GM plan to sell cars on eBay starts

Car buyers in California will be able to name their price tomorrow when a new
sales partnership between General Motors and eBay, the internet auction
site, goes live.

GM, which first announced the scheme to its plans to expand its showrooms from
the parking lot to the laptop last month, said that 225 dealers in
California would take part in the trial, offering up to 20,000 cars and
trucks, from tomorrow.

Vehicles will be offered through eBay Motors' traditional formats such as "Buy
It Now", where shoppers agree to pay the advertised price, and eBay's
innovative "Best Offer" option, where buyers indicate the price
they are willing to pay and can negotiate online with the dealer for the
vehicle.

Consumers visiting gm.ebay.com will be able to compare pricing between models
and dealerships and determine the value of their trade-in or whether their
current vehicle may also qualify for the government-funded "Cash For
Clunkers" car scrappage scheme.

The trial represents a turning point for GM, which is desperate to boost sales
having emerged from bankruptcy protection last month. A number of GM dealers
already offer an online sales service, but the trial will expand this and
give it a higher profile. The scheme will also add to an existing
partnership covering GM-certified used vehicles sold through eBay.

The internet is becoming an increasingly important tool for new car dealers. A
recent JD Power & Associates study reported that more than 75 per cent
of new-vehicle buyers in 2008 used the web during their shopping and
research, compared with 70 per cent in 2007. The study also found that 2008
marked the largest year-on-year increase in online car shopping since 2001.

Ted Nicholas, president and chief executive of the Three Way Chevrolet car
dealership in Bakersfield, California, who is participating in the scheme,
said: "We've found that serious shoppers want it to be easy and have
shifted from the traditional forms of researching and purchasing vehicles to
getting it all done on the internet.

"In the not too distant past, a customer had to work too hard to find a
vehicle and what might be the best offer to be found. Now, with the
custom-built GM/eBay microsite, customers can get all the information they
need about available inventory, compare features and price ... and make a
decision to buy a vehicle now or make an offer."

Rob Chesney, vice president of eBay Motors, said that 12 million individual
car shoppers visit the site every month.

"Through this programme, we are helping GM dealers to extend their
physical showroom while at the same time delivering to our buyers the great
deals and broad selection they expect from eBay," he said.