Kia Chooses Cobalt's PartsVoice for National Parts Locator Service
15 December 1999
Kia Chooses Cobalt's PartsVoice for National Parts Locator Service; Industry Leader Provides Tool to Assist Dealers, Body Shops and Do-it-Yourselfers
SEATTLE--Dec. 14, 1999--Kia Motors America, Inc. has selected Cobalt's PartsVoice as the exclusive contract vendor for the Kia National Parts Locator. The service markets Kia dealers' original equipment inventory to anyone searching for parts. This includes Kia dealers, non-Kia dealers, repair/body shops, fleets, insurance companies and do-it-yourselfers. The Kia National Parts Locator database is available through an interactive telephone system, the Internet at www.partsvoice.com, online via modem, or CD-ROM.The Kia National Parts Locator is a powerful time and money savings tool as it lists actual available parts by dealership, eliminating the need for random telephone solicitation of Kia dealers. As an additional convenience, telephone users can transfer directly to the appropriate Kia dealer parts department without re-dialing if the dealer has an 800-number.
"We are pleased to be working with Kia to provide a service that will save time for thousands of parts managers nationwide," said Diane Wetherington, vice president of marketing for The Cobalt Group. "Kia is an excellent example of the types of OEM partnerships PartsVoice is pursuing."
"PartsVoice gives us a powerful tool to increase the number of same-day repairs and improve customer satisfaction," said Jim Richert, vice president, parts, for Kia Motors America, Inc. "The National Parts Locator will also provide Kia dealers with opportunities to increase their service and parts sales."
PartsVoice has become the industry standard in parts locator services and has exclusive locator agreements with six major manufacturers, including DaimlerChrysler, Toyota, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru and Volvo Trucks North America.
Kia Motors America, Inc. will finance the Kia National Parts Locator, and Kia's 550 dealers nationwide are expected to participate in the program.
ABOUT PARTSVOICE AND THE COBALT GROUP
PartsVoice, based in Portland, OR, is a leading OEM auto parts locating and data management service. PartsVoice was acquired by The Cobalt Group in April of this year. The Cobalt Group(TM) , based in Seattle, is a leading provider of automotive e-commerce products and services. Through Web development and hosting, data management and online car shopping services, Cobalt helps dealers, dealer groups and automobile manufacturers harness the power of the Internet to better serve their customers.
With approximately 4,600 dealer Web site clients, over 10,000 dealers using its parts locating system and relationships with 16 automotive manufacturers and more than 50 of the 100 largest dealer groups in the United States, Cobalt is one of the leading technology companies serving the automotive industry. Cobalt operates DealerNet(R) (www.dealernet.com), one of the best-known automotive destination sites on the Web.
For more information, please visit www.partsvoice.com or www.cobaltgroup.com.