MOTABILITY has teamed up with British Car Auctions to hold the biggest online sale in the disposal company's history.

The ground-breaking online sale achieved a string of firsts for both the fleet and BCA, including the first-ever online direct fleet sale.

For the first time, BCA's buyers were able to compete online in an open sale with buyers in the auction hall at BCA Measham.

A total of 199 cars were offered, and with an average age of around three years, this was the highest age profile offered to date using BCA's bespoke online system. Previously, only sub-one-year-old cars had been offered online.

The Motability Invitation sale was open to all BCA account card holders and the whole of BCA Measham was dedicated to the event.

Nearly 100 buyers travelled to bid in the auction hall while a further 75 took the opportunity to log-on to Live Online through BCA's secure system.

Auctioneers Steve Clarke and William Soubrey started the sale, offering on average one car every minute.

The status of each lot was displayed on BCA's bid monitoring screens in the auction hall, showing whether a hall or online buyer was holding the bid.

By the end of the sale, 193 cars had been sold, equivalent to a 97% conversion that generated a turnover of more than £1 million.

Online bidders purchased a total of 75 cars – the highest figure recorded for a Live Online sale.

Significantly, more than 600 online bids were logged during the sale, averaging more than three bids per car offered.

Motability's general manager fleet remarketing Peter Rosie said: 'I firmly believe this is the future for vehicle remarketing, combining the power of physical auction with the accessibility and inclusiveness of online bidding.

'With BCA's system, distance really is no object and buyers can literally bid from anywhere. The crucial aspect to the success is the live auction atmosphere, which translates exceptionally well via the PC screen.

'Vehicle remarketing for fleet operators is evolving and Motability will remain right at the forefront of this evolution.'

Among the best prices on the day were a Ford Fiesta 1.2 Freestyle 3dr 01Y with 27,612 miles on the clock, which sold for £4,000 or 110% of CAP clean, a Nissan Micra 1.0 S 3dr with 1,840 miles that sold for £3,650, or 120% of CAP clean and an X-reg Nissan Micra 1.0 S 5dr with 5,859 miles, that sold for £4,300 or 122% of CAP clean.