Car Biz Insider Episode #5 featuring Xavier Kleinermann – Honda Canada Finance – Automotive Podcast
Please like and share this live event! Xaiver has been recently appointed as Co-Chair with International Automotive Remarketers Alliance (IARA) Xavier Kleinermann Co-Chair: Canadian Committee Xavier Kleinermann has been part of the remarketing industry since 2018 and works as National Remarketing Coordinator for Honda Financial Services. He brings to the table 10+ years’ experience in non-profit communications & management as well as international exposure, having lived in five countries and fluently speaking five languages.
Xavier has been actively involved with the IARA since 2019 in the role of Co-Chair for the Canadian Press & PR Sub-Committee. In 2020, his industry peers recognized him for the “Remarketer on the Rise” Award.
Xavier considers himself a lifelong learner and is one of the first CAR-certified IARA members from Canada. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from two European Universities and is currently an MBA Candidate with the University of Fredericton (New Brunswick, Canada).
Transcript
00:00:27 Jon Toker
Hi everybody, this is your host Jon Toker from Car Biz insider.
00:00:31 Jon Toker
I have a very special guest here with me today.
00:00:34 Jon Toker
Xavier Kleinerman from Honda Financial Services, Xavier.
00:00:38 Jon Toker
How are you doing today?
00:00:39 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
John, how are you great to talk to you?
00:00:42 Jon Toker
Thanks for being on the show.
00:00:44 Jon Toker
Well, I I like to apologize from people who’s waiting for the show because we had some connection issues.
00:00:52 Jon Toker
’cause Xavier has a very strong security system on his computer.
00:00:57 Jon Toker
It prevented.
00:00:57
Hey, what I’ve done.
00:00:58 Jon Toker
Us to start.
00:00:59 Jon Toker
But thanks for joining today.
00:01:02 Jon Toker
So Xavier, how was your days going?
00:01:04 Jon Toker
How is this chip shortage affecting you and all that stuff?
00:01:08 Jon Toker
Why don’t you introduce yourself to the listeners and viewers and tell us what do you do for Honda Financial Services and a little bit your background.
00:01:17 Jon Toker
We can talk about your organization that you’re part of too, so why don’t you introduce yourself to us today?
00:01:22 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Hey, that’s a lot of questions here.
00:01:25 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Thanks John.
00:01:26 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Just congratulations for your podcast.
00:01:29 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I’ve been following it from since the beginning.
00:01:32 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You started a couple episodes ago and finally quality.
00:01:35 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Just amazing.
00:01:35 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
So just keep doing what you’re.
00:01:37 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Doing you put the ball?
00:01:39 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Really, really high, you know, so I’m I’m.
00:01:43 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Maybe I work for Honda Financial Services. I’ve been with the automotive industry since 2014 when I started in the automotive, I had the choice in which.
00:01:51 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Between a job at a bank and and Honda one year contract with Honda, and my good feeling we told me to go with Honda and I’ve never been looking.
00:02:03 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You know, I I’ve never regretted it since since then.
00:02:07 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
So I’ve been with Honda for the last eight years. I guess going on eight years and start with Honda Financial Services started with in customer service and worked my way to where I am right now and remarketing where I’ve been since 2018 and I guess I landed in remarketing at the perfect time just before all the.
00:02:28 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
All the interesting parts of re marketing, uh, happened with covert and the pandemic and everything like that, you know?
00:02:35 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
And the chips or dates and things.
00:02:38 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
So it’s been an exciting time.
00:02:40 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
There hasn’t been a single Monday that have haven’t been unhappy to go to work.
00:02:45 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I’ve always woken up and excited to go to work.
00:02:47 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
And knocking on wood.
00:02:48 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Hopefully it will stay that way.
00:02:50 Jon Toker
That’s good, you guys have a really good team there that you guys working together.
00:02:54 Jon Toker
So I mean and you know how the vehicles are hold their value really good when you were to, you know, trying to remarket them.
00:03:02 Jon Toker
Uh, and why don’t you talk about your latest appointment too?
00:03:07 Jon Toker
Is it I ara is that the international automotive market is alliance?
00:03:13 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Correct, yes, yeah, exactly so.
00:03:13 Jon Toker
Right?
00:03:16 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Yeah, the IR is an organization industry organization.
00:03:19 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Uh, it stands for like you said, the international automotive for marketing.
00:03:24 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Clients it’s a re marketing organization.
00:03:27 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I always say that re marketing is like a hidden gem.
00:03:30 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
It’s a.
00:03:34 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
It’s a reflection of the global economy.
00:03:36 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I think the automotive industry is a reflection of the global economy and the RE marketing industry is a reflection of that on a smaller scale.
00:03:45 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Well, I should say maybe you bigger, big scale because the used car industry is pretty big.
00:03:50 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
So, so I was appointed yeah on February 1st as the Co chair for Canada for the IRA. So basically what it is, it’s an industry organization that tries to.
00:04:02 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
To promote standards and networking and to uh to.
00:04:09
You know, try.
00:04:09 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
To communicate with the with the industry about different key aspects and key topics of the.
