March 7 (Reuters) - AutoFi, the San Francisco-based provider of dealership systems to support online vehicle sales and financing, has raised $85 million to expand its operations, the company said on Monday.

The investment values AutoFi at nearly $700 million, the company said. Investors in the new round include Santander Holdings USA, Silicon Valley Bank and Crosslink Capital.

The pandemic has spurred increasing consumer interest in online vehicle financing and purchases from U.S. auto dealers, a trend acknowledged and generally supported by automakers.

Previous investors in AutoFi include BMW iVentures and Ford Motor Credit, according to investor website PitchBook.

AutoFi said its digital commerce platform was used to process more than one million vehicle financing requests in 2021, supporting more than $3 billion in retail sales.

The latest funding round will be used to expand AutoFi’s platform to banks, as well as captive and specialty finance companies, according to Kevin Singerman, AutoFi’s chief executive and co-founder.

Santander Consumer USA said it will expand its partnership with AutoFi to roll out Santander's online sales and financing program nationwide. (Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit Editing by Chris Reese)