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J.D. Power and Associates’ Study Finds Autobytel.com Delivers Largest Number of Online New Vehicle Consumers to Dealerships
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| New study shows Autobytel.com continues to enjoy greatest percentage of its dealers’ new-vehicle sales |
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| Updated |
Jul 7, 2004 20:36:43 |
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 16 ( -2 -12.5% ) |
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Description:
Irvine, CA - June 20, 2001 - J.D. Power and Associates today released a study finding that Autobytel.com continues to provide the greatest number of Internet leads or sales to dealers. Furthermore, the company continues to enjoy the largest percentage of its dealers' new-vehicle sales over other OBSs. In its fourth year, the J.D. Power and Associates 2001 Dealer Satisfaction with Online Buying Services Study examined fee-based independent e-commerce businesses, like Autobytel.com, free manufacturer websites and large dealer group sites in a side-by-side comparison to gauge dealer's attitudes towards the various online car buying options.
Autobytel.com exceeded the industry average in four out of the five categories measured by J.D. Power and Associates and was the leader in the number of online new vehicle leads per dealer.
"The results of this study don't surprise me at all. It's well known that consumers prefer independent car buying services over other sites and Autobytel.com has always been our largest business generator, continuing to deliver us the most ready-to-buy customers," said George Athan, General Manager of Huntington Beach Ford, an Autobytel.com Accredited Dealer. "This is a watershed year for online car buying-the landscape will never be the same," said Andrew Donchak, Autobytel.com's Chief Marketing Officer. "After years of beating the drum encouraging both manufacturer and dealer involvement in Internet marketing, this study shows we're making significant headway. Shopping and/or buying a car online is becoming less the exception and more the rule. All parties-manufacturer, dealer and multi-brand sites-were well represented in the study, proving that we're coming closer to unification and to understanding how to make automotive e-commerce work in an integrated fashion."
An example of this integration is the current General Motors locate-to-order test taking place in Washington D.C. In this test, General Motors and all of its twenty-two D.C.-area Chevrolet dealers have teamed with Autobytel.com to take online car buying to the next level by creating a 75-acre virtual car lot with over 5,000 Chevy vehicles in stock, featuring e-prices and the option to choose a preferred dealer.
The study also gave unique insight into the prices paid by online consumers. According to J.D. Power and Associates, online car buyers pay hundreds of dollars less than their traditional counterparts.
For the first time, the J.D. Power and Associates 2001 Dealer Satisfaction Study was based on e-mail responses from 1,172 Internet managers and sales persons responsible for Internet sales. In previous years, the study was conducted via telephone calls to individual automotive retailers. |
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