Posted by: Jens Brinch Olesen
Last edited: 24th March 2024
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The right product at the right price. This mantra applies to all industries, but according to co-founder and CEO of the newly started brokerage company Carzelle, Jens Brinch Olesen, makes good sense when it comes to second-hand imported cars. And he adds:
– Here, the turnover rate is crucial.
A broker is an intermediary who mediates the sale of cars between the buyer, e.g. a Danish used car dealer, and a seller, e.g. a foreign new car dealer. Carzelle thus sells petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrids for export, while the company imports electric cars to the Danish market.
At the head of the company is the experienced industry man Jens Brinch Olesen with a past at BCA Markeplace, among others, and is a trained automotive economist. The other two co-founders of Carzelle both come from the tech industry.
– The European market for used cars is a maze. Prices in each country vary greatly. Therefore, in all its simplicity, it is about moving cars from a market that does not demand them to a market that does.
Such a situation exists with electric cars, where the Danish market is almost scorching hot, while it has cooled down in most European countries.
– This would normally mean that Danish buyers were met with high prices. But the European car factories can achieve their CO2 targets and therefore have to register a whole lot of cars in the different countries. And they can be cheap for sale, says Jens Brinch Olesen, who says that this situation can create some unusual opportunities.
– We experience, for example, that Italian dealers order cars from the importer with seat heating and with three-phase plugs, even though these are optional equipment that are rarely in demand among Italian car buyers. From the beginning, the cars were intended as export goods to, among others. Denmark, he says.
Unofficial sales lists
Jens Brinch Olesen makes no secret of the fact that the import and export of used cars can be very confusing and time-consuming. On the one hand, there is a lot of bureaucracy in the form of customs and VAT documents, consignment notes and tax calculations. But first and foremost, it’s about buying at the right prices.
– Here, industry knowledge, networks and good contacts are crucial. Many of the cars that end up being exported to Denmark do not appear on official sales lists, but are so-called off-market deals.
On the other hand, Jens Brinch Olesen points out that a number of petrol and diesel cars are currently exported out of Denmark.
Carzelle addresses its b2b customers via a partner portal, where a large selection of electric cars is offered at what Jens Brinch Olesen calls competitive prices. The IT part has been developed by the company itself.
Carzelle has developed its own partner platform.
– The cars match the Danish market conditions (price, equipment, charging). This means that dealers can easily and efficiently buy cars for their warehouse, but we also offer a function where all prices are hidden in the Partner Portal, so that dealers can sell the cars to their end customer before they actually buy the car from us, says Jens Brinch Olesen.
The cars are stored at Autologik in Vamdrup and there is an increasing supply of cars for quick or immediate delivery.
Spending an amazing summer day featuring classic cars, new cars, a motocross stunt show, and a DJ, it’s no surprise that this event was sold out.
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