00:04:16 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Yeah of the re marketing we want to be basically the go to platform for the industry to assist, educate and share knowledge with or or industry and with our partners and so that our Members and can have, you know, get away with efficiencies and achieve better.
00:04:36 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Prices maybe in their sales to share tips and things like that.
00:04:40 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
So we do that through different events.
00:04:42 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
We have 4 yearly events, main events or quarterly.
00:04:46 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
States and then we’ll have an introduction to remarketing, remarketing one on one.
00:04:51 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
They’ll do that twice a year for people who are unfamiliar with remarketing.
00:04:56 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
And then we’ll have. Obviously the the Conference, the early conference up here in Canada. the US has several of them that we do in Toronto and partnership with.
00:05:05 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Uh, those are lights and his team from Cherokee Media Group.
00:05:10 Jon Toker
That’s that’s really good. Congratulations on the appointment. Uh, would you so you’re talking about remarketing 101? Why don’t you explain what remarketing is for people who may not be familiar with because you know, we got a lot of people watch this from different experience levels from car business, right? So somebody may just join the car business.
00:05:32 Jon Toker
Start selling cars like you know three months ago may not be familiar with the term remote.
00:05:37 Jon Toker
Why don’t you like?
00:05:38 Jon Toker
Briefly explain what re marketing is.
00:05:40 Jon Toker
What does re marketers do and you know what’s that exactly mean?
00:05:44 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Ah, that’s an amazing question.
00:05:45 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I find myself you know myself when I started in the automotive, I didn’t know what remarketing was.
00:05:50 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
It took me several years before I bumped into it and saw exactly what it was and fell absolutely in love.
00:05:55 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
With it, So what are the simplest way to describe remarketing?
00:05:59 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Is imagine someone who’s injecting used cars into the.
00:06:04 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Market, in our case it’s in the Canadian markets.
00:06:06 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
We inject used cars into the Canadian market, so when you walk in front of a dealership, they’re selling used cars.
00:06:13 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
They’re selling news, new cars.
00:06:15 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Well, where did these used car come from?
00:06:17 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
While these used car came from auction, they also, you know, from trade ends but.
00:06:24 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
We like the auction parts so we sell at Honda we sell.
00:06:28 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Before the pandemic, I’d say we would sell thousands and thousands of cars a year through the whole country through the different auction houses and dealerships are the ones who assist to the auctions who buy from us or our main buyers and and that’s that.
00:06:47 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I think that’s.
00:06:48 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
A brief way to answer the question.
00:06:51 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
It’s really that fueling in declining automotive industry.
00:06:54 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
The automotive market used cars.
00:06:58 Jon Toker
So you you basically because you’re you, you work for the manufacturer.
00:07:03 Jon Toker
So when Honda needs to, uh, sell those used cars, probably they come back from lease returns most likely, right?
00:07:10 Jon Toker
And then, if that that car’s like, let’s say the person leases the car, didn’t buy the car out, or the dealership doesn’t want to buy that car.
00:07:19 Jon Toker
Then you just find a new a new home for those cars basically right?
00:07:22 Jon Toker
How about the manufact?
00:07:23 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Sure, that’s that.
00:07:24 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
So there’s these returns.
00:07:26 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You also have repossessions.
00:07:28 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You also have company cars.
00:07:30 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
There’s different sources of where you you find these cars and that you’ll that you’ll put on auction after that.
00:07:38 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
So it’s exactly that finding a new home, finding your good home, and giving our dealers.
00:07:44 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
An amazing product to buy that’s really that’s really the key part.
00:07:48 Jon Toker
So especially now, right?
00:07:49 Jon Toker
Like dealers, don’t have enough new cars to sell, but now you probably don’t have much cars to remarket anyways, because like I’m sure everybody is holding onto the cars as.
00:07:58 Jon Toker
Best as they can.
00:07:59 Jon Toker
Within their abilities, right?
00:08:01 Jon Toker
Would you say that happening?
00:08:02 Jon Toker
Like because of the pandemic chip shortage.
00:08:05 Jon Toker
Do you find your remarketing less cars to in the auction channels?
00:08:09 Jon Toker
Do you think?
00:08:09 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Oh, I think.
00:08:10 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
That’s that’s something that’s not only me saying it.
00:08:13 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I think that’s a global phenomenon.
00:08:15 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
As far as I can see.
00:08:17 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Come for sure.
00:08:19 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Yeah, or and inventory are not the same as they used to be.
00:08:22 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
We try to offer or dealers the best we have all we have and there’s definitely a difference in our marketing levels from before the the pandemic.
00:08:32 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Yes, it’s actually a great a great thing to see all.
00:08:36 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I mean, it’s not great not to have the product to sell or having very low product itself, but you see, you know.
00:08:42 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
How the whole economy of used cars is going.
00:08:46 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Switching from a you know a lot a lot to offer and price that we’re a little bit lower to now.
00:08:52 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
A little bit less to offer or quite a bit less to offer to prices.
00:08:56 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Spiking you know it’s and with that global chip shortage that you’ve talked about.
00:09:03 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Uh, we hope that will be.
00:09:05 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
They’ll figure it out very soon and not to throw in any dates there.
00:09:09 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I don’t want to compromise myself.
00:09:11 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
No, but.
00:09:13
Secret information there.
