell staff, for a session to give them some information on Cox Automotive and how their company will play a vital role in our success moving forward.


Following the session there were some nibbles and drinks so David and Michael could spend some time with the DealerCell team. DealerCell has been off to a great start under their new ownership. In January, they saw some early wins with some quick integrations with DealerSolutions products, which have already been rolled out to customers. There is a strong pipeline of over 400 installations in the queue and we are committing more resources to accelerate the roll out of DealerCell products.

In early January, Cox Automotive formally completed the acquisition of DealerCell.


DealerCell is a growing software company that develops and operates sales and customer management software products for motor dealerships, finance companies and OEMs. They also provide online sales platforms, finance solutions and lead management systems to enable dealer retail sales.



DealerCell will play an integral role in CAA’s ambition to offer a truly connected suite of retail focused solutions for our customers. Combined with the powerful collection of our existing Cox Automotive brands, our local objective is to offer products and services which span the entire automotive ecosystem, improving the consumer experience whilst streamlining processes for our customers in order to generate new business and maximise their profitability.

Despite the challenges of 2020 and the changes to the business environment, we have been fortunate to see a positive shift and loads of momentum to start 2021.


The Australian and New Zealand team have all worked together to ensure a great workplace experience as we transition into the ‘new normal’. We have started the New Year with a lot of great projects and wins for all the CAA businesses.

CUSTOMER WINS IN 2021

Following a tough 2020, it has been pleasing to see a number of great wins across the brands at CAA to kick off 2021.

MANHEIM

DEALER SOLUTIONS

  • OEMs have committed to new contracts with Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Kia and Isuzu Ute all staying on for multiple year deals

  • Rental company Hertz have committed to auction at least 3,000 vehicles throughout 2021

  • In the Industrial business unit (trucks, trailers, civil gear and agricultural equipment) has won new deals regularly each month, with more than $10m worth of additional assets consigned for auction sales

  • Dealer-Auction has continued its country wide expansion and has been signing up new dealers and wholesalers to the platform in record numbers

  • In New Zealand, one of Manheim’s biggest customers overall in the Salvage business (selling damaged cars for Insurers), is in the process of signing a 7 year contract

  • Digital advertising agency DigiPurple has been powering along, picking up big new dealer clients and gaining traction with OEMs

  • Dealer Solutions latest products - AutoRadar and Auto360 - have been steadily gaining new customers with new deals signed most weeks so far this year

CAA LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

In late January, the CAA senior leadership team came together for a very important virtual Summit which was held over 2 half days. The summit was about aligning leadership and the organisation behind the “Way Forward” and specifically our strategy and priorities for 2021.

Leaders heard from Rob Whiten, David Colwell, members of the CAA Operating Board and others, who outlined the ways we will work together and our focus areas over the next 12 months. Despite it being a virtual session, the 55 or so attendees were highly engaged and excited about the opportunities we have working together as one Cox Automotive team.


We have high ambitions for 2021 and leaders are now cascading our plans across their teams so we all have clarity of where we are headed and we can all contribute to our success.

CROSS BRAND COLLABORATION

In a prime example of Cox Automotive brands working together to deliver the best results for our customers, Manheim have rolled out the Auto360° product from Dealer Solutions to all Manheim locations across Australia.


Auto360° is software that allows users to show 360 degree interior and exterior views of the vehicles. This highlight vehicle features to help sellers get the best price and gives buyers confidence to buy online without inspection, which has become increasingly important over the last 12 months.


All Manheim PCV photographers have participated in training and received coaching and feedback, with the Industrial team to follow soon, and all photo booths are being repainted in standard colours to ensure consistent, high quality images, with the ultimate goal of having the best photos in the industry.


The images featured were taken at Moorebank and are an example of the transformation happening across Australia.

The Cox Automotive Australian and New Zealand business has welcomed a new CEO. Rob Whiten who is the current CEO is set to retire at the end of March. His replacement, David Colwell joined us late last year and has been working through a thorough induction process.