IAR Recyclers Newspress January / February 2014 - page 24

Page 24
Recyclers News Press
ARA Continues to Grow
Associate Membership
ARA announced in a joint press release issued on
January 8 that eBay, Inc. has joined the Association as
an associate member. eBay is the most recent in a se-
ries of notable new associate members of the Associa-
tion; CCC Information Systems became an associate
member in early November and Mitchell International
joined in December.
"We are pleased that eBay has joined
the ARA," said CEO Michael E. Wil-
son in last week's press release. "For
years, professional automotive recy-
clers have utilized the global presence
of eBay and eBay Motors to increase sales of recycled
OEM automotive parts in today's ever expanding auto-
motive parts marketplace. We look forward to working
closer with eBay and other industry partners on initia-
tives that open even more markets for our 4,500 mem-
bers to sell quality, recycled OEM parts to consumers
around the world." With more than 124 million users
globally, eBay is one of the world's largest online mar-
ketplaces. eBay Motors is the Internet's largest market-
place for buying and selling all things automotive and
there are more than 22 million
automotive parts and accessories
available on eBay Motors at any
given time.
Said eBay Program Manager Mary Hubbard, "We rec-
ognize the value of ARA standards and protocols and
their role in facilitating electronic commerce. These
programs can help quantify a level of performance that
automotive consumers and the repair community can
expect. We are excited to officially join the ARA and be
part of an organization whose members deliver such
high quality, recycled OEM parts -- parts that provide
eBay Motors users a positive experience."
U.S. Auto Sales Rose in 2013
U.S. auto sales posted a 7.6 increase in 2013 over
sales in 2012 signaling the best year since the reces-
sion of 2008. A total of 15.6 million vehicles were sold
in 2013 with the highest market growth in trucks and
SUV's. Domestic brands slightly outsold Asian imports
while foreign and domestic luxury vehicles sold excep-
tionally well.
General Motors led sales of the do-
mestic automakers with a 17.9 per-
cent increase in 2013, followed by
Ford with a 15.9 percent rise in sales.
Toyota and Chrysler rounded out the
gains with 14.3 and 11.5 percent re-
spectively. Factors that helped new
car sales in 2013 were multifold. According to Kelley
Blue Book, the average new car price was $32,890 in
December 2013 - higher than in November but lower
that the previous December. New car loans were
longer with the average range from 73 to 84 months in
length according to Experian Automotive. Sustained
low interest rates also helped boost sales.
Auto sales for 2014 are predicted by many industry
analysts to increase as well but not as significantly as
in 2013. A continuation in overall U.S. economic
growth and stability may sustain a healthy domestic
auto market.
ARA Updates
Industry news from the national association
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