KAR Global is rebranding as OPENLANE, the company said Tuesday afternoon.

The corporate name change will be effective May 15.

OPENLANE, which has been part of KAR’s digital offerings for over a decade, will now be both the name of the parent company and the go-to-market brand for its digital marketplaces throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe.

“Our vision is to build the world’s greatest digital marketplace for used vehicles, and we are advancing that vision by bringing together all of our sellers, buyers and vehicles under OPENLANE,” CEO Peter Kelly said in a news release.

“Over the past decade, we’ve built and acquired some of the leading digital platforms in our industry. Combining the best features and functionality from this technology and unifying our supporting operations will help us create the fastest, easiest and most active digital marketplace available,” Kelly said. “With flexible sale formats and thousands of cars offered each day — including exclusive, first access to a significant majority of North America’s off-lease inventory — customers will be able to list, bid and buy anytime, anywhere.”

The platforms, offering and operations will be consolidated under the OPENLANE brand, a move designed to “help focus the company’s strategy and investments, accelerate innovation and simplify the overall customer experience,” the company said in a news release.

However, the rebranding does not impact the AFC financing business unit.

The rebranding also signifies the company’s ongoing shift towards being a more asset light, digital marketplace. (Last year, KAR sold its U.S. ADESA brick-and-mortar auctions to Carvana.)

The company’s common stock will continue trading under the “KAR” ticker on the New York Stock Exchange. The company is also launching a new corporate website at corporate.openlane.com.

How rollouts will shake out

The company will launch the first OPENLANE-branded marketplace in Canada. It is combining the ADESA Canada and TradeRev platforms there, a process that starts next month.

As for the U.S., the CARWAVE platform has already been integrated into the BacklotCars platform. The new live-auction formation is currently being rolled out nationally.

Once that process is complete, the company plans to integrate the U.S. dealer-to-dealer and off-lease platforms into a combined OPENLANE-branded marketplace.

As for Europe, the ADESA Europe, ADESA UK and GWListe dealer-to-dealer technology into a consolidated marketplace. That platform is expected to take on the OPENLANE brand, as well.

Full-circle move

Kelly was one of the co-founders of the original OPENLANE platform, which launched in 1999, and was its CEO when KAR purchased the online remarketing platform in 2011.

He then became KAR’s CEO in April 2021.

“KAR catalyzed the digital transformation of remarketing through our acquisition of OPENLANE in 2011. So it is fitting to anchor the next era of our company—and our industry—on the OPENLANE brand,” said Kelly. “From CPO-ready off-lease cars to higher-mileage older vehicles, to fleet, rentals, recoveries and everything in between, OPENLANE will have the right car for every lot in every geography.

“And with thousands of unique users engaging on our marketplaces each day, sellers can have confidence they’re receiving the best, most competitive market price available.”

Stay tuned to Auto Remarketing for more on this story following the company’s earnings call Wednesday and our upcoming interview with Kelly.