Quietly, at a time when car sales are at an all-time low, and local dealers are desperate for new ideas that drive traffic into the showroom, eBay Motors has become the largest auto seller in the world. Doing what the manufacturers, dealers, search portals and Vehix with all its fancy ads, can't- match needs to opportunities and close sales.
The bigger news for eBayers is that GM has struck a deal for 3,900 dealers to list on eBay Motors. The announcement, made last Friday in Automotive News, said dealers would list their entire inventory on eBay Motors. The article says the dealers may list for free, but you can bet eBay will be paid for successful transactions. GM’s brands include used Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac, Cadillac, Hummer, Saab and Saturn. Dealers will be listing all inventory including certified used cars starting sometime in the second quarter of 2008.
The eBay Motors Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) Showroom. Designed to house franchise dealer inventory, this hub is exclusively sponsored by Lexus and provides eBay Motors` 12 million monthly unique visitors* with even more selection.
Lexus, General Motors and Chrysler are the first brands to be featured in the new eBay Motors CPO Showroom. GM Certified Used Vehicles announced its commitment to list its entire national inventory on eBay Motors at no cost to dealers in February.
Since that time, Lexus and Chrysler have signed similar agreements to list all certified used vehicles on eBay Motors in support of dealers. In total, more than 5,000 certified used-vehicle dealers feature inventory in the new eBay Motors CPO Showroom.
It appears that not even The General can resist the lure of eBay these days, as it has entered in a partnership with the online auctioneer as a way of selling off its entire inventory of GM Certified Used Vehicles that are currently sitting at over 3,900 GM dealer lots in the U.S.
The CPO Showroom enables consumers to view certified pre-owned inventory from dealers within their local area via a classified listings format. Participating dealers automatically upload their CPO inventory using OEM-customized templates. Consumers, in turn, can communicate with dealers directly via email or a toll-free number and through the eBay Motors platform.
"The eBay Motors agreement means that GM Certified dealers will have millions more eyeballs looking at their inventory, and more traffic drives sales," said Mark Mathews, director, GM Used Vehicle Activities. "Teaming with eBay Motors provides shoppers with convenient access to all GM Certified inventory and continues GM Certified's commitment to interactive marketing. We now offer our dealers the most comprehensive program in the industry, listing their inventory on more than 300 websites."
Bay says it anticipates 12 million monthly unique visitors. Chrysler, which will sell CPO Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep vehicles through the platform will, per eBay have some 15,000 vehicles on the site, as part of its "Brand Spankin' Used" CPO program.
Chrysler's deal with eBay is not exclusive, per the company, which has similar deals with the likes of Cars.com and AutoTrader.com. Lisa Way, Chrysler Senior Manager, Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, says the company will "certainly promote our new relationship with eBay Motors through various communications. EBay already gets 12-13 million visits per day." She says that on the Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge vehicles pages, there will banner and tower ads using the "Brand Spankin Used" message.
The eBay Motors CPO Showroom lets consumers look at local-area CPO classified-ad style inventory. Dealers then talk to potential customers through their CRM systems and consumers can talk to dealers through the eBay Motors' platform. Ebay says dealers can add additional packages and features, such as eBay Motors Local Market, a subscription-based service wherein dealers can upload their used-car lot (CPO and non) to local area buyers or list specific inventory units.
Virtually every automaker spanning the range of market segments has a CPO program. Chrysler says its CPO sales have set sales records every year since its 2002 launch. The company posted CPO sales of 122,000 units last year, a 5% increase versus the year before. The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based company posted a 13% increase in CPO sales in May, with year-to-date sales up 8%.
