AutoTrader.com chief executive officer Chip Perry believes the acquisition of Kelley Blue Book means a significant upgrade in how dealers can harness the Internet to sell vehicles.

Soon after Tuesday’s acquisition announcement, Perry shared in an exclusive interview with Auto Remarketing how the online resources of AutoTrader and KBB can thrive.

“Our strength is classified advertising,” Perry began. “We see the opportunity to help dealers more strongly reach Kelley’s strong in-market car-shopper audience. It’s distinct and different from AutoTrader.com’s audience. The audience has some small overlap, but generally speaking it’s a separate audience because the sites have unique separate identities.

“Our site helps to connect buyers to sellers who are close to a transaction,” Perry continued. “At Kelley, there are people who are earlier in the shopping process in the area of research and values of vehicles they might be interested in buying.

“The two sites complement each other very well,” he added.

Beyond AutoTrader securing Kbb.com, the deal also includes Kelley Blue Book’s sister companies CDMdata and CDM Dealer Services. Perry and AutoTrader did not disclose the financial terms, but he said the acquisition should close by the end of the year.

Paul Johnson, the CEO of KBB, will remain at his post along with the rest of the company’s management and personnel. Perry insisted jobs are not being shed through this process, and Johnson described how the KBB is set to continue to leverage the reputation built upon since 1926.

“AutoTrader recognizes that our businesses are really complementary,” Johnson explained exclusively to Auto Remarketing. “As we move forward, it’s important for my executive team and all other people at Kelley Blue Book stay focused on what we’re doing and executing our vision and mission to be the world’s most trusted resource for buying and selling vehicles with values at its core.

“The exciting part for us now is collaborating with AutoTrader on the tools and innovating around that vision that really tie our two companies and make the car-buying experience for consumers even that much better on the Internet,” he went on to say.

Johnson shared that KBB owners began to seek strategic options for the company back in June and recruited the services of J.P. Morgan as an adviser. Several parties inquired about scooping up Kelley Blue Book, but AutoTrader’s plan was the best received.

The Kelley Blue Book name will continue and operate as a subsidiary of AutoTrader.

“Chip and I are both committed to keep these brands independent. That’s because we both have unique positions in the marketplace,” insisted Johnson, who shared that he’s been friends with Perry as a fellow top industry executive for more than a decade.

“Kelley Blue Book has nearly 90 percent brand awareness with new-car buyers and used-car buyers. As we look at that unique positioning we are considered by consumers as the objective unbiased source and trusted resource for vehicle valuations,” Johnson added.

That brand awareness combined with what Perry claims to be more than 20,000 dealers nationwide harnessing AutoTrader to promote inventory are what made both executives cheer Tuesday’s announcement immensely.

“We think this deal will facilitate the acceleration of the Internet as a useful advertising and influencing medium by all kinds of dealers all across the country,” Perry stated.

String of AutoTrader Deals

The acquiring of Kelley Blue Book comes on the heels of AutoTrader finalizing its agreement to secure vAuto. Perry explained the thought process for why AutoTrader made these deals within just a couple of months.

“We live in a very competitive marketplace with many providers of different services and tools for dealers,” Perry noted. “We’ve been working on assembling a collection of products that are really centered around classified advertising and tools related to help dealers effectively sell and market their merchandise on the Internet.

“vAuto has a mission to help dealers maximize the value of their inventory on the Internet through effective market based pricing and inventory selection. We see a very complementary fit between vAuto and AutoTrader,” Perry continued.

“There are some interesting things that vAuto and Kelley Blue Book could collaborate on in the future. We don’t know what they are yet, but we’ll be looking into that shortly,” he concluded.