BCA Europe has staged its first professional vehicle auction in Austria.

The site, BCA Autoauktionen Oesterreich, held a sale of 125 vehicles that were entered directly by dealers, distributors, rental and fleet sources.

The event attracted 600 dealers from across Austria - and 80 cars were sold, with BCA claiming that 'the result was seen as a highly successful first step for this new concept in the Austrian used car market'.

Markus Auferbauer, BCA's general manager in Austria, said: 'The huge turnout of motor industry representatives underlines that there was a real need for an independent, dedicated used car remarketing service in Austria.'

He added that the success of the event 'exceeded BCA's own high expectations'. 'Our experience indicates that BCA will become an important part of the dealers' used car portfolio management, offering an additional, swift and efficient route to market.'

BCA's purpose-built Austrian auction centre also offers a dedicated BCA Smart Prepared facility that the company says will deliver a wide range of used vehicle pre-sale preparation solutions.

For the future, BCA said it plans to offer a range of electronic remarketing services, complementing the programme of fortnightly physical auctions and that, from next year, sales will be held on a weekly basis. BCA is building a pan-European auction network and already has a presence in most of the major markets.

Jon Olsen, managing director mainland Europe for BCA, said: 'This first event for BCA in Austria created a huge wave of interest within the motor industry and has given us a substantial platform to build on. The support from vendors and buyers alike has been exceptional and augurs well for the future.' (November 2001)