MANHEIM Australia has posted its best sales volume in a first quarter since 2020 along with a year-on-year growth of 3.3 per cent, driven mainly by growth of dealer-only closed auctions of OEM fleet vehicles.

In its report, Manheim – part of Cox Automotive Australia – said the increase in volume from corporate fleets and ongoing strength in dealer consignments was offset to a degree by a slowing of volume from leasing companies and government departments, which it said were largely attributed “to external factors beyond the company’s control”. 

Cox Automotive Australia CEO Stephen Lester said the first quarter was “a challenging and dynamic start to 2026 for everyone, and the Australian car industry both new and used, is no exception”.

“Manheim posted ongoing increases in automotive sales and consignments through its national auction lanes, while also observing a meaningful increase in average wholesale prices,” said Mr Lester in the Cox Automotive Australia market insights report.

Stephen Lester

He said more than 90 per cent of all vehicles offered at auction in Q1 were successfully sold, with about eight in 10 sold on their first time offered.

“Most vehicles sold were sold at a live simulcast auction, in most cases featuring both in-person and online bidding simultaneously, with a smaller number being fully digital,” he said.

“A smaller number again were sold via either timed auctions, direct sales or the ‘buy-now’ platform.”  

“The overall consignment profile of vehicles offered at public auctions is both older  (six months) and higher mileage (3000km) compared with 2025, and there was a small uptick of about 5 per cent in the percentage of vehicles sold via referral rather than ‘under the hammer’.” 

Average selling days across all vehicles – from book-in to sale – increased around  four days over the previous year, however Mr Lester said there were significant differences by vendor category. 

“For instance, vehicles sold for franchise dealers took around 13 days to sell from arrival, whereas with lease cars it was 23 days,” he said.

“Government cars are actually selling more quickly this year than in 2025.”

Prices are 37.3 per cent higher than at the start of 2020, but of greater relevance average selling prices on like-for-like vehicles increased 6.1 per cent over Q1 2025. 

“Manheim’s simulcast results continue to deliver on average beyond vendor  expectations, with sold vehicles at public events selling for 100.6 per cent of their reserve,” he said.

“Moreover, vehicles sold for 8.8 per cent more than their VIN-specific valuation.

“The average selling price was $1100 greater across ex-government, fleet, corporate and repossessed vehicles in Q1 year-on-year.

“Given the slowdown in fleet lease and government volume due to, respectively, an increase in lease extensions and lower new vehicle government procurement levels, greater asset prices are positive for vendors.”  

Mr Lester noted increases in the quarter in wholesales for automotive OEMs and corporate fleets that helped offset slowdowns in fleet-lease and government vehicle volumes.  

“The business continues to onboard new dealer vendors every month and is seeing excellent volume in our clearance lanes on surplus trade-ins, while our internal public car buying unit Sell My Car is purchasing and consigning more vehicles year on-year.”  

In the report, Mr Lester said that probably the biggest talking point in the quarter –  particularly from March onwards – was the jump in inquiries for electric vehicles.

“We are  seeing EV sales running around three times what they were in 2025, while over the past few weeks prices are up more than 20 per cent,” he said.

“Encouragingly, dealers are placing more bids knowing that there is burgeoning customer  demand for second hand EVs, which is important considering the large number of fleet and lease electric cars that will continue to flow into the auction lanes at a faster rate.”  

Mr Lester said that while the first-quarter report was important, it was equally vital to keep a long-term view to allow the business to “ride the bumps”.

“I am bullish about what the mid-term holds for the business, which operates in a rapidly changing market,” he said.

“Of key strategic importance right now is a series of impending site relocations for our Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane operations. “These greenfield sites will further modernise our operations, and are backed to the hilt by our global parent company in Atlanta.”  

In his review of the quarter, he said that the new-car market saw sales “cool” on the impact of economic headwinds and consumer uncertainty, with falls in private, business and government volumes. However, there was rapid growth in rental fleet sales.  

Cox noted that Chinese domestic brands accounted for nearly a quarter of the new-car market, and that “down the track this will significantly impact the secondary market,  particularly if and when these brands make inroads with fleet managers”.

Mr Lester said about half the battery-electric vehicle (BEV) market now is on a novated lease, which is why Manheim is focusing on EV competency via specific sales campaigns and battery health testing. 

“EV sales are now running  around three times higher than they were in 2025, while among OEM ex-company cars they are around one-fifth of overall volume.

“Pleasingly, Manheim is seeing significant improvements in EV performance at  auction, driven by an appetite from dealer buyers seeking to capitalise on high  current buyer demand across all price points.”

Mr Lester said that the selling prices of Hyundai Ioniqs from QFleet spiked around 30 per cent in March, to name one of many examples. 

“To give some more context, this year so far Manheim has sold EVs made by 20 different brands, comprising nearly 50 different models.”

Mr Lester said Manheim continued to work closely with automotive OEMs on company fleet remarketing and storage, and that he saw “ongoing opportunities” in this space as the market continued to fragment as more brands entered Australia.  

“With so much happening in our own operations and across the wider business, it’s an exciting time to be at Manheim,” he said.

“Our vibrant marketplace will continue to evolve across 2026, but our focus on delivering the best outcomes for our vendors and business partners remains of parallel importance.”