00:09:14 Speaker 1
Ha ha.
00:09:15 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
But but but yeah.
00:09:18 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Hopefully you know, very soon we’ll be able to find out everything that, uh, a balance in the in the industry.
00:09:23 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I don’t think you know we’ll see.
00:09:25 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Prices like we had.
00:09:27 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
The price will still be very very high for the used cars. I don’t think they’ll go back anytime soon to what it was before the pandemic and for what the everyone is talking about, you know I think we’re in in there with strong prices until 2025 on there.
00:09:46 Jon Toker
But you know exactly you remember, like, uh, in the last three years I think, or two years, a Canadian black book awarded Honda being the most you know retained value right and and that means that the resale value of the product is historically always high with the Honda.
00:10:06 Jon Toker
Because of the demand on the vehicle, right and the reliability?
00:10:10 Jon Toker
The reputation of the brain so you always see that anyways, like when you send a car to the auction, it always is a high demand product, right?
00:10:17 Jon Toker
You you see that happening anyways.
00:10:18 Speaker 1
It’s a it’s.
00:10:19 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
A high demand product and yes, holiday great reputation.
00:10:21 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Before we we still do, but you know, not at this level of what it is right now.
00:10:28 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
The price that we’re seeing right now, that’s just you know, out of this world it’s never seen before.
00:10:33 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
So it’s a interesting time.
00:10:35 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I was actually thinking yesterday about.
00:10:38 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You know everyone.
00:10:39 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
We all say, you know, we’ve never seen this before.
00:10:41 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
And yes, in our lifetime we’ve never seen it before.
00:10:43 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
But yesterday I was thinking about the podcast.
00:10:45 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
And I said.
00:10:45 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Well, you know what actually after World War Two.
00:10:49 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
What is the state of the automotive industry and the others had no cars to sell and you know new cars were there.
00:10:55 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Were there was a big shortage, new cars obviously.
00:10:58 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Obviously you’re not talking about an industry with the amount of production that it has right now, but it wasn’t a little bit of a similar situation.
00:11:06 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Probably people scrambling to find cars.
00:11:09 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
To sell and people having to wait for several months prior to getting there finally to buy there to finally buy their product or their car right so?
00:11:19 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
It’s a once in a.
00:11:20 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
100 time 100 years event event. Yeah that we are going through exactly.
00:11:26 Jon Toker
Yeah, no.
00:11:27 Jon Toker
It’s you’re absolutely right, like this stuff that’s happening right now is is a.
00:11:32 Jon Toker
I don’t think we’ll ever have something like this and probably the next one is going to be the electrification right once we start selling everything electric, then we’re going to have a big event like this again.
00:11:41 Jon Toker
But I I think it’s the biggest.
00:11:43 Jon Toker
Just off topic question.
00:11:45 Jon Toker
I’d like to ask you because.
00:11:47 Jon Toker
I know you speak multiple languages.
00:11:49 Jon Toker
How many total languages do you speak because of your European background, right?
00:11:53 Jon Toker
So you.
00:11:54 Jon Toker
So you got 1/5 or 4.
00:11:55
That’s it.
00:11:56 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
That’s The thing is, then you.
00:11:58 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I’m from Belgium.
00:11:59 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You know, which is a very small country.
00:12:00 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I don’t know how many 10s or maybe hundreds of times Belgium fits in into the into Canada, but so if you don’t speak another language, we have three national languages.
00:12:11 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I don’t speak all three of them, so if you don’t speak any other foreign language well.
00:12:16 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You’re lost, you’re you’re going absolutely nowhere, right?
00:12:19 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
So I’ve.
00:12:20 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Had the privilege to study.
00:12:21 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
In a different couple different.
00:12:23 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Countries, so I’m at I’d say.
00:12:25 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Five, give or take, you know.
00:12:26 Jon Toker
5 languages.
00:12:29 Jon Toker
Wow, so you speak probably French, Dutch, English, what?
00:12:33 Jon Toker
What are the other two?
00:12:34 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Uh, Spanish and Italian.
00:12:36 Jon Toker
Oh wow, that’s amazing.
00:12:38 Jon Toker
So uh, in in Belgium just I get an off topic question.
00:12:43 Jon Toker
Uh, what are the national languages of French, Dutch, and what’s the third one?
00:12:47 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
German so.
00:12:48 Jon Toker
Well, German is a national language.
00:12:49 Jon Toker
Well I.
00:12:50 Jon Toker
Didn’t know that wow.
00:12:50 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Yeah, it’s a very.
00:12:51 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
It’s a minority of the population, but you know, Belgium is a little bit similar to what Canada is and we we like to say we are cousins for the simple reason that we are Canada is as our country with two different national languages.
00:13:04 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You’re next to someone who, on the international sphere, takes a lot of of importance, you know.
00:13:12 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
And it’s the same for us.
00:13:14 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
We’re next to France.
00:13:15 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
We have three national languages.
00:13:17 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
We’re really good at diplomacy, you know so.
00:13:22 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
We like that we have all the European institutions therein.
00:13:25 Jon Toker
Yeah, I know it’s huge man.
00:13:27 Jon Toker
It’s been going on for years and the reason I know Belgium like that because I was watching this TV show on Netflix.
