Hyundai Glovis has surpassed 2 million cumulative vehicle listings at its used-car auctions — a milestone reached 25 years after the business launched in 2001 and the first time any domestic used-car auction operator has hit that mark.
The company announced Monday that cumulative auction listings had crossed the 2 million threshold, based on its own transaction data.
Lined up bumper to bumper at the average passenger-car length of 4.5 meters, 2 million vehicles would stretch roughly 9,000 kilometers — about the distance from Seoul to San Francisco.
Hyundai Glovis entered the used-car auction business in 2001, listing about 10,000 vehicles in its first year through the Autobel Bundang Auction Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. By the time it opened the Autobel Sihwa Auction Center in 2008, cumulative listings had already exceeded 250,000 vehicles.
Growth accelerated from there. The company expanded into the Yeongnam region in 2012 with the opening of the Autobel Yangsan Auction Center in South Gyeongsang Province, and cumulative listings crossed 1 million in 2018. The 1.5 million mark followed in 2023, with 2 million reached in June this year. It took 17 years to reach the first million; the second million took roughly eight years.
Hyundai Glovis now operates four used-car auction centers — in Incheon, Bundang, Sihwa and Yangsan — with about 2,800 member companies. The centers handle roughly 150,000 vehicle listings a year.
Supply comes from multiple channels: rental and leasing companies, corporate customers, and individual sellers through the company's "Autobel My Car Sale" service. Growing export demand for used vehicles has also drawn more exporters into the auctions, contributing to the rise in listings.
A contactless auction system has been another driver of growth. In 2020, Hyundai Glovis introduced Autobel Smart Auction, an online platform exclusive to auction member companies that consolidates used-car inventory data — previously managed separately by each center — on a cloud-based system.
Before the platform launched, buyers had to visit auction sites in person. Smart Auction lets member companies bid via smartphone or PC. Auctions are held twice a week at the Sihwa and Bundang centers and once a week at the Yangsan and Incheon centers.
The entire transaction process — from bidding and winning a lot to settlement and transport requests — can be handled online. Hyundai Glovis said the system has reduced travel burdens for participating companies and improved transaction efficiency.
The used-car market is evolving beyond simple buying and selling, with competition expanding into online transactions, certified pre-owned programs and export-linked services. As automakers enter the certified used-car segment, vehicle condition assessment, transaction reliability and inventory procurement are becoming increasingly important.
Hyundai Glovis plans to expand its used-car distribution business by leveraging its nationwide auction network and online platform. The company also aims to broaden its reach by connecting domestic auction supply with overseas used-car demand.
"Through the expansion of our locations and continuous system improvements, we have set a new milestone of 2 million vehicles in the domestic auction market," a Hyundai Glovis official said. "We will continue to enhance the convenience of the used-car auction market through ongoing technology innovation and market expansion, and lead the way in building a healthy used-car distribution ecosystem."
kwater@heraldcorp.com
