Jack Sulymka, Director, Commercial Accounts and Operations, Manheim Canada at Cox Automotive Canada, cuts the ribbon at Manheim Toronto’s 55th anniversary celebration.
Car dealers, and the teams who help them buy used vehicles at auctions, celebrated the 55th anniversary of Manheim Toronto in Milton this week at a ceremony held just moments before cars started running in the live auction lanes. Canadian auto dealer was on site for the event.
The auction started as Toronto Auction in 1964. It was acquired by Manheim in 1983, and the business has since evolved, constantly, according to a company press release.
“The entire Manheim Toronto team is proud to celebrate the legacy of Canada’s largest and oldest auction in Canada, which would not be possible without our team members, loyal clients and community support,” said Cox Automotive Canada President, Maria Soklis in a news release. “Both Homer Stevens and Ruth Hart Stevens had a vision 55 years ago, and we are proud to continue and build on that vision.”
In an interview at the event, Jerome Dwight, Vice President, Inventory & Financial Solutions, Cox Automotive Canada, said the auction business has changed a lot over the years, with new technologies like Simulcast auction, logistics and financing services, and a soon-to-be-released new digital dealer-to-dealer auction platform, called MUVIT.
But he says there’s something magical about the physical auction experience, which some of the dealers have been attending for decades, and it’s an integral part of their business success.
“This is such a relationship-driven business. When I started talking to some of the dealers who had been doing business with Manheim for decades, they would say things like, ‘I’m a Manheim guy,’” said Dwight.
He said some dealers told him they bought their first used car at Manheim, and now they have multiple dealerships.
“Today is a big day for us. It celebrates a lot of hard work that has been laid for decades,” said Dwight. “This auction environment is a high-energy environment for dealers to transact.”
The next generation of auction technology is coming in November. MUVIT will provide a coast-to-coast digital auction platform for dealers to buy and sell completely online. “It’s a really good complement to what we do in the physical lanes. They will have access on the virtual platform to things like financing, Kelley Blue Book, and Ready Logistics,” said Dwight.
“When we launch MUVIT it’s not about moving away from our commitment to Manheim — it’s really about providing greater choice, but still being very committed to what we do here.”
He said dealers will have confidence in their transactions online with the new platform, because it’s backed by their trust in Manheim, and its parent company Cox Automotive.
Jack Sulymka and Jerome Dwight, Vice President, Inventory & Financial Solutions, Cox Automotive Canada.
