According to Manheim Auctions, a group of dealers recently walked away with 21 percent of the 589 vehicles sold at a Chrysler sale at Florida Auto Auction of Orlando (FAAO), without attending. The company says the vehicles were bought using Simulcast – Manheim’s online system that allows used car dealers to bid remotely on and electronically buy vehicles as they are moving through auction lanes.

“The FAAO sale is a perfect example of how Simulcast can benefit dealers,” said Joe Luppino, vice president and chief operating officer for Manheim Interactive. “Dealers can participate in sales all over the country and compete in real time with dealers in the lane. And interestingly, we have not seen any decrease in lane attendance because of Simulcast’s success. Simulcast actually brings incremental bidders to the sale, increasing the overall attendance.”

According to Charlie White, general manager at FAAO, dealer attendance is up at their Chrysler sales thanks to Simulcast. Consider, at the April 16 sale:

• Online dealers from 12 states purchased 125 vehicles total (21 percent of the 589 Chrysler vehicles sold.)
  

• Of the 26 online dealers participating in the sale, 16 purchased a vehicle (62 percent.)
  

• Online dealers placed 553 bids on 205 vehicles (35 percent of the total cars.)
  

• Online bidders placed the second-highest bid 47 times.

According to the comapny, for the year-to-date across all Manheim auctions running Simulcast sales, Simulcast has brought more than $30 million in value to auctions, and is responsible for more than 2,500 vehicle sales.

“With Simulcast, online bidding is increasing the value of the marketplace by protecting its integrity, because true market prices are actually being achieved in the auction lanes,” said Luppino.

Manheim says it currently has 62 lanes at 16 auctions operating on Simulcast, with 20 consignors, including both dealers and commercial accounts, selling vehicles on

the system. Estimates are that by the end of May, Simulcast will be installed in 160 lanes at 32 Manheim auctions, ready to be activated as soon as training is complete. At this pace, Luppino conservatively estimates that Simulcast could attract more than 7,500 dealers into the auction lanes electronically by the end of May, up from 3,500 currently.

About Manheim Auctions

Dedicated to helping dealers succeed, Manheim Auctions offers services that impact every stage of a used vehicle’s life cycle. These include transaction, reconditioning and certification services, managed remarketing, end-of-lease-term management services, vehicle transportation, dealer floor planning, retail inspection and government auction services. The company also assists auto manufacturers, fleet and lease companies, banks and other financial institutions in selling their used vehicle inventories. Manheim says it offers technology tools that help dealers and national consignors handle their remarketing transactions more efficiently.

A wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., Manheim Auctions has more than 32,000 employees at its 124 auctions and related businesses. Manheim is a global remarketing organization with 85 auctions in North America and additional operations in the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Australia and New Zealand.