EBay Says Plans To Sell GM Cars Not Finalized
10 Juli 2009 - 10:36PM
Dow Jones News
General Motors Co. raised eyebrows Friday when it said it aimed
to sell new cars on eBay Inc.'s (EBAY) online marketplace, but the
ecommerce giant appears to have been caught off guard by the auto
maker's announcement.
EBay said it was excited about a "potential" new program to help
GM dealers sell the products over the Internet, but the company
suggested that GM's announcement was perhaps pre-mature.
"At this time, no plans have been finalized with General Motors.
We hope to support GM's new company and vision going forward," said
eBay in a statement.
General Motors Co., which emerged from bankruptcy protection on
Friday, announced at a news conference in Detroit a series of
sweeping changes to its management structure, adding that it would
realign sales and marketing functions.
Chief Executive Fritz Henderson also said at the event that GM
is testing a new online auction system with eBay that will enable
customers to bid on actual vehicles just like they do in an eBay
auction, including the option of choosing a predetermined "buy it
now" price.
Under the eBay partnership, dealers would continue to book
revenue from vehicle sales because they would handle final delivery
of cars and trucks, Chief Executive Fritz Henderson said. "We're
working with dealers on this," he said. "Not around them."
When pressed for details on the program, Henderson said GM would
reveal more in the coming weeks. The company, he said, picked
California as a launch state because it's a large auto market in
which GM would like to improve its performance.
But when later asked about eBay's reaction to his earlier
comments, Henderson said GM "got a little out ahead" of the deal
with its announcement.
More than 30,000 U.S. franchise and independent dealers already
use eBay as a complementary sales channel for their businesses.
Several auto makers, including General Motors, also list certified
pre-owned cars on eBay's Motors marketplace.
But an eBay spokesman said new car sales on eBay Motors
represent a small percentage of total sales. GM's new initiative,
if successful, would increase the number of new cars available
through the Internet site.
The spokesman declined to comment as to whether eBay was talking
to other car makers on plans similar to the one GM mentioned
Friday.
-By Scott Morrison, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-6118;
scott.morrison@dowjones.com
-By Sharon Terlep, Dow Jones Newswires; 248-204-5532;
sharon.terlep@dowjones.com
(John Stoll contributed to this report.)