00:13:34 Jon Toker
And it’s it’s, uh, Belgium, like from from from Belgium, right?
00:13:37 Jon Toker
And I see they like go back and forth in French and Dutch when the in in the show so.
00:13:44 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Yeah, I’m not.
00:13:44
I knew that that was the.
00:13:46 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
In my family you know you, my brother is married to a girl from the Dutch side of Belgium.
00:13:52 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
My my other sister from a guy from the Dutch side of Belgium as well.
00:13:57 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
So at the end of the day, everything is you know, doing great.
00:14:01 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
It’s a.
00:14:02 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Yeah, it’s a very small country in very very very rich cultures.
00:14:06 Jon Toker
As well, I know I know one word and a child to say, and it’s supposed to be in good or or like a delicious or yummy.
00:14:14 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
What is it?
00:14:14 Jon Toker
It’s like, yeah, liquor.
00:14:16 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Like, uh, yeah, you could also say yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:14:17 Jon Toker
Yeah, that’s like it’s nice, right?
00:14:21 Jon Toker
Yeah, yeah, because, uh, you know I had friends were were living in Holland and Netherlands and I was learning from them and like back when I was a kid growing up and they were keep saying like yeah like it everything, I’m like what’s that mean?
00:14:34 Jon Toker
They say it means good, like yummy nice, you know.
00:14:36 Jon Toker
Like it’s the response, they do it right.
00:14:39 Jon Toker
I think it’s a good response.
00:14:41 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
And exactly, and Toronto.
00:14:43 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Actually, you’ve got a place a Belgium food place.
00:14:45 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Some somewhere that’s the liquor is the name of the store as well, so if you just look it up.
00:14:51 Jon Toker
All night.
00:14:52 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Really good.
00:14:53 Jon Toker
Yeah, it’s LEKKERI think like yeah, that’s how you spell it. Perfect man. OK, I’m going back to the topic so I had some questions for you.
00:14:55
That’s right.
00:15:03 Jon Toker
Yeah, so you pretty much answered.
00:15:06 Jon Toker
We were talking about it right?
00:15:08 Jon Toker
So one question I have is that I forgot to ask you this in your profile on LinkedIn you have an acronym, stands for CFE Car.
00:15:18 Jon Toker
Uh, what is that?
00:15:20 Jon Toker
And, uh, you know, how did you qualify for that?
00:15:23 Jon Toker
Uh, title, like what did you need to do that?
00:15:26 Jon Toker
I get that?
00:15:26 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Yeah, so car is some certifications certified in automotive remarketing.
00:15:32 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
It is the certification the premier certification in the industry.
00:15:36 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
It’s actually done by the IRS.
00:15:39 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
So, So what?
00:15:40 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
It is, it’s basically I’m an overview of all of the different.
00:15:46 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Topics that you find in automotive remarketing there’s 20 modules and they re grouped in five different chapters so you have the remarketing channels you have.
00:15:58 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
The pre sales activities, actual sales activities.
00:16:01 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
They’re obviously done.
00:16:02 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
The post sales activities and then the whole legal ethics and remarketing technologies.
00:16:08 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Terminology, sorry, so these are the five aspects so we do that certification and we have more and more in Canada we have 25 graduates from the car certification since we started two years ago and then we in the US. We have obviously a lot.
00:16:25 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
It’s a great thing to have, especially even if you’re not maybe directly related to remarketing.
00:16:30 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I’d say because it really helps you understand basically the key topics of remarketing.
00:16:36 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
If you’re like a legal, if you’re an exact C-Suite, exec or whatever you know if you’re new in this industry as well, it’s a great.
00:16:43 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Thing to have because it’s a.
00:16:45 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
A very fast, specific and dumb.
00:16:50 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
And a global 360 view basically of the of the remarketing industry. So that’s what.
00:16:55 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
It stands for yeah.
00:16:57 Jon Toker
So so basically listening this I’m learning from you about the re marketing perspective.
00:17:05 Jon Toker
Uh, I think it.
00:17:06 Jon Toker
Could be very beneficial for large auto groups to have at least one of their associates or employees to be part of this, because you know we got big auto groups in Greater Toronto area. They own multiple stores more than 1030. Forty right, big big.
00:17:21 Jon Toker
I think it would be have to some at least one of their Members who take care of auctioning cars re marketing to get educated and do this professionally through your organization.
00:17:31 Jon Toker
So the question is, is your organization only open to OEM’s or is it open to a group can say OK so?
00:17:40 Jon Toker
Jack is working for ABC Order Group.
00:17:43 Jon Toker
He’s taking care of our remarketing and day auction and Manheim or.
00:17:47 Jon Toker
Or ADESA or trade review.
00:17:49 Jon Toker
Name it right.
00:17:50 Jon Toker
We would like to get him involved with your organization and get trained on it properly and do this professionally.
00:17:57 Jon Toker
Is this a capability?
00:17:58 Jon Toker
Could they reach you out?
00:17:59 Jon Toker
Would you help them?
00:18:00 Jon Toker
To join like is that something?
00:18:01 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
100 percent 100%. Actually we are still.
00:18:03 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
In the growing.
