SANTA MONICA, Calif. -

Edmunds.com has reached a data-sharing agreement with inventory marketing and management provider Nexteppe that the companies contend will allow dealers to more easily research, market and accurately price vehicles.

Under the agreement, dealers can use Nexteppe’s inControl Pro — a system that allows stores to compare new and used prices with their local competitors — and tap into Edmunds.com data.

“The tool also allows consumers to appraise their trade-in vehicles by giving them direct access to Edmunds.com’s True Market Value pricing through participating dealership websites,” officials noted.

Nexteppe chief executive officer Ken DellaPorta added: “We chose to partner with Edmunds.com because of its reputation as the leading authority for both automotive consumers and retailers.

“Edmunds.com’s data helps our dealership partners improve their customers’ online experience and will allow them to attract more visitors and to sell more cars quickly,” DellaPorta shared.

Additionally, Edmunds’ consumer reviews will be imported into the inControl Pro’s Comment Builder. As such, shoppers browsing the dealer site can then see those comments.

Officials noted that Edmunds’ vehicle pricing data can be accessed through the company’s application programming interface.

“Our API gives automotive information and shopping sites easy access to the depth of vehicle research data that only Edmunds.com can provide,” said Edmunds.com chief information officer Philip Potloff. “Nexteppe’s integration of Edmunds.com data is exactly what we had in mind when the API was first made available to developers late last year.”

Sharing the dealer perspective, John Pickett — the chief operating officer of The Atlantic Automotive Group — shared a favorable impression.

“Our dealerships using inControl Pro immediately know that dollar-for-dollar, it’s the best inventory marketing tool on the market,” said Pickett. “By having access to a product that offers our dealers so much benefit at a cost that’s far less than other third-party providers, we’re going to see a great ROI.”