Insolvency: selling commercial vehicles correctly

Many companies have used up their reserves

Several effects are coming together and putting the logistics sector under economic pressure. After the crisis mode of the coronavirus years, in which many companies used up their reserves, diesel prices rose sharply from 2022 onwards. A worked example: a fleet of 60 trucks covering almost four million kilometres a year burns around 1.2 million litres of diesel at roughly 30 litres per 100 kilometres. A price difference of just one cent therefore works out at around 12,000 euros a year – a five-figure sum. Larger jumps in price multiply that amount: in mid-September 2026, with a nationwide average price of around 2.42 euros per litre, the German haulage association BGL (Bundesverband Güterkraftverkehr Logistik und Entsorgung) calculated around 1,800 euros in additional fuel costs per truck per month. Many companies are not prepared for that scale. Just how hard the sector has been hit is shown by the insolvency statistics: for 2025, the Federal Statistical Office reports 133 insolvencies per 10,000 companies in the transport and storage sector – the highest insolvency rate of any economic sector. That in turn confronts the people appointed to handle those cases – insolvency administrators (Insolvenzverwalter) – with the task of disposing of commercial vehicles and entire fleets.

The typical dilemma for insolvency administrators – price versus value

Insolvency proceedings are a collective enforcement procedure whose aim is to satisfy creditors as fully as possible. Values that are never realised settle no claims. Under insolvency law, then, what should really matter is the price that can be achieved, not the value. The German Insolvency Code (Insolvenzordnung, InsO), however, is framed around value. So how can the gap between the value and the purchase price actually realised be narrowed as far as possible, so that as many creditor claims as possible can be met?

Selling trucks as an insolvency administrator – what are the options?

Given the running costs the vehicles keep generating, an insolvency sometimes has to be wound up quickly. The costs in question are rent, but also standing and security fees. At the same time, the vehicles have to be sold with as much value preserved as possible, so that creditors' claims are served as well as they can be – and, where necessary, so that partial proceeds can be used to keep the business running. Until now, the first port of call for insolvency administrators has usually been auction platforms: the digitised version of the traditional vehicle auction. You list the vehicles online and then usually coordinate a physical viewing on site with potential buyers. Bidding follows, with a possible purchase on the closing date or through a proxy bidding agent. Another option is to sell through transactional commercial vehicle platforms. Unlike advertising portals, these are transactional, meaning that the sale itself also takes place digitally on the platform. Because they specialise in the commercial vehicle segment, they give sellers a better chance of achieving a good selling price. One method that has proved itself there is the blind auction with sealed bids: each bidder submits a bid within a fixed period without knowing the others' bids. At the end there are several independent bids. The seller sees all of them and decides whether to accept. That makes the price achieved traceable, including towards creditors and the court. Further important aspects are set out in the checklist below.

Leased vehicles and vehicles held as security

Not every vehicle in the fleet belongs to the insolvency estate. Leased trucks remain the property of the leasing company, which can claim their segregation (Aussonderung) under section 47 InsO. Vehicles transferred to a lender as security (Sicherungsübereignung) may be sold by the administrator by private sale under section 166 (1) InsO if they are in the administrator's possession. Beforehand, the administrator must tell the creditor how they intend to sell them. The creditor then has one week to point to a better way of realising them (section 168 InsO). From the proceeds, the estate keeps a flat 4 per cent for determination costs and 5 per cent for realisation costs (section 171 InsO). What this means from the lessor's and the bank's point of view is covered in Lessee insolvency: what happens to the leased truck.

What to look for when choosing a sales platform

Insolvency administrators are not only occupied with selling off company assets. A large part of the job goes on talks with creditors and with the court, and on clarifying, for example, whether and how the debtor's business can be kept running. With that in mind, the following six points should be considered when choosing a partner and/or a sales platform.

1. Size and relevance of the potential dealer pool: The platform should specialise in the relevant product category and reach a large number of potential buyers. High potential demand makes it possible to achieve a higher price, at best above the value.
2. Time required from the seller: It is of course worth understanding how far the provider keeps your own marketing effort to a minimum. That covers listing the vehicles, approaching potential buyers and handling the sale afterwards.
3. Cost of selling: Most platforms work on a commission basis, charged to the seller. Depending on the provider, that commission can run into double-digit percentages, which considerably reduces the value you realise.
4. Formal standards: The process must of course comply with formal requirements. That means, for example, that a certain number of bids should have been received for a vehicle so that the realistic market price can be established.
5. Transparent presentation of the vehicle's condition: A clean presentation of the vehicle's condition is essential. That means recording the technical parameters and the state of wear, both in enough breadth and detail that follow-up questions and physical inspections on site become unnecessary. Only then can a remote purchase work and a quick sale be possible.
6. International reach: Most used commercial vehicles from the German market spend their second life abroad. That inevitably means the buyers speak another language. Specialised platforms support more than 14 languages so that the vehicle's condition can be read and understood abroad as well.

More guides

Insolvency from the lessor's and bank's view · Repossession and remarketing · Selling a fleet · Documents for selling a truck · Selling on a sound legal footing · free truck valuation · Sell a truck