Raymond C. Nichols Honored as Industry Pioneer by NAAA

DALLAS – The National Auto Auction Association (NAAA) has named Raymond C. Nichols an Industry Pioneer for his visionary leadership and exemplary service to the wholesale auto auction industry and NAAA.

NAAA’s Industry Pioneer Award, given to those who have worked in the wholesale motor vehicle industry, recognizes individuals who have innovated or enhanced methods of improving services to remarketers through NAAA member auctions, have championed NAAA member auctions as providing services for motor vehicle remarketers unavailable from any other source, and have consistently followed the standards of the NAAA Code of Ethics.

Nichols is Chairman and CEO of BSC America, a collection of privately-held asset management companies, which includes BSC America Auction Group encompassing Bel Air Auto Auction, Tallahassee Auto Auction, and a specialty weekly sale located at BSC’s Clayton Station in Edgewood, Maryland.

Nichols works in close partnership with his family, with his son R. Charles Nichols (2022 NAAA President) serving as BSC America President and his daughter Michelle Nichols-Neff serving as Executive Vice President. Under the Nichols family leadership, Bel Air Auto Auction has grown to become the largest independent dealer auto auction located in the Mid-Atlantic region, handling more than 100,000 vehicles annually.

Throughout his career, Nichols has been an active member and supporter of NAAA. He served as NAAA President in 2002 and was inducted into the NAAA Hall of Fame in 2008. He is chair of the NAAA Joint Marketing Committee, which is responsible for engaging in marketing services related to auto auction industry data, known as AuctionNet. AuctionNet began in 1991 and is the largest and most comprehensive wholesale used vehicle sales data set in the United States. Nearly 270 NAAA member auctions contribute sales data on a weekly basis to AuctionNet, covering approximately 80% of dealer-only wholesale sales activity in the country.

Nichols was instrumental in starting AuctionNet, and he has provided outstanding leadership and vision for the project as it has evolved. With the distinction of receiving the Industry Pioneer award, Nichols becomes just the sixth person in NAAA history to be NAAA President, inducted into the NAAA Hall of Fame, and receive the Industry Pioneer award.