With the coronavirus cases stabilizing and restrictions loosened up, OPENLANE has announced the full reinstatement of their services by mid-June.

With global figures indicating that the tide is turning against the coronavirus, OPENLANE is reinstating full services. In March, the company began limiting auction sales and specific services to reduce risks for partners and clients while protecting the health and safety of employees and their families. OPENLANE continued providing customer support services in numerous languages to ensure the smooth settlement of ongoing transactions.



Informed and up to date

As such, business has been anything but normal for the past few months. ‘We saw a major change, with team members working from home to keep our buyers and sellers informed and up to date,’ explains CEO Johan Meyssen. ‘Whether they were drafting and updating FAQs on our specific coronavirus situation or following up on transactions, everyone has demonstrated extraordinary commitment and professionalism. I’m very proud of how they’ve performed under these exceptional circumstances.’

Meyssen continued, ‘Our priority during the coronavirus has been to keep our customers and employees safe and healthy, while also complying with the various government directives impacting our operations. But we’ve also used this unusual time to advance new solutions and increase functionality for our customers.’


Back to business

OPENLANE has kept busy behind the scenes preparing for a seamless return to business. The team remained in constant communication with sellers, logistics providers and other partners to ensure they would be ready to resume operations and all services would be up-and-running again in compliance with government directives. ‘Everyone is feeling very positive about returning to business,’ explains Meyssen. ‘Our team worked extremely hard during lockdown to ensure we were able to come back stronger with expanded services and solutions for customers. We’ll be introducing new technology, improving vehicle ingestion and offering additional integrations to give our customers more choices and more ways to grow their business.’


New sellers offering more options

OPENLANE plans on a powerful reopening to immediately attract the attention of buyers. ‘We have signed up new sellers so buyers will find a greater range of vehicles available on our platform,’ explains Meyssen. ‘Most of our sellers are fleet owners, dealers, leasing and rental companies selling their end-of-contract cars or stock cars. The volumes will be greater than ever!’


Vehicle inspection: faster, smarter and easier

Buyers and sellers will soon benefit from heightened accuracy in the vehicle inspections thanks to a new vehicle inspection app, OPENLANE IVI. An industry first, OPENLANE IVI uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide assessments that are becoming more accurate and consistent than those performed by humans. ‘With our new inspection technology, appraising and posting a vehicle online now takes just a few minutes. It saves time and money. It’s accurate, and that is exactly what everyone in the industry wants.’


A dedicated seller portal

OPENLANE also wants to make the process of remarketing vehicles faster and easier for sellers. ‘We know how hard they already have to work, so we are implementing a dedicated seller portal where they’re able to upload and see their vehicles and much more. We have used the downtime over the past few months to accelerate this idea. It’s the kind of service we are sure everyone will appreciate.’


Up and running

OPENLANE is back to full service as of mid-June. Auctions, dealer finance and logistics options are up and running to ensure the company meets customer needs. OPENLANE will continue to take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of employees and customers, adapting its operations as necessary to comply with government directives and notifying customers of any changes.



About OPENLANE Europe

OPENLANE Europe NV, based in Belgium, is a business unit of global vehicle remarketing and technology solutions provider KAR Global (NYSE: KAR). With sales operations in Belgium, France, Germany (including GWListe, part of KAR Global’s OPENLANE Europe business unit), Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, OPENLANE Europe seamlessly connects OEMs, fleet owners, wholesalers and dealers with buyers in more than 50 countries across Europe through its robust online wholesale vehicle auction marketplace. www.openlane.eu


About KAR

KAR Auction Services, Inc. d/b/a KAR Global (NYSE: KAR), provides sellers and buyers across the global wholesale used vehicle industry with innovative, technology-driven remarketing solutions. KAR Global’s unique end-to-end platform supports whole car, financing logistics and other ancillary and related services, including the sale of nearly 3.8 million units valued at approximately $40 billion through our auctions in 2019. Our integrated physical, online and mobile marketplaces reduce risk, improve transparency and streamline transactions for customers in more than 80 countries. Headquartered in Carmel, Indiana, KAR Global has employees across the United States, Canada, Mexico, U.K. and Europe. For more information and the latest news, go to www.KARglobal.com and follow us on Twitter @KARspeaks.