Edmunds.com Announces Global Initiative
31 March 2000
Edmunds.com Announces Global Initiative; Edmunds.com UK to be First Foray into European Auto Marketplace
LOS ANGELES--March 31, 2000--UK-based Autologic Makes Investment in Venture
Edmunds.com (http://www.edmunds.com), the Web's leading consumer resource for unbiased automotive information, today announced the company's plan for global expansion.
Edmunds.com's first entry into the European automotive market will be Edmunds.com UK, set to launch in October 2000 and followed shortly thereafter by sites in Benelux, France, Italy, Germany and Spain. The company has hired Marcus Hodgkinson, formerly of Urban Science, as CEO to spearhead the European initiative. UK-based Autologic, a market leader in automotive logistics and outsourcing, has also taken a $10 million stake in the Edmunds.com Holding Company. The second phase of Edmunds.com's global expansion will begin in 2001, when the company moves its efforts into Asia and Latin America.
In the United Kingdom alone, almost 500,000 car purchasing decisions representing 20 percent of the national new car market will be made online by 2003, according to a report from Fletcher Research.
Same Information, New Location
The Edmunds.com European sites will have the same look and feel as the original U.S. site but will be adapted as necessary to meet the needs of European consumers. The sites will be comprised of vehicle specifications, pricing, in-depth editorial, original testing information and a user community. The Edmunds.com European sites will operate as automotive infomediaries, in line with the recently announced Edmunds.com extended business model in the United States. Edmunds.com will aim to establish in each country partnerships with transaction providers as well as other site partnerships in categories such as insurance, maintenance and financing. These partnerships will strengthen Edmunds.com's value to consumers by providing them with the opportunity to make informed choices and save money on their automobile purchases.
"We really see this global initiative as an extension of the basic Edmunds.com premise -- empowering consumers in the automotive marketplace," said Peter Steinlauf, president and CEO, Edmunds.com. "Marcus Hodgkinson, with his wealth of industry knowledge and experience in global expansion at Urban Science, will provide great leadership as the new CEO of Edmunds.com Europe."
In his new role as CEO of Edmunds.com Europe, Marcus Hodgkinson will be in charge of running all European operations, building partnerships with key automotive industry companies and adapting the Edmunds.com site to the needs of UK and European consumers. Hodgkinson comes to Edmunds.com Europe from Urban Science, a leading consultancy firm that specializes in the application of state-of-the-art marketing and channel distribution solutions for auto manufacturers, financial services institutions and IT companies. In his role as vice president of Urban Science, he implemented the world's first Internet-based live vehicle auction system for a subsidiary of Daimler-Chrysler. Hodgkinson was also responsible for Urban Science's expansion into Japan.
"The basic tenet upon which Edmunds.com was established is easily adaptable to the European online automotive landscape and will be applied to the Edmunds.com Europe sites," said Marcus Hodgkinson, CEO, Edmunds.com Europe. "As the online automotive space continues to gain momentum in Europe, Edmunds.com aims to bring clarity to the marketplace and serve as a vital resource for consumers. My charter as CEO will be to extend the company's unique value proposition to empower European consumers with the information necessary to conduct automotive research and successfully initiate a car purchase at a single comprehensive Web site."
About Edmunds.com
Headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, Edmunds.com is the Internet's pioneer and leader in providing free, unbiased automotive information. Edmunds.com empowers, educates and engages visitors by providing them with straightforward, truthful information on key aspects of buying, selling and owning a vehicle. Users are provided automobile pricing data, extensive automobile reviews, consumer information, safety updates, incentive and rebate news, expert analysis of developments in the automotive world and the Town Hall, an interactive community of more than 500,000 active members. Edmunds.com was ranked No. 1 in the Wall Street Journal's Survey of Car-Shopping Web Sites, was named as one of Yahoo! Internet Life's 50 Most Incredibly Useful Sites and Money's 50 Most Useful Financial Websites.
About Autologic
AutoLogic Holdings plc provides a full range of logistics, support and transaction management services to the automotive industry and has operations in the UK, France, Belgium and Holland. The Group provides services ranging from transportation and storage through to preparation, repair and marketing support. In addition, AutoLogic's components logistics business provides national and international interplant collection and delivery services for motor manufacturers and their component suppliers.