Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions is using Carsite’s latest platform, Preview, to market cars several weeks before they are de-fleeted.

Tim Bowden, head of operations at Hitachi said: “Of those vehicles listed on Preview, 10% have already been sold within the first month.

"We simply provide an extract of quality vehicles which are due off contract.

"Carsite then creates an e-listing which compels buyers to reserve cars online, which neither the buyer, Carsite or us have physically seen at that time.”

At the end of lease, any car that has been reserved on Preview is delivered to Carsite for de-fleeting, preparation and handover.

“This means we’ve minimised our end of lease stocking costs, whilst providing the opportunity to increase the values we achieve across our entire portfolio, and not just those that have been specifically allocated to e-retailing,” said Mr Bowden.