ATLANTA -

Manheim on Tuesday announced it is teaming up with Alliance Inspection Management to enhance its vehicle inspection capabilities at auction sites and dealerships throughout the U.S.

More than ever, dealers are relying on inspection reports to aid the sales process and make buying decisions. Last year, Manheim conducted 3.5 million vehicle inspections, and the company expects that figure to top 4.2 million this year.

“Our condition reports help clients gain a better understanding of their vehicles’ market value, which, in turn, enables them to manage their inventory as profitably as possible,” Shane O’Dell, senior vice president for Manheim Vehicle solutions, said in a news release.

Used vehicles with condition reports are about four times more likely to sell than cars without them. Online and in-lane buyers tend to look first at listings with condition reports to identify vehicles they want to target. Additionally, inspection results cut down on arbitration; Manheim’s and AiM’s arbitration rate for cars with condition reports is less than 1 percent.

The volume of vehicle condition reports has increased greatly since 2014, averaging 20 percent year-over-year growth. More than 70 percent of large dealers and 46 percent of small to midsize dealers are using real-time data about a vehicle’s current condition to make better decisions and make it easier to conduct business. Another driver of condition report volume is the growing need for mobile inspections, as buyers and sellers evolve their strategies to add more digital environments to their sourcing and sales networks.

Manheim and AiM first formed an alliance last March to examine best practices and standardize new inspection technologies across live and online auctions to create greater consistency in the inspection process.