COVID-19 forced Manheim Pennsylvania to postpone its 75th anniversary activities, so Manheim’s flagship auction location found another reason to celebrate.

In a news release distributed late last week, Manheim highlighted record vehicle demand from dealers in June resulted in the Keystone State location selling more than 8,200 of the approximately 10,000 vehicles offered for sale digitally during the week ending June 19.

The company indicated this digital sales week beat last year’s combined physical and digital sales week by almost 900 vehicles.

Using Simulcast, OVE.com and Manheim Express, officials said nearly 9,000 dealer buyers participated virtually, showing dealers’ ability to keep their businesses forward by leveraging the digital wholesale marketplace.

“While we weren’t able to host our in-lane anniversary sale in March due to COVID-19, we could not be happier about meeting the demand from dealers for vehicles during this most recent week in June,” said Joey Hughes, vice president and general manager at Manheim Pennsylvania.

“Even though we could not physically greet and see our clients this week, we are excited about continuing to help them be successful,” Hughes continued in the news release.

Due to COVID-19, Manheim shifted its 76 sites in the U.S. from physical to Simulcast-only sales beginning on March 16. This included closing all locations to clients and operating with limited staffing based on local and state directives.

To assist dealers during this time, Manheim recapped that it waived all Simulcast buy and sell fees and continues to do so today, and 90% of Manheim sites now offer clients the ability to preview inventory onsite.

Earlier this month, the company allowed sellers to represent vehicles on the block and piloted in-lane bidding at five of its sites beginning the week of June 22. Both decisions were made after establishing strict safety protocols based on COVID-19 guidance.

While in-lane physical sales with vehicle running down the lanes have halted, Manheim pointed out that used-vehicle demand is strong and dealers buying vehicles digitally has soared. This is evidenced by Simulcast participation nearly tripling since early April, Simulcast attendance hitting approximately 20,000 attendees each day starting in mid-June and experiencing an 81% increase in OVE.com sales in one week.

In addition, the company experienced approximately 1 million digital transactions from January through May, weeks ahead of the same time last year.

“We realize that moving to an all-digital format was a significant adjustment for our clients,” Manheim president Grace Huang said in the news release.

Our clients have shown great resiliency, resourcefulness and an ability to overcome challenges, and we thank them for their patience and support as we work together to keep our businesses moving forward in the safest way possible," Huang went on to say.