Upside™ Transforms the Wholesale Auto Experience

Cox Automotive announced its plans to transform the wholesale experience for used vehicles with Upside™, a one-of-a-kind solution that promises greater profitability for dealers as they sell vehicles and provides confidence for buyers as they acquire vehicles in the wholesale market.

“While many dealers achieved record-setting profits as they sold wholesale vehicles in 2021, the performance was due to seller-favorable market conditions, not the way dealers choose vehicles to wholesale and take them to market,” Dale Pollak, vAuto founder and executive vice president for Cox Automotive, said. “Upside provides a new way for dealers to wholesale vehicles that promises profitability and minimizes risk as the wholesale market becomes less favorable and forgiving. Upside’s tagline sums up its benefits–‘You take the upside. We take the risk.’”

Backed by deep Cox Automotive data science and a portfolio-based approach to managing risks and returns, Upside tells dealers the baseline wholesale value for a vehicle when they acquire it. Upside guarantees dealers at least $300 above the Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer when they use the solution to sell the vehicle. If a vehicle’s wholesale sale achieves more than the minimum guaranteed $300, dealers get the lion’s share of the upside. If a vehicle’s sale does not achieve additional profit, Upside covers the loss.

Upside vehicles will sell through Upside Direct, a unique store in the Manheim digital marketplace that will provide buyers an unprecedented level of purchase ease and transparency. Upside Direct will curate the sale of every vehicle, starting bids at 50% of MMR (Manheim Market Report) with no reserves. Upside Direct will also offer buyers the industry’s best post-purchase experience, taking back vehicles if the condition doesn’t match the condition report.

“The power of Upside and Upside Direct is that they solve the biggest pain points at every step of the process—from trade-in to wholesale disposition for sellers, and from bidding to purchasing for buyers,” added Zach Hallowell, senior vice president, Manheim Digital. “It’s the industry’s only actual win-win for both sides of the wholesale transaction.”

Upside will be available for Chicago and Atlanta area dealerships in April 2022. Dealers attending the upcoming National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) 2022 convention in Las Vegas can get an early look at the solution by visiting the Cox Automotive booths. In addition, dealers who preview Upside at NADA can get a copy of the new book from Pollak that inspired the Upside solution, “Whole Truth: A Fresh, Money-Making Method to Wholesale, the Most Misunderstood Side of Your Business.”

For information on all Cox Automotive’s 2022 new offerings or to schedule a briefing with the team, visit https://www.coxautoinc.com/nada2022/upside/.