TFS Aims to Boost In-Lane Auction Volume, as Off-Lease Wave Builds

Toyota Financial Services is bolstering its in-lane volume in addition to its online presence at auctions, anticipating greater off-lease volumes, said Mike Reid, national remarketing manager.

“Just recently in June we took a look at our strategy,” he told Auto Finance News. “We were selling quite a few vehicles online, which isn’t a bad thing, but knowing what’s coming back in the future, we knew we wanted to reestablish our lane presence.”

The captive has gradually increased sales at physical auctions in recent months, due to dealer demand, he said. That demand was a green light to boost in-lane sales even more, Reid said.

“So what we basically do now is a 50-50 split between the auction and online,” he said. With more volume coming, TFS wants to make sure it’s catering to buyers in both channels. Importantly, Reid said dealers increasingly rely on both online and in-lane auctions.

“Leasing makes up a large portion of our portfolio, which is why we are having large numbers of lease returns coming back already in the past six months,” Reid added. “I think the leasing is something that customers are aware of; it creates opportunities in the secondary market.”

In the fiscal year ending March 31, parent Toyota Motor Credit Corp. said it sold 82,000 off-lease vehicles, according to the captive’s annual report.

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