Manheim has announced a new contract with Volvo Cars, enabling the Swedish car manufacturer to introduce the latest technology in used car systems into 26 countries including the UK.

These include the main European markets, USA, Brazil, Australia, Russia, Japan and China.

In what Manheim claims is an industry first, Volvo Cars is taking the lead to ensure a common international platform for inventory management and the wholesaling of used vehicles to its franchised dealers.

The Manheim solution will also deliver a high-end experience for Volvo's retail consumers, when searching for used models, under the Volvo Selekt programme in all of its key territories.

While the wholesale element of this end-to-end system is being delivered by Manheim's enterprise software platform, known as RMS, the retail solution has been developed by Manheim's leading German automotive marketing business, Modix.

The roll-out of the global project, which is scheduled to be largely completed by mid-2016, is being coordinated between the respective teams at Volvo Cars' Gothenburg HQ and Manheim's project team based in the US, UK and Germany.

Once fully implemented, it is expected that the system will manage the sale of 40,000 Volvo used cars per annum between the manufacturer and the franchised dealer network.

This supports Volvo Cars' plans to substantially increase its international used car sales, on the back of strategic new car growth worldwide.

Nick Peluso, president of Global RMS, based in Manheim's HQ in Atlanta USA, said: "Volvo Cars is setting a real precedent here, with an innovative approach to managing their entire used vehicle inventory worldwide, right through the value chain.

"The Manheim RMS platform will allow each of Volvo Cars' national sales countries to control and sell their wholesale inventory in a single integrated system. There will also be a seamless transition from this wholesale platform to an all-new, used car stock locator, being built by our retail marketing provider, Modix.

"This will give consumers the same top quality environment across all 26 countries, in which to browse a great selection of models being offered under the Volvo Selekt Used Car programme."

"We are delighted to be working with Volvo Cars on this ground breaking project knowing that our solutions will materially assist them to achieve their objectives of streamlining the wholesale and retail used car experience on an international scale."