AUTOMOTIVE E-SSENTIALS

Interview with Luis Maria PÉrez Serrano about our participation at the Remarketing Forum and the market trends

TÜV SÜD has participated as sponsor at the annual Remarketing Forum on 16 November in Dublin which was held on the first day of the Fleet Europe Summit. We talked with Luis Maria Pérez Serrano (pictured), Head of Business Line Remarketing and Mobility Consulting, about the Remarketing Forum and current important topics which we need to address in the vehicle remarketing business.

Why is the Remarketing Forum important for you?

Luis Maria Pérez Serrano: For us, the Remarketing Forum it is the key moment of the year to meet with all relevant stakeholders in the Remarketing industry and get a full update on current and future developments. It is an important event to increase the understanding of the key factors for keeping successful on this business in the future. It is a perfect place to do business and we would never miss it!

What was TÜV SÜD contributing this year to the Remarketing Forum?

Luis Maria Pérez Serrano: On this occasion, we shared some thoughts around how our business will be affected by the new distribution models, like the upcoming new car agency approach. The dealership distribution model has been extremely successful for decades, and it is important that we spend some time on understanding how the new agency model will affect the remarketing of used cars in the future.

The new model will bring along a lot of new opportunities, but certainly it will also bring quite a few challenges. We want to participate in this discussion and overall contribute to a better understanding in order to help the industry make use of all the potential benefits.

"Finding an approach to assess the state of health of a battery might become an essential part of the inspection process."

The Remarketing Forum focused on the three trends disrupting the industry today: Electrification, Distribution and Digitisation. In your opinion, how can remarketers make the most of these trends?

Luis Maria Pérez Serrano: We should be humble enough to admit that these three trends are overwhelming to many of us. We have never seen so many profound changes happening in such a short term. So, I am very happy that this year’s Forum is shaped about these three key trends. This will give us the chance to get highly educated insights into how we can better integrate these trends into our businesses.

Nobody has all the answers, but I would like to finish my answer with a question – a provocative one, inviting self-reflection: How will an agent (former dealer) manage the trade-in of an electric vehicle in exchange of a new car which has been sold online?

What additional topics do you currently see which will transform the vehicle remarketing market and business?

Luis Maria Pérez Serrano: On key challenge is the inspection and remarketing of electric vehicles.

Nowadays there is an increasing number of plug-in hybrids and full electric vehicles, especially at corporate fleets. The battery of an EV could account up to 40% of the total value of the vehicle. Also, many consumers are likely to have doubts on how the battery of a used vehicle will perform. Therefore, finding an approach to assess the state of health of a battery will become an essential part of the inspection process. At TÜV SÜD we have undertaken intensive research and found a methodology to do it that fits to the industrial process of a remarketing chain.

A second challenge is how we deal with the impact of the increased energy prices on car inspections. The unprecedented cost increase of the energy is forcing us more than ever to look for smart solutions to reduce the unnecessary travelling. But our customers are still needing that their cars are checked and validated before the end of the contract. That way we also provide them with the chance to reduce their end of leasing costs by undertaking some repairs previously. At TÜV SÜD we have developed an adequate remote inspection methodology to make this process easy for the customer while travel costs are reduced.

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