00:18:05 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Stage of the IR A here in Canada.
00:18:07 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
We came, you know, on we came to be a little bit later than the US. the US has had it for the last 20 years.
00:18:16 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
So, so this is actually the one of the next steps we want to do is to open up to dealer groups and exactly.
00:18:24 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Or things like that to provide they give them value.
00:18:26 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You know, I think today it’s it’s hugely important to be part of an industry organization.
00:18:32 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You know you’ve got so many benefits.
00:18:34 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Call it.
00:18:34 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Uhm networking college education advocacy information.
00:18:40 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
It’s it’s it’s huge for employees for employees, for them to develop for sales, people to develop in there what they do for you know, especially in the used car.
00:18:50 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Expect and also to have that go to place to find if you have questions about the industry.
00:18:57 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
If you want to know what the future of the industry will be.
00:19:00 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
If you want things like that and also to bring to raise your voice right?
00:19:03 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Because it’s not the organization, it’s as good as the members are.
00:19:08 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
If the members take part of it and bring topics like.
00:19:11 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Important topics like that on the table, so I see it as a an amazing networking opportunity.
00:19:15 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
And yeah, we definitely encourage dealer groups to be part of it.
00:19:21 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
As much as we can so we have an A website IR dot biz.
00:19:25 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
On that website you’ll see there is a keen load flag on the on the left side so they can always or they can reach to me all to me through LinkedIn as well, so these are the.
00:19:34 Jon Toker
So you’re open to help the like dealer groups if they want to come and ask you questions.
00:19:39 Jon Toker
Learn more about this and you’re willing to like.
00:19:41 Jon Toker
OK, so and and you like to be reached on LinkedIn.
00:19:42 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Yeah 100%.
00:19:45 Jon Toker
That’s the best place to reach out.
00:19:47 Jon Toker
Say the first.
00:19:48 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
About that specifically, they can definitely go to the website and there’s a contact there.
00:19:52 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
And we’ll they’ll be directed to us at the end of the day, but if they want to do LinkedIn as well, they can.
00:20:02 Jon Toker
That’s that’s good stuff, because, uh, I don’t think uh in in in Canada there’s re marketing aspect of things, but like.
00:20:11 Jon Toker
In in a lot of aspects, back in the days when I first started selling cars and re marketing means called the wholesaler and said what this car worth?
00:20:20 Jon Toker
Right? No, it’s the remarketing.
00:20:22 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You called Bob.
00:20:24 Jon Toker
Hey Bob, I got this car here.
00:20:25 Jon Toker
What do you think?
00:20:26 Jon Toker
It’s worth, and they’re like it works.
00:20:28 Jon Toker
Oh, the black book calls for 5000, but you know, the black book doesn’t write the checks for it.
00:20:33 Jon Toker
It only gonna work for grand.
00:20:34 Jon Toker
You know?
00:20:35 Jon Toker
But then we tell the guy but.
00:20:36 Jon Toker
The auction averages.
00:20:37 Jon Toker
Yeah, then you take.
00:20:38 Jon Toker
It to act like it was.
00:20:40 Jon Toker
It’s getting much better with these digital platforms like trade Rev and.
00:20:44 Jon Toker
Or or what’s the other one ibla?
00:20:47 Jon Toker
It’s getting much better, much professional, but I think it would be a good idea for big organizations to join organization like yours to get educated on it, because you can leave a lot of money on the table to write by making a mistake and re marketing is crucially important because.
00:21:04 Jon Toker
Right now, not a big problem, but when things start to go back to normal to high volume, you start turning around inventory and then trading is coming back and some cars you’re not going to be able to keep it in.
00:21:14 Jon Toker
You need to remarket those vehicles, not retail, buy wholesale it.
00:21:18 Jon Toker
Uh, you want to get as much as money you can for those units, so then that means you can give as much as money to your customers to trade those cars.
00:21:25 Jon Toker
Person, so then you can create that kind of ecosystem.
00:21:28 Jon Toker
So I think it would be a great idea to people to reach you out and learn more about and educated because you do this for an OEM level in a professionally right.
00:21:37 Jon Toker
Like there’s guided.
00:21:38 Jon Toker
There’s guidelines and standards and policies and procedures.
00:21:42 Jon Toker
To maximize that kind of income for on the financial services that helps out with the residual values of the company.
00:21:48 Jon Toker
So I think.
00:21:49 Jon Toker
It’s the remarketing is a very uh.
00:21:52 Jon Toker
It’s a crucial part of the the ecosystem of car business because.
00:21:58 Jon Toker
You may not necessarily retail every single car, and which is OK because sometimes it doesn’t work out for your situation.
00:22:05 Jon Toker
You know you need to get out of it.
00:22:06 Jon Toker
Still a lot of cash and how fast you can do it and how fast you can get paid on it.
00:22:12 Jon Toker
’cause I remember the days big older groups send cars to the auction.
00:22:16 Speaker 1
Is it?
00:22:16 Jon Toker
Schools that doesn’t sell stays there all of a sudden.
00:22:19 Jon Toker
Three months later, they realize that they’ve been paying for parking spots for those cars because.
00:22:24 Jon Toker
They don’t get a minimum reserve.
