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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LIVEDEAL™ SIGNS NATIONWIDE AGREEMENT WITH AUTONATION, INC.; FORTUNE 500 DEALER GROUP LISTS ENTIRE USED CAR INVENTORY ON LIVEDEAL.COM
PALO ALTO, Calif. , April 4, 2005 – LiveDeal, Inc.™ (www.livedeal.com), the leading online marketplace for buying and selling locally, today announced that AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN), America’s largest automotive retailer, has joined all of its dealers across the country in LiveDeal Autos’ Preferred Dealer Program. With this relationship, AutoNation’s approximately 20,000 used vehicles from more than 280 dealers will be listed on LiveDeal.com starting April 1 st in the LiveDeal Autos area. The agreement gives AutoNation exclusive premium web page placement on LiveDeal.com in all of its territories (within a 25-mile radius), strengthening the company’s reach to local consumers nationwide.
“Our agreement with AutoNation is a terrific acknowledgement of the need LiveDeal fills for auto dealers seeking online alternatives to traditional classifieds,” said Rajesh Navar, CEO of LiveDeal.
Open to auto dealers nationwide, LiveDeal’s Preferred Dealer Program allows auto dealers to have exclusive advertising presence on LiveDeal.com for a 25-mile radius for any given zip code. “AutoNation’s inventory will give local buyers the selection they want,” said LiveDeal’s Vice President of Marketing, Devon Cohen. “LiveDeal’s users are tapping LiveDeal.com to look for local items. People looking for used autos represent 30 percent of our monthly traffic . We expect this figure to increase to 50 percent within a couple of months. AutoNation has just proactively locked up ‘Top of Page’ placement for customers within 25 miles of their target geographies.”
According to a recent J.D. Power and Associates' 2005 Customer Buying Trends report, 22 percent of car buyers said the Internet had an impact on how they selected a dealer in 2004 - up from just 14 percent in 2002.
Added AutoNation Vice President, Phil DuPree, “We are continually looking for new avenues through which our vast network of affiliates can efficiently and effectively reach local consumers. We look forward to working closely to build upon this opportunity that will help us to grow our used car business.”
Offering both consumer-to-consumer and dealer-to-consumer online car shopping, LiveDeal Autos is the ideal “one-stop-shop” for used cars with the broadest selection of used cars available in local markets, as well as nationally. Car buyers can choose from over 26,000 used autos sold by consumers and dealers alike. LiveDeal’s Preferred Dealer Program enables select dealers to exclusively reach local consumers at a fraction of the cost of traditional classifieds, Yellow Pages and online auctions. The program also includes a unique guaranteed lead-generation rate for dealers that offers a risk-free approach to listing their autos on LiveDeal. For more about the LiveDeal Autos program see the autos link at www.LiveDeal.com.
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