AI and vehicle remarketing

Last month I looked at AI and vehicle acquisition. I suggested that there were many facets to fleet management. It goes beyond vehicle logistics, driver safety and fuel consumption; and includes maintenance management, fleet administration, accident and risk management, driver training and vehicle remarketing as well as vehicle acquisition.

This week I consider vehicle remarketing and the impact that AI might have. My choice of subject was influenced by the recent announcement of a new product from PAVE  which uses AI and machine learning to understand the pictures it sees of vehicles and assess vehicle condition. The digital inspection tool sends a text to the driver who is then guided via image silhouettes to take thirteen images of the car.

Man using PAVE on his mobile to inspect a car. Image: PAVE

Each inspection takes three minutes and covers every vehicle angle. The customer and fleet operator immediately understand whether refurbishment is required. A detailed report on the condition of the vehicle along with damages or repairs required is uploaded onto the fleet operator’s servers.

This tool has the potential to save time when vehicles are de-fleeted in addition to removing the need to arrange for physical vehicle inspection. It can also assist the fleet operator in choosing the optimum route to market: whether a vehicle Is selected for retail sale or is shipped to auction for example.

There is also a significant amount of data in the market now to assist remarketing decision-making including manufacturer recall data, salvage data, taxi data, write off data and component failure forecasting, which also uses AI and machine learning based on MOT history data.

Much of this assists the remarketing process but, as with vehicle acquisition, my view is that human decisions are still required regarding the route to market, pricing the vehicle, handling relationships with auction houses, used vehicle wholesalers, online sales platforms and dealerships.

AI and data can assist in optimising prices, cutting the cost or remarketing and reducing the logistics time to get vehicles to market; but, as with vehicle acquisition, human decision making will still be required.

Ian Hare 05/09/2024