How a Carvana-owned ADESA auto auction might operate

For decades, you could walk into an ADESA facility (or any auto auction, for that matter) and generally know what to expect on sale day.

A multitude of lanes, each with a block where an auctioneer would call bids, as vehicles would slowly drive through as dealers put in their bids.

The auction format has evolved over the years, particularly recently as more wholesaling goes digital or through hybrid online-offline formats — a trend driven over time by multiple factors.

However, it largely remains among the most significant avenues through which used cars are bought and sold wholesale.

Thursday’s news that Carvana would be buying the U.S. auctions of ADESA, the nation’s second-largest auction company, from KAR Global shakes up the dynamics of the auction industry, certainly when it comes to participant makeup of the space.

But what will an ADESA auction look like after new ownership?