*ABTL* PR!
Thursday May 27, 8:01 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Autobytel.com
Autobytel.com Generates Over $1 Million an Hour in Car Sales
Current Level of Customer Purchase Requests on Track to Result in $9 Billion of Car Sales in 1999
IRVINE, Calif., May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Autobytel.com (Nasdaq: ABTL - news), the leader in automotive e-commerce and services, today announced that its purchase requests to its Accredited Dealer Network were now resulting in over $24 million per day, or $1 million an hour, of car sales.
''This level of business generation establishes Autobytel.com as the clear leader in automotive e-commerce, and confirms recent surveys that indicate we are the site of choice for serious car buyers,'' said Mark Lorimer, Autobytel.com president and CEO.
According to Lorimer, in a recent survey of e-commerce brand awareness by Opinion Research Corporation, Autobytel.com ranked sixth among e-commerce brands, the only auto-related site in the top 17 positions ranked by Opinion Research.
''In addition, Media Metrix reporting for April indicates our level of unique visits continues to be among the highest in the sector,'' said Lorimer. ''More importantly, our users are spending more time on the site than ever before, and the average time our visitors spend on each page is the highest in the industry. This signifies that our visitors are actually doing research and shopping for cars, not just surfing.''
Lorimer also noted that Autobytel.com placed first for the second year in a row in the J.D. Power & Associates 1999 Dealer Satisfaction with Online Buying Services Study. ''The over 2,700 dealers in our network recognize that Autobytel.com provides them with the best sales prospects, which is confirmed by the $1 million per hour in sales that result. From both the dealer and consumer brand awareness perspective, we are the number one ranked auto site; it is a clean sweep.''
About Autobytel.com inc.
Internationally-branded Autobytel.com is the acknowledged leader in online automotive commerce(1). The most comprehensive automotive Internet site, Autobytel.com offers consumers a positive purchasing and ownership experience, while providing its Accredited Dealer Network with the most efficient way to reach online car buyers. As it assists consumers through every aspect of the automotive lifecycle, Autobytel.com provides continuity into the next vehicle purchase. Launched in March 1995, Autobytel.com's low-cost, no-haggle car-buying program is available in the U.S., Canada ( www.autobytel.ca ), the United Kingdom ( www.autobytel.co.uk ) and Sweden ( www.autobytel.se ). In 1999, Autobytel.com was ranked #1 in Dealer Satisfaction with Online Buying Services for the second year in a row(2).
The statements contained in this press release, that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements under the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. Autobytel.com undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Among the important factors that could cause Autobytel.com's actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the forward-looking statements are changes in general economic conditions and increased or unexpected competition.
(1) As reported by J.D. Power and Associates, Autobytel.com generates
nearly as many new-vehicle sales as its two closest competitors
combined.
(2) J.D. Power and Associates 1998-1999 Dealer Satisfaction With Online
Buying Services Studies(SM). 1999 study conducted among dealership
Internet specialists who completed 1,024 individual evaluations.
SOURCE: Autobytel.com
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