ATLANTA – Manheim’s Simulcast – an online system that allows dealers to remotely bid on and buy vehicles as they are moving through live auction lanes – has been responsible for the sale of approximately $3.5 billion worth of vehicles to online buyers in its two years in operation, the company announced. The total value of all vehicles sold online and in lanes during Simulcast sales was $36.6 billion during those two years.

More than 200,000 vehicles were sold online via Simulcast in 2004, increasing sales more than four times year-over-year and bringing the total number of vehicles sold through the service to 242,000. Approximately 24,500 dealers attended Manheim sales via Simulcast last year, recording almost 1.65 million online bids.

Manheim currently has Simulcast capability in 455 lanes at 76 of its North American auctions. In 2004, dealers purchased more than $2.84 billion worth of vehicles online via Simulcast, up from $611 million in 2003 and bringing the online total to almost $3.5 billion. Online bidders also recorded the second highest bid on more than 117,500 vehicles in 2004, increasing the transaction value of cars sold in the lanes.

“Simulcast has enhanced the bidding process and brought increased value in the lanes,” said Joe Luppino, vice president and chief technology officer for Manheim. “The total value of the vehicles sold during Simulcast sales in 2004 alone was more than $27 billion, and more than 10 percent of those sales were to online bidders. It’s easy to see that providing more opportunities for buyers through services like Simulcast helps sell more vehicles.”

Manheim will continue to expand the service, with more than 500 lanes expected to offer Simulcast by the end of January 2005, including auctions in the United Kingdom and Australia.