Manheim Acquires Undercarriage-Imaging Technology

With nearly 75% of Manheim’s transactions going to digital buyers, the company enters 2023 with a continued commitment to investing in what clients need to make the most confident digital purchases: innovative vehicle information and imaging solutions. That focus was accelerated in 2020 and recently included several advancements, such as the acquisition of leading undercarriage imaging technology from Synthetik Applied Technologies.

“Alongside Fyusion’s best-in-class imaging, the purchase of Synthetik’s undercarriage imaging technology is an important step in Manheim’s journey to give clients the most comprehensive vehicle view in the industry,” said Grace Huang, president, Inventory Solutions at Cox Automotive. “These investments will give buyers an enhanced level of trust, consistency and transparency in vehicle conditions, enabling them to make more informed buying decisions.”

Partnership Delivered Valuable Results  

After partnering with Synthetik to deploy nearly 40 undercarriage imaging devices across 26 Manheim locations and capturing over half of a million images in 2022, the company purchased the technology to further develop and integrate it with Manheim’s imaging solutions. The devices provide unobstructed high-resolution views of vehicles, putting more information at clients’ fingertips while increasing efficiencies.

The devices, which are affixed to the ground, allow vehicles to be photographed simply by driving slowly over the device. Not only does that bring a new, important view of the vehicle to the condition report, but it also provides an efficient alternative to driving a vehicle onto a ramp or lift for a post-sale inspection, as inspectors can review the captured images from a screen. The images are supreme in quality – clients can zoom in and pan across to visually inspect even the finer details on the underside of the vehicle, such as fluid leaks, corrosion and structural integrity—as well as the presence of emissions equipment. Buyers and sellers can use the images to make more informed decisions—including investing in reconditioning work, assurance offerings and the purchase itself.

Tech Delivers Greater Efficiencies for Clients  

Thanks to the undercarriage imaging devices, Manheim team members can perform undercarriage inspections faster and more consistently than before. And since the images are digital, team members can inspect vehicles remotely any time after a vehicle arrives or even after it has left the lot.

The addition of undercarriage imaging closely follows other significant imaging advancements Manheim made in 2022, including the deployment of Fyusion-powered hand-held imaging at all locations. Manheim also worked with Fyusion to install artificial-intelligence-driven fixed imaging tunnels (formerly known as gantries) at select locations to bring a new level of consistency to vehicle imaging and fuel the company’s development of automated damage detection. At three locations—Manheim Atlanta, Manheim Ohio and Manheim Tampa—the company installed undercarriage imaging devices inside the fixed imaging tunnels, leaving no exterior vehicle surface uncaptured.  

“The future of vehicle imaging is now,” added Zach Hallowell, senior vice president, Manheim Digital. “As we continue to deploy our fixed imaging tunnels, the combination of undercarriage images and photos that capture virtually every angle will give clients a complete 360-degree exterior picture of the vehicles they want to purchase, a view that is unmatched in the wholesale industry.”