CARMEL, IN - ADESA Inc. is seeking online customers around the world to buy the used vehicles it sells at its North American auctions, its president says, according to Automotive News.

"We know that prices are falling, we know that the U.S. economy is tough, but maybe we can develop a whole new buyer base," ADESA President Jim Hallett told Automotive News. "Let's get more eyeballs on these cars."

ADESA, the second-largest U.S. auction company, has 60 physical auctions in the United States and Canada and one site in Mexico. The company is training dealers in eastern Europe, South America, Mexico, China, and the United Arab Emirates to use its Live Block online remarketing channel.

Internet sales account for about 300,000 of the 2 million used vehicles ADESA sells each year for its customers, Hallett said. Nearly 4 percent of those online sales are to buyers outside North America.

ADESA also is tapping the buyer base of its salvage subsidiary, Insurance Auto Auction, to create a customer list, Hallett said. Internet sales represent about 25 percent of the 450,000 vehicles Insurance Auto sells annually.

Hallett said ADESA's parent company, KAR Holdings LLC, wants to become the largest electronic seller of vehicles in the world within two years.

Ralph Fisco, national remarketing manager of Toyota Financial Services, says ADESA offers an "excellent opportunity" for sellers to take advantage of a global used-vehicle car market.

Another salvage auction company, Copart Inc., sells more than 1 million vehicles a year online.

Manheim, operates 85 auctions in the United States, five in Canada and 55 in 19 other countries. Manheim's Simulcast system allows online customers to bid on and buy vehicles from its physical auctions.

Last year Manheim handled nearly 10 million used vehicles. The company says Internet sales represent 14 percent of its total sales.

ADESA has expanded its electronic-business unit from two employees 18 months ago to 35 today. The staff of Insurance Auto Auction speaks more than half a dozen languages.

By year end, Hallett said, ADESA will have installed its LiveBlock technology in all its auction lanes.

Hallett said ADESA is teaching dealers in other countries to buy vehicles on the Internet and to read online vehicle condition reports. Dealers also learn to wire and transfer money and to work with shippers to move vehicles to and from ports, he said.

"They can buy on Live Block every day," Hallett said. "They might have to do it at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. their time, but they can bid and buy."