00:22:26 Jon Toker
They put it in there, right?
00:22:27 Jon Toker
So like.
00:22:28 Jon Toker
I think your.
00:22:29 Jon Toker
Organization probably trains people on that like have to monitor that have to be efficient on it.
00:22:33 Jon Toker
So good stuff man.
00:22:34 Speaker 1
Of course.
00:22:35 Jon Toker
That’s really good.
00:22:36 Jon Toker
You know it’s another aspect.
00:22:36 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Of course.
00:22:38 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You bring, you bring up a great point on and that’s about you know what you were saying and also there.
00:22:44 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Also, I think with over the last couple years we’ve seen different new actors coming up in the used car business.
00:22:49 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You know, felt like Caravana, Canada drives, etc.
00:22:52 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
All these big online.
00:22:54 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Ah, sales platforms that are open to public where public can just go and and these guys are also competitors too.
00:23:01 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
To uh, or dealerships and to use car dealerships as well so.
00:23:07 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
That you’ve got this.
00:23:08 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You’ve got.
00:23:08 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
The second thing is, consumers are also more aware of have more access to information and education, so whenever they step into your dealership, they’ll be much more educated, and they’ll probably have a pretty good idea of what their their car is worth.
00:23:25 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
So I think it’s very important to for dealers to in that sense to adapt to that, and being able to give their customers, like you know.
00:23:35 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
The price price, like customers cars, are very accurately to.
00:23:39 Jon Toker
Yeah, the trading values right?
00:23:40 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Not include any.
00:23:40 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Money on the table?
00:23:41 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Yeah yeah, exactly.
00:23:43 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
So yeah, there’s so many.
00:23:45 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
New challenges that we are seeing that we are facing.
00:23:47 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I think that you have to take into consideration to maximize you know.
00:23:51 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Yourself as well.
00:23:54 Jon Toker
So, since you’re saying that what do you think is the biggest challenge in the business right now?
00:24:00 Jon Toker
Overall, you would pick one item in.
00:24:04 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Pick one item you know that it’s you have so many challenges right now.
00:24:11 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
They can choose, you know, but.
00:24:14 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
No, no, I think it’s definitely the electrification the transition to electrification that was already the case before the pandemic I.
00:24:23 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I think that would be one of the main challenges with so many big unknowns.
00:24:28 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Yeah, I would.
00:24:29 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I think I would put that as first.
00:24:31 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You know, in remarketing for example, if I applied to remarketing.
00:24:36 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
We don’t really know how don’t have a lot of information yet on how the residual price of the electric cars you know it’s we don’t have.
00:24:45 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
We don’t know the battery percentage the the battery life percentage will be after, say 10 years.
00:24:52 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Eight years.
00:24:53 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You know how you also the the.
00:24:58 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
The article at the bottom.
00:25:01 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
The base is, you know, to to.
00:25:03 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I don’t, I don’t have.
00:25:03 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
The word right.
00:25:04 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Now, with the places to charge your battery.
00:25:05 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
For example, your your car batteries?
00:25:08 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You know people have them at home, but it’s not developed yet as much as as the charging station.
00:25:14 Jon Toker
The charging stations.
00:25:17 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Yeah, there is another term I had, but yeah.
00:25:18 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Whatever, so you know, there’s so many.
00:25:21 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Unknown still for that, so I think that is driving a lot of the current challenges that we are facing.
00:25:29 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
In a sense, maybe you know it’s the fact.
00:25:31 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Having a little inventory a good thing for that because it can maybe help people to get into use electric cars, it can, it, you know.
00:25:40 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Let’s we could.
00:25:41 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Go on and on about that topic.
00:25:44 Jon Toker
Well, there’s a lot of challenges, definitely, uh, so the last question I’d like to ask you is what would you suggest car dealerships to overcome used car shortage because any dealer right now I talked to, they’re complaining about the new car situation and we say.
00:26:04 Jon Toker
Use cars then they say where we going to get to use cars from.
00:26:08 Speaker 1
So who would you suggest?
00:26:09
Well, John.
00:26:11 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
If I knew the answer to that question, I’d be a probably a billionaire now.
00:26:16 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
But but no.
00:26:18 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
It’s a, it’s an amazing question, yeah?
00:26:22 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Yeah, or dealers we’ve seen or the alerts have.
00:26:25 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Been tremendous, really incredible at adapting to the challenges of the pandemic.
00:26:31 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
From from day one and and we’ve seen them, you know, last week you had on your on on on your on your show you had.
00:26:41 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Or friends there from bravery, yes no no.
00:26:44 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
From Honda on your show and he had like this amazing system.
00:26:48 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You know about, you know, delivering the car to the.
00:26:50 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Customer in a in a in.
00:26:52 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
A truck and trailer which many others.
00:26:54 Jon Toker
Well, that’s that’s that’s Midland.
00:26:55 Jon Toker
Honda Richard Davies.
00:26:56 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Also, which I OK yeah OK so so and I think that came from you know they switched towards digitalization and you know.
00:27:07 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Buying card, uh at at one touch of a of the one click of the mouse.
00:27:12 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
So that’s one answer, but that doesn’t answer the question.
