Owners of Brisbane Motor Auctions, AP Eagers, said in a statement: “As part of our on-going strategic and operational reviews we have been forced to acknowledge a rapidly and significantly changing landscape in buy/sell and the corporate consignment auction industry.

“Following extensive review of possible future scenarios, led by general manager Mike Kennedy, we have determined that the future of the Brisbane Motor Auction business is not strategically nor financially viable for AP Eagers or in alternate ownership.”

GoAutoNews Premium asked Mr Kennedy what contributed most to the decision to close.

“It’s probably just structural changes to the buy and sell auction industry over the past five or ten years, things have changed in terms of the internet and the market and people’s buying and selling motives,” he said.

“A lot of dealerships are keeping a lot more cars, more so than they ever used to and that has impacted on it.”

Mr Kennedy was adamant that other initiatives with the broader Eagers group such as Carzoos have not impacted on the Brisbane Motor Auctions operation.

“No it hasn’t, not at all,” he said. “The group’s overall decision has been to refocus the skills and experience of the staff internally to support the national retail used car strategy that we have set up over the past few years, the Carzoos and Zooper strategies that they are working on.”

Mr Kennedy also dismissed suggestions that increased competition from other operators was a factor.

“No, it’s more the impact of changes in the industry overall and the group’s decision to refocus, as I said, all the skills and experience that we currently have,” he said.

That decision will lead to the re-organisation and re-purposing of the company’s Brendale site to house a centralised vehicle re-conditioning centre while retaining their Platinum Vehicle Sales business,

The closure of Brisbane Motor Auctions and the accompanying restructure is not all bad news on the employment front.

Originally all 55 jobs were in doubt but now just eight employees are moving on, and most of those of their own volition according to Mr Kennedy.

“Because of what we are doing with the national used car strategy most of those people have been able to be re-deployed on this site into our new structure,” he said.

Some analysts have queried whether AP Eagers shareholding in Cox Automotive Australia, owners of national auction house Manheim is amongst the underlying drivers for the restructure of the used car operations and the closure of Brisbane Motor Auctions – after all, why have shares in a national Auction house and run a competing state based one yourself?

Industry sources have suggested there is some truth to that proposition but no-one at either Brisbane Motor Auctions or parent company AP Eagers would comment.

By Daniel Cotterill