Manheim Auctions, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., is the largest and highest volume wholesale automobile auction company in the world. Manheim provides used vehicle services and marketplaces to professional buyers and sellers of the millions of cars that change hands every year. It has set the standard in the wholesale automobile industry for 60 years. With more than 32,000 employees at its 135 auction locations and related worldwide businesses, Manheim is a global remarketing organization with 85 auctions in North America and additional operations in Australia, Belgium, China, Germany, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Spain, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. Manheim's corporate offices are in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
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Manheim Auctions has a long and colorful history that dates back to 1945. During World War II, auto manufacturers were so involved with the war effort that used cars became the major source of transportation. After the war ended, Jake Ruhl, Paul Stern, B.Z. Mellinger and Art Walters saw an opportunity to capitalize on the situation. They established Manheim Auto Auction in 1945 in Manheim, Pennsylvania. By 1959, Manheim Auto Auction had become the largest auto auction in the world. In 1965, the owners purchased National Auto Dealers Exchange in Bordentown, New Jersey, in a record-breaking deal referred to as "the largest transaction ever made in the relatively young auto auction industry." Within two years, the company purchased Fredericksburg Auto Auction in Virginia.
Shortly thereafter, Cox Enterprises of Atlanta, Georgia, acquired the three auctions, and Manheim's headquarters were moved to Atlanta. By 1989, Manheim grew to 25 auctions. Two years later, Manheim merged with General Electric's GECARS, almost doubling its size to 46 auctions.
In 1994, Manheim conducted the first ever live satellite auction. In 1996, Manheim acquired the Greater Auction Group, entered the auction business in the United Kingdom and launched the first dedicated online car classified ad listing service, now known as AutoTrader.com.
In 1999, Manheim acquired Dent Wizard's paintless dent removal service. Manheim added new auctions in France and Australia and increased the number of auctions in the United States by five. In March 2000, Manheim announced the formation of Manheim Interactive, with tens of thousands of dealers using the service. Later in 2000, Manheim acquired 20 ADT Automotive auctions, further increasing the number of auctions worldwide. In 2001, Manheim introduced the Manheim Used Vehicle Index, which is now widely recognized as the premier indicator of pricing trends in the used vehicle market.
Manheim started its first online auction services in 2002 with the launch of myAccount. Dealers were able to conduct most business transactions with the auctions online and real-time around the clock. In 2003, Manheim held its first Simulcast sale. By the end of the year, 65,000 dealers were enrolled and using Manheim Online. It was also in the same year that the industry's first "cinema" sales took place in Atlanta and Seattle. Manheim also performed its first auction in Thailand.
In 2004, Manheim launched the Online Vehicle Exchange, a system which enables users to exchange (buy/sell) vehicles online among various Manheim dealers and consignors. Later that year, Manheim opened its Manheim DRIVE Center, a global automotive remarketing innovation center.
In 2005, Manheim introduced Tracker, a new dealer management system for independent automobile dealers. In the same year, Manheim launched Mark III Customs business and introduced the Total Resource salvage subsidiary.
