Manheim Adds New Features to Mobile Offerings

ATLANTA – With more than 85,000 customers digitally connecting with Manheim every week, the world’s leading provider of vehicle remarketing services is enhancing the capabilities of its mobile website. Last month, Manheim added a suite of new features to its mobile offerings to help buyers do business anytime and anywhere, including:

·         Bid and Buy: Dealers have the option to buy now, place a bid or autobid on any OVE.com inventory from their mobile device. Customers then follow the same process as their other OVE.com purchases to complete their mobile transaction.

·         Make an Offer: Buyers are invited to “make an offer” and suggest the value they think a car is worth on designated Buy Now vehicles on OVE.com from any smartphone or web-enabled mobile device.

·         Manheim Simulcast Proxy Bidding: Buyers are able to place proxy bids on Manheim Simulcast listings via the mobile website; they can access Manheim’s Simulcast proxy list from the mobile website’s homepage.

·         My Buying Activity: Customers can now easily track recent OVE.com Buying Activity from Manheim’s mobile website. The My Buying Activity page is accessible from the homepage and includes units with live bids, on offer, won and lost.

“These new features open an entirely new set of opportunities for our buyers,” said Amy Mills, senior director, product management, Manheim Digital. “Customers can now be in the lanes bidding on one vehicle and on their phones placing proxy bids on another vehicle at the same time. We are excited to offer dealers the opportunity to buy anytime, anywhere. We want to help them avoid having to wait until they’re at their desk or in the lanes to purchase that must-have vehicle.”

Manheim has already sold units through its mobile website during the first few weeks the mobile buying feature was available. These vehicles were purchased from both dealership offices and Manheim operating location floors. The first car purchased through the mobile site – a 2008 gray Lincoln MKZ – was purchased by Benjamin Weber of Gabriel Jordan Ford Mercury dealership in Livingston, Texas, on June 20.

“I was impressed with how easy it was to purchase a vehicle straight from my phone,” said Weber. “Now that I know how effortless the process is, I am looking forward to using my smartphone to quickly bid on and buy OVE.com cars in the future.”

Before customers commit to purchasing a vehicle, they are able to view any reports listed with the unit, including CarFax, AutoCheck, Seller Disclosure and Condition reports.  Manheim also recently updated the look and feel of several pages on the mobile website to make it easier and more efficient for dealers to navigate and use the site.

“Enhancing the capabilities of Manheim’s mobile platforms is an important part of our digital strategy,” said Joe George, group vice president, Manheim Digital. “We believe every part of our customer’s experience needs to be fully enabled on mobile devices in the future, and this is a step in that direction – there’s no doubt that these features will create more, better and easier ways for customers to conduct business with Manheim.”

Customers can access the new features on smartphones and other mobile devices with web-browsing capability by visiting Manheim.com. Customers will be able to access these new features from Manheim’s Apple iPhone® app later this summer.

About Manheim (www.manheim.com)
Manheim is the world’s leading provider of vehicle remarketing services. Through its 122 worldwide wholesale operating locations, Manheim impacts every stage of a used vehicle’s life cycle, helping commercial sellers and automobile dealers maximize the full value of their vehicles.  Drawing from its auction transaction volume, Manheim Consulting publishes the annual Used Car Market Report, the definitive source of data for the used car industry.  Manheim Consulting offers a wide range of services including custom analytics, business optimization and macro economic analysis.

Manheim is the online vehicle remarketing leader, connecting buyers and sellers to the world’s largest, most comprehensive wholesale marketplace through its extensive in-lane and online offerings.  Manheim.com receives nearly 900,000 visits each week.

Additionally, Manheim offers services including reconditioning, certification, inspections, dealer financing, title management and marshaling, among others. Through its wide array of services and technologies, industry publications, customer support and educational offerings, Manheim gives its customers maximum control over how they buy and sell vehicles, helping them to conduct business in the most efficient way possible. In 2010, Manheim handled nearly 10 million used vehicles, facilitating transactions worth more than $50 billion in value.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Manheim is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, a leading communications, media and automotive services company.

07/12/11