2005 NADA: FordDirect Drives 9 Percent of Ford Retail Sales

NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 29, 2005 -- Ford, Lincoln and Mercury dealers sold more than 210,000 vehicles from FordDirect Internet referrals last year. Sales of Ford vehicles from these referrals accounted for 9 percent of total Ford Division sales in 2004. This announcement was made by Ford Division President Steve Lyons, FordDirect Chairman of the Board Bill Keith (Dealer Principal at Freehold Ford) and FordDirect President Steve St. Andre at the National Automobile Dealers Association Convention.

FordDirect was founded in August 2000 by the Ford National Dealer Council to create an online presence that leverages the collective strength of Ford Division with the distribution channel of the local dealer. Launched in New Jersey with just 15 dealers and a handful of Internet referrals, today FordDirect has over 3,900 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury dealers voluntarily participating nationwide.

"With the help of FordDirect, Ford dealers have been able to deliver some amazing results in just four short years," Lyons said. "The strength of FordDirect is in their innovation and their ability to work with both Ford and Ford dealers to quickly address emerging dealer needs and changing market conditions."

FordDirect offers marketing solutions that help dealers capture the online market and get their new and used inventory in front of millions of Internet shoppers each month. FordDirect Services include New Vehicle Marketing Services, Pre-Owned Vehicle Marketing Services, Call Tracking and Call Track- 10.

"The primary objective of FordDirect is to deliver quality sales opportunities by providing a superior online research experience for consumers of Ford Motor Company vehicles," St. Andre said.

FordDirect has built an extensive web presence on all major automotive portals, search engines and content sites and has more than 3.5 million monthly visitors to FordDirect.com. Last year, the company delivered dealers more than 1.5 million referrals on new vehicles alone.

"FordDirect gives Ford dealers a competitive advantage," Keith said. "We are the only dealer-initiated and controlled joint venture in the industry and this model is clearly working."

JD Power's "2004 Dealer Satisfaction with Online Buying Services" recently ranked FordDirect highest in lead quality, ease of uploading inventory, amount of contact with dealership and dealer gross profit per-vehicle-sold from FordDirect leads.

FordDirect.com is a joint venture between Ford Motor Company and its Ford franchised dealers to create a comprehensive web presence for dealers and provide information and online vehicle sales quotes directly to consumers. It is the only dealer-manufacturer partnership in the industry. FordDirect allows consumers to choose, customize and locate new and pre-owned vehicles using fast, secure and easy-to-use Internet technology. Launched in August 2000, FordDirect has more than 3,700 participating Ford, Lincoln and Mercury dealers located in all 50 states. FordDirect.com is headquartered in Dearborn, Mich.