Multi-brand used car company Mahindra First Choice Wheels’ online vehicle auction platform – eDiig – today today announced the launch of True Time Bids, a live online-offline  auction platform allowing buyers to participate in traditional ‘on the ground’ used-car auctions via the internet in real-time.

“The platform, the first such initiative in India, will significantly improve the efficiency of how vehicle auctions are conducted in India today,” said Mahindra First Choice in an official statement.

Typically, consignors with vehicle assets conduct offline auctions and some also conduct online auctions to attract non-local bidders. The two-step process is inefficient on two counts – the time taken to dispose assets (multiple rounds of auctions) and also buyer liquidity (buyers in separate auction events).

The truetimebids.com platform combines both auction formats into one simultaneous auction event online and offline. Buyers can bid on a vehicle ‘on the ground’ by being present locally at an auction yard or ‘in the cloud’ with buyers bidding on a vehicle at an auction, in any city across India, right from their desks in their office. Online bidders have access to a live feed from the auction yard showing the vehicle and current bids. In addition to feeds from the yard, the platform also provides vehicle inspection and pricing analytics powered by Autoinspekt and Indian Blue Book.

The launch of True Time Bids is part of Mahindra First Choice Wheels’ overall aim to organise the used-car space in India and bring legitimacy and transparency to the market. The company ran a pilot project of True Time Bids with Kotak Bank prior to its launch.

“True Time Bids from Mahindra First Choice Wheels’ eDiig platform is a major innovation in the industry. We, at Kotak, have adopted the Truetimebids solution for disposing our assets in a more efficient and transparent manner. The merging of offline and online buyers via live streaming improves liquidity and also reduces the need for multiple auctions,” said Abdul Rahman of Kotak.

B Ganeshkumar, senior vice president of eBusiness at Mahindra First Choice Wheels added, “The pilot launch of Truetimebids.com with Kotak has been extremely successful and we look forward to taking this platform to all our clients over the next few weeks. We believe it will fundamentally change the way vehicles are disposed at auctions. Our clients are continuously looking for higher liquidity and more efficiency in our auction services, and we are pleased to develop and launch India’s first simultaneous online-offline auction platform.”

eDiig's Android app

Parallel to the launch of True Time Bids, eDiig also launched a mobile app - eDiig Now. Available on both Android and iOS platforms,eDiig Now will allow buyers and sellers access to eDiig’s auctions on-the-go. With the new app, buyers can view runlists from multiple auctions based on their eligibility and credit limits. Nearly 3,000 of the 20,000+ eDiig buyers are already using the mobile auction platform.

eDiig is on course to facilitate the sale of over 100,000 units, with a GMV of nearly 2,000 crores, from 1,000 locations across India in F17. Vehicle types include commercial vehicles, cars, tractors and commercial equipment from sellers that include financial institutions, manufacturers, insurance companies and dealers.

“True Time Bids and eDiig Now are two additional products in our portfolio that should enable our clients to improve efficiency in their vehicle disposal process. Adopting these two platforms will also give our buyers the twin benefits of greater flexibility and reduced costs,” said Dr Nagendra Palle, CEO & MD, Mahindra First Choice Wheels.

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