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Autovista was established over 25 years ago to produce data of the price developments of the trade-in market to the automotive business. The company collects detailed data of cars on sale on different forums. With the help of that data, they measure the market prices of used cars and the changes in them.

This information on the market price changes of different models and types is then delivered to the client through the software. Dealerships can thus ensure that the cars they sell have reasonable prices from the view point of the goals of the dealership and the chain.

For over 50 years, car businesses have used various types of price lists and books to help in the pricing of trade-ins. In many countries, these price books are still used rather religiously. But the methods have been going through a change for over 20 years already. The computer has replaced the pen and pad of the salesperson. The price book of trade-ins has got a new form. It’s now an online database with numerous applications.

Autovista from Finland to the Netherlands

The used car pricing system developed in Finland first gained success abroad in the Netherlands. Dealerships there are generally small in size. For a single entrepreneur, it was difficult to keep up with the automotive market price changes. More trouble was caused by the fact that the price differences between local markets in the Netherlands are even bigger than in Finland, though the country is a lot smaller in area.

The vicinity of Germany and Belgium considerably affects the trade in the Netherlands.

The Dutch dealerships were however interested in the new tool that would quickly report on the changes in price levels locally and nationally. It also helped that these smaller dealerships didn’t have an importer or a car maker looking out for them. They had to do the decisions themselves. For this, they needed special tools.

The tools provided by Autovista were different from the common price books. The pricing could now be done according to type, noting the local price level, the mileage, age, and predicted repair costs.

“The Dutch were quite eager to use the new tools already 10-15 years ago when we started operating in the Netherlands," explains Managing Director Mikael Teerilahti at the company headquarters in Espoo, Finland.

Swedish lag behind

The Swedes were also interested in the new tools from Autovista. But in Sweden, as "national” manufacturers, Volvo and Saab have a very strong hold of the own dealership chains. Against expectations, it wasn't simple to penetrate a market where the manufacturer with its own views and data systems had the final say.

So in the beginning in Sweden, Autovista became known just as a price book. It felt like a step back to the personnel at Autovista. But they didn't really have a choice. Though Autovista had the exact data on the Swedish market and they knew exactly what was going on in the field, the Swedish dealerships only requested a monthly price book. Well, that could be provided, if that is all they wanted. But thus Swedish market didn’t become a focus point for the company.

However, Autovista got attention in Sweden as well, but from somewhere unexpected. Known for office supplies and later from computer sales, Esselte Ab, nowadays Scribona Ab, was making its way to the field of information technology. It purchased Autovista.

To the UK

When Scribona met with some troubles in its branch some years later, it decided to let go of Autovista (Then known as Autodata). Producing information for the trade-in dealers wasn’t part of the core business. And so Autovista was sold to a British public company Kalamazoo plc.

In the middle of the 1990’s, Kalamazoo had a strong hold of the English and French car markets as an information solution provider. Teerilahti was at first convinced that the influence of Kalamazoo would be a great opportunity for the company. The truth was the opposite.

Something similar happened then had happened in the English car industry, Teerilahti says. No one took the developed solutions seriously at Kalamazoo, though they had bought the company in charge of their production.

From the view point of Birmingham, this ready and functional solution was developed practically in Russia. This did not seem appropriate by the British owners. And the credibility did not grow by the fact that back then the number of new cars sold in Finland was 60,000 a year, compared to the 2.5 million in the UK. The markets for used cars were manifold.

So Kalamazoo spent millions of pounds reinventing the same wheel that had already been developed in Espoo. The experience and warnings of the Finns were disregarded.

From England, Autovista was sold to an American automotive data system provider. Its logo could be seen for example in the suits and cars of Williams Formula 1 drivers. However, the dealers are not interested in logos, but in good solutions. In Espoo, the mood was low as it became clear that trade-in business was not a part of the core know-how of the American owner.

So it was time to try and get Autovista back to the founder. Mikael Teerilahti bought the company to himself. Since then, all decisions concerning Autovista have been made in Finland.

In various international seminars, Teerilahti had explained this new method of collecting market data and then developing it to the use of dealerships. It had sounded odd in the beginning, but with time, similar solutions that the Finns had used for some time began to be in demand in other parts of Europe as well.

Nowadays, Autovista collaborates more and more with large English companies that provide data for the used car market. The price books are still in use in the UK. A significant part of their information comes from the data gathered and analysed by Autovista.

The used car market in the UK is the most highly developed in Europe. The data from the price books is now in the dealer’s computers in a much more refined form. Thus it is easy to understand why Autovista’s information is used for example by the leading UK portal Motors Digital.

Ecclestone?

Teerilahti believes that the trade-in information solutions are still not so ready that there is no room for improvement. It’s like developing a F1 car. The regulations of the trade don’t change as often as those in the F1 series. However, the competition conditions constantly change even more.

Finnish Competition Authority has investigated the information systems of Autovista and the methods with which it provides information for the market. Each dealer prices their own cars themselves, and Autovista can’t and doesn’t even wish to rule their prices, margins, or their business goals. The Competition Authority had no cause for complaint.

Teerilahti is at an age where many business managers have already spent years enjoying their retirement. F1 series owner Bernie Ecclestone comes to mind, as he is over 70, but still insists on being a part of the F1 circus. The car business is quite a circus itself.

Teerilahti is amused by the comparison. He sees greater differences than similarities between him and the famous Mr. F1. “The biggest difference is that Ecclestone has made millions, but I haven't”.

Text: Jorma Viitanen, Tuulilasi.fi
Last Updated ( Friday, 28 August 2009 )