KAR Auction Services Becomes First Auto Remarketer to Join Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (MOBI)

KAR Continues Investment in Mobility, Technology and Innovation

KAR Auction Services, Inc. (NYSE: KAR), a global vehicle remarketing and technology solutions provider joins MOBI, the Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative.

MOBI is a member-driven consortium of global automotive industry leaders exploring blockchain technology for use in the digital mobility ecosystem.

KAR is the first auto remarketer to join MOBI and collaborate with international automotive OEMs, new mobility technology companies, government agencies, and leading consulting and financial services firms, to put forward interoperable solutions.

“Working with other leaders in the automotive and technology industries as partners with a vested interest in the success, integrity and security of blockchain enabled solutions, we can build a more transparent and trustworthy ecosystem,” said Don Gottwald, chief operating officer and chief strategy officer at KAR. “As a forward-thinking company, KAR has assembled a team to consider potential blockchain technology use cases, and active participation in MOBI can help ensure that effort results in a unified, secure reality for our customers and the industry.”

Blockchain technology operates by cryptographically distributing information to a network of independent computers, ensuring transactions are secure and data privacy, ownership rights, and integrity are protected. Working in a consortium allows MOBI and its partners to reduce fraud risks and lower mobility transaction costs.

“Blockchain has the potential to transform the automotive industry – how dealers and consumers purchase vehicles, insure vehicles and use vehicles on a day-to-day basis,” said Chris Ballinger, chairman and CEO at MOBI. “KAR’s participation with other automotive industry leaders such as global manufacturers, suppliers, startups, and government agencies means we can all work toward developing a network we trust and adopt.”

Through MOBI’s open-source approach to blockchain software tools and standards, KAR hopes to collaborate on the development of standardized blockchain-enabled vehicle data and mobility services applications.