00:27:16 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I think you know there’s dealers have been able to purchase cars from customers to do trade ends and attract people to their dealership to do those.
00:27:28 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Trade ends and find new strategies and there to be able to attract the most car possibles because the traditional ways of acquiring new starts were maybe not us with us.
00:27:42 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Filled with with opportunities and new cars, used cars to buy, so I think that’s one great thing they’ve been doing is they’ve been like being very innovative to attract the customers.
00:27:54 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I think it’s at the end of the day.
00:27:56 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
It’s all about that being.
00:27:57 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Always open to innovation.
00:27:59 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
It’s also about.
00:28:00 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Maybe changing the atmosphere, the changing the relationship with your customers, having a more personalized relationship.
00:28:09 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You also want to become.
00:28:12 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
The obvious the obvious Sal, the obvious dealer that your customer will think about when it’s time to sell their cars.
00:28:20 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
So that means that you have to create some kind of authority of legitimacy in in their mind as well.
00:28:26 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
That means that that means that they need to have respect for you.
00:28:29 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
That means that they need to see you, maybe in.
00:28:31 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Doing genuine things, it was an amazing chat we had with a couple dealers a couple weeks ago on on clubhouse and was exactly about that.
00:28:43 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
It was about.
00:28:45 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Quit doing philanthropy, doing things like that.
00:28:48 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
That will mark customers mind so that you know in the future they’ll come to you because you’re part of the community.
00:28:55 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You’re an actor in the community community, and they’ll they’ll want to give you their used car and maybe buy a new one from you or something like that.
00:29:06 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
So philanthropy I think it’s a big thing.
00:29:09 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Doing finding innovative innovation, being curious to it’s to innovation.
00:29:14 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Maybe the systems that are in place right now can be innovative, can be changed.
00:29:19 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Think about the metaverse.
00:29:20 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Things like that these are to attract customers to you.
00:29:24 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Know go and pick their curiosity.
00:29:26 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I would say that.
00:29:28 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
At least these two.
00:29:31 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
And then you know, obviously, you know, online auctions are always the best place to go to.
00:29:35 Jon Toker
So right here.
00:29:35 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Find used cars.
00:29:37 Jon Toker
So when you re marketing cars right now?
00:29:39 Jon Toker
Like do you see the most of the business is done through these digital auctions such as like Edial Ernie Block, sorry E Block and trade ref type of stuff is more popular do you think?
00:29:52 Speaker 1
Yeah well yeah.
00:29:52 Jon Toker
Funny put it this way, do you do?
00:29:54 Jon Toker
You think they’re going to surpass the physical auctions in near future?
00:29:57 Jon Toker
Or do you think the physical auctions will still be there for a long time?
00:30:00 Jon Toker
Well, what’s your personal opinion on that?
00:30:02 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
That’s a good question.
00:30:03 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I think for for us for Honda we already were selling most of our units through digital auction before the pandemic, so so that was a big thing.
00:30:14 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I think physical actions will still have a meaning people at the end of the day need to feel they need to smell.
00:30:22 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
They need to.
00:30:23 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
See they need to touch. You know I, I think that cannot go away. I think I’m 100% confident digital auctions will become more and more digitalized and with incredible new tools and and features.
00:30:39 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I think digital auctions will stay maybe for different kind of vehicles.
00:30:43 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Uh, for you know, locally.
00:30:46 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
But yeah, I I see it.
00:30:47 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I see the big answer will be in digital actions.
00:30:51 Jon Toker
Do you know what?
00:30:52 Jon Toker
Well personally why I like the digital auctions?
00:30:55 Jon Toker
More because it’s more environmentally friendly, so a typical auction so the car lands on your lot.
00:31:03 Jon Toker
You send it to a distance from your dealership, let’s say another 40 fifty 6000 kilometres away. Because physical auctions you can have those in every corner.
00:31:11 Jon Toker
You need the big space.
00:31:13 Jon Toker
So let’s say for example, we take an example of North Bay dealership. They want to send the car to the auction, where is the closest auction to 300 kilometres away, right?
00:31:23 Jon Toker
That car goes to 300 clammers away. Then it gets sold. Let’s say go back to Montreal or something like that.
00:31:28 Jon Toker
So there’s a lot of carbon footprint.
00:31:30 Jon Toker
I think digital auctions are good because the car at the physical location, the.
00:31:34 Jon Toker
What do I call the first point of acquire?
00:31:36 Jon Toker
Like when you first acquire the vehicle, it’s there.
00:31:40 Jon Toker
Then you can do a digital auction.
00:31:41 Jon Toker
Sell that car.
00:31:42 Jon Toker
So then the next step that car goes to where it’s going to get resold again.
00:31:46 Jon Toker
So we save that extra trip to the physical auctions.
00:31:49 Jon Toker
In terms of carbon footprint, because then you burn less fossil fuels, right?
00:31:54 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
100 percent 100%. It’s an amazing point that you’re bringing up. Also, I think it’s a lot of money that you’re saving in transportation fees.
00:32:01 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
You know, so why would you send a card to do physical auction when you can solve from your lot?
00:32:08 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Online and just send the pictures and with proper pictures.
