US Car Recon enters UK as IVS

US auction reconditioning specialist Cars Recon is entering the UK market with the launch of a new company, International Vehicle Services (IVS).

Launched in Pittsburgh in 2002, Cars Recon now operates in 19 states and has 700 employees working in 32 locations.

Kay Hudson, managing director of Cars Recon, is currently putting the structure for the UK company in place, recruiting local staff, partners and suppliers, using offices at the City Auction Group site in Rockingham, Northamptonshire, as a base.

She said, ‘As a business, we actually have strong links with the UK. Our president and CEO, Ron Hope, spent time as a director of British Car Auctions in the 1990s and 2000s. It was always his intention to expand the Cars Recon philosophy into the UK and we are pleased to be in a position to make that plan a reality.’

The portfolio of services to be offered by IVS will be closely based on Cars Recon in the UK, including valeting, mechanical inspections and repairs, smart repairs, condition inspections using NAMA grading, and safety consulting.

Kay continued, ‘While there are differences between the operation of UK and US auctions, the fundamentals are the same and our service proposition will be very similar.

‘Essentially, our core commitment is that we will treat every vehicle that passes through our hands with the same level of care and expertise, whether a brand new supercar or a 12-year-old hatchback.’

IVS has already joined the National Association of Motor Auctions and the Vehicle Remarketing Association in the UK.

Kay said, ‘It is our intention to become part of the fabric of the UK remarketing industry and getting involved in trade organisations in this way is important.

‘We are well-advanced in our set-up plans and will be able to announce our first UK deals very soon.’

SHARE
Share