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Residual value battle ahead as Glass's moves in on rival Cap's territory
Date: 27 November 2012 | Author:
Vehicle data specialist Glass's is to move into major rival Cap's heartland by launching a new residual value product in 2013.
The UK arm of parent company EurotaxGlass's has previously specialised in the dealer-based market values products, but sees the fleet and leasing sector as "the single biggest growth area for us", according to new sales director Ed Hummel, who joined from Honda in August.
"Cap are pretty much the only people in the market supporting the lease companies with RV data," Hummel told BusinessCar.
"There is a lot of goodwill towards us in the market. It's encouraging for me that finance and manufacturers are willing us to succeed because they want strong competition to Cap.
"The guys are desperate for an alternative provider of data in the UK."
EurotaxGlass's already offers future value predictions along with its new car and aftersales data across Europe, but hasn't previously gone down that route in this country.
"In the UK we've maybe been a little complacent, so we want to develop a forecasting tool," said Hummel.
"It's an obvious area of expansion and focus, and will be the single biggest change factor next year.
"We are going to shake up the market for manufacturers and leasing companies. We're not going to be arrogant about it but we're hearing good noises from the industry that they want a strong competitor."
Hummel feels new Basel III banking regulations that require banks to hold more capital against their risk-weighted assets will help the as-yet unnamed product, as there will be a legal requirement to prove the assets are worth what the financial institution is claiming.
"That will help us, certainly in the leasing industry," declared Hummel. "There is space for two companies. It would be very arrogant to think that we could take Cap out of the market - it would be lovely to do but it's not realistic."
The new forecasting move is the cornerstone of Glass's plan to grow its UK business by a third over the next three years.
It has recently recruited a number of figures from within the industry as part of its expansion plans, with Hummel joined by Dan Parnell, who will head up fleet and finance operations, and Steve Worrell, both coming from Cap, and former Fiat used car sales boss Jonny Miller among others.
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