ATLANTA – September 8, 2025 – As Manheim—Cox Automotive’s flagship wholesale brand—celebrates its 80th anniversary, the company is making a bold move to shape the future of the wholesale marketplace. Today, Cox Automotive announces it has acquired full ownership of Alliance Inspection Management (AiM), a recognized leader in vehicle inspection services and Manheim’s long-time wholesale inspection partner. Cox Automotive has held a 50% stake in AiM for nearly a decade and, as part of this deal, acquired the remaining 50% stake from Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp.
“This is another powerful step in our journey toward reimagining how buyers and sellers connect in today’s wholesale automotive marketplace,” said Grace Huang, president of Inventory Solutions at Cox Automotive. “By fully integrating AiM’s talent and technology into the Manheim Marketplace, we’re making it easier than ever for clients to transact confidently—whether in lane, online, onsite or offsite.”
What this Acquisition Means for Manheim Clients:
- Expanded Offsite Presence: The acquisition significantly boosts Manheim’s offsite capabilities, putting more boots on the ground and extending reach well beyond its traditional locations and reach today. This will not only expand Manheim’s capacity to serve clients better than ever before, but it will also create new opportunities for growth and efficiency.
- Industry-Leading Off-Lease Inspections: For commercial clients, this move catapults Manheim to the #1 position in the industry for off-lease inspections. Leveraging its advanced Next Inspect solution, Manheim will offer clients tech-driven off-lease inspection solutions at an unprecedented scale—delivering greater accuracy, efficiency and confidence throughout the process.
- More Support for Dealers: Manheim will now have approximately 300 additional team members visiting dealers across the country—helping drive faster, more effective wholesale vehicle transactions from their lots.
Bringing Together the Best in the Business
With this acquisition, approximately 700 highly skilled AiM employees have officially become part of the Cox Automotive family. Their added expertise will be instrumental in the ongoing evolution of condition reporting at Manheim, elevating the seller experience across the country while delivering buyers even more consistency, quality and confidence.
“We’re building the marketplace of the future—one that’s smarter, more connected and more convenient for everyone,” said Joe Kichler, senior vice president of Digital and Supply Chain at Cox Automotive. “Strengthening our workforce and integrating new technologies means clients can expect even greater consistency, reliability and transparency—cornerstones of the Manheim and Cox Automotive legacy. We welcome all our new team members as we take this exciting next step together.”
Celebrating Eight Decades of Innovation
The timing of this announcement couldn’t be more fitting, as Manheim celebrates its 80th anniversary. This milestone underscores Manheim’s unwavering leadership in the wholesale automotive space and its relentless drive to innovate on behalf of clients, partners and employees. It also comes on the heels of Cox Automotive’s acquisition of Bel Air and Tallahassee Auto Auctions, which closed in mid-August.
About Cox Automotive
Cox Automotive is the world’s largest automotive services and technology provider. Fueled by the largest breadth of first-party data fed by 2.3 billion online interactions a year, Cox Automotive tailors leading solutions for car shoppers, automakers, dealers, retailers, lenders, and fleet owners. The company has 25,000-plus employees on five continents and a family of trusted brands that includes Autotrader®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital™, and vAuto®. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately owned, Atlanta-based company with $23 billion in annual revenue. Visit coxautoinc.com or connect via @CoxAutomotive on X, CoxAutoInc on Facebook or Cox-Automotive-Inc on LinkedIn.