00:32:11 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
I think that’s another very important aspect to have quality pictures and consistent pictures on your website.
00:32:18 Jon Toker
Yeah, you you got you.
00:32:20 Jon Toker
Gotta you gotta look into the green aspect of your business because carbon footprint?
00:32:24 Jon Toker
It has.
00:32:25 Jon Toker
Uh, very bad effect on the health and and all that stuff.
00:32:29 Jon Toker
And with the technology that we have we we should be able to avoid that because.
00:32:34 Jon Toker
I like physical auctions and if that’s the case, like for instance government auctions right?
00:32:40 Jon Toker
It may not work for them.
00:32:42 Jon Toker
They send a physical run it.
00:32:44 Jon Toker
Makes sense, but an average dealership really should consider using digital channels because even the physical location.
00:32:52 Jon Toker
Actions have capability of doing the digital stuff anyways, right?
00:32:56 Speaker 1
Product form
00:32:56 Jon Toker
Like I remember even before these digital tools, you could always put the car on like dealer Ave dealer block, right?
00:33:03 Jon Toker
Those were like the still digital but old version of it.
00:33:07 Jon Toker
Not as easy as the those ones that you use your cell phone to snap.
00:33:11 Jon Toker
It was a little bit more cumbersome, but.
00:33:13 Jon Toker
Capabilities there, but I think.
00:33:15 Jon Toker
Uh, I don’t know what would you guys stay like stance on it as an organization but I think uh, environment should be an important factor remarketing these vehicles to minimize the.
00:33:27 Jon Toker
The transportation between locations.
00:33:30 Jon Toker
Then it lends into the actual location to get sold and then this could make a significant impact on the environment to solved, but.
00:33:36 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
100 percent, 100% and it’s right there. The at the tip of your finger, right? You can. It’s easy to do.
00:33:42 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
It doesn’t take it even you save money like I just said, so why wouldn’t you follow that route?
00:33:49 Jon Toker
That’s good, man, uh, I appreciate your time.
00:33:52 Jon Toker
I know you you gave us this time in your busy schedule.
00:33:55 Jon Toker
I I don’t want to take more of your time today.
00:33:58 Jon Toker
Is there anything else that you want to add to wrap this up?
00:34:01 Jon Toker
Any comments, suggestions, anything you want to share about anything?
00:34:06 Jon Toker
Pretty much before we wrap this up.
00:34:08 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Hey John, well that’s pretty much it for me, but thank you very much for having me on the show.
00:34:14 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Maybe one thing we have one meeting with for our next meeting. I think it’s on March 26th with the IR a Canada for 1st Q1 update.
00:34:25 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
So obviously it’s open to all our Members, and if some people are curious about the organization, well, they can always reach out to us through the website to to know more about it.
00:34:36 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
And that’s on a I believe. March Monday, March 26th, but the information is on our website, so we’d be glad to welcome there and welcome them for.
00:34:46 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
To be introduced to the IR.
00:34:48 Jon Toker
What’s the?
00:34:49 Jon Toker
What’s the format of that meeting?
00:34:52 Speaker 1
So it’s.
00:34:52 Jon Toker
Is it going to be virtual or physical?
00:34:54 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Yes, so it’s still virtual as a city, the situational and Ontario is here doesn’t allow us to run physical events yet, so it will be a two hour 2 1/2 hour meeting virtual with a chance to interact with the chance to talk to other people, et cetera. So we encourage.
00:35:14 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Everyone to take part.
00:35:15 Jon Toker
For March 26th.
00:35:17 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
That’s right, yeah, we actually have a guest speaker.
00:35:20 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
His name is Selma angler.
00:35:21 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
He’s a startup, are in the automotive industry.
00:35:24 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Amazing guy.
00:35:26 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
He has a MBA for you from UFT and and he’s going to talk about innovation and re marketing.
00:35:33 Jon Toker
That’s good, I suggest all the OEM’s and probably pretty much pretty much all the OEM’s are member of. I and I like your organization anyways, but like other groups could be an interesting.
00:35:34 Speaker 1
Right?
00:35:45 Jon Toker
Uh, you know opportunity for them to educate their staff to make this more professionally to maximize their income, and you know and reduce the social impact in terms of environment and all that stuff to.
00:35:56 Jon Toker
Perfect, well, I’ll thank everybody today.
00:35:59 Jon Toker
Tune in today.
00:36:01 Jon Toker
Whether you’re watching it or listening to it, this.
00:36:05 Jon Toker
I’ve, but I will put this up on your favorite podcast place so you can listen to it.
00:36:11 Jon Toker
Or if you want to look if you miss this opportunity, you just joined in, you want to know what we were talking before.
00:36:17 Jon Toker
Uh, you can watch.
00:36:19 Jon Toker
You can watch this again.
00:36:21 Jon Toker
Record it on YouTube and if you have any questions, feel free to reach Xaviar is more than happy to help you and I wish everybody a wonderful day and I’ll see you guys next Wednesday with my special guest.
00:36:36 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Thank you, Jon thanks everyone.
00:36:36 Jon Toker
You everybody Dave here have.
00:36:39 Jon Toker
A good day.
00:36:39 XAVIER KLEINERMANN
Bye thank you Jon you too bye.