ADESA
A wholesale dealer auction network competing with Manheim; the digital arm was acquired by Carvana in 2022.
ADESA is a major North American wholesale vehicle auction network, historically the second-largest dealer-only operator after Manheim. Founded in 1989 and acquired by KAR Auction Services in 1995, ADESA’s digital business and physical sites were sold separately in 2022: Carvana acquired the US digital and logistics operation, while the physical auction sites stayed with KAR (now operating as OPENLANE).
Like Manheim, ADESA’s inventory is predominantly clean-title trade-ins, lease returns and rental fleet rotations. Bidding is restricted to licensed dealers. The post-2022 split means "ADESA" in current usage typically refers to the digital wholesale platform now operated by Carvana, while the physical auction houses operate under the OPENLANE brand.
Auction records that pre-date the 2022 split commonly carry the ADESA name on the lot ticket regardless of which entity subsequently owned the underlying business. When researching older auction history, treat "ADESA" as referring to the unified pre-split company.