DETROIT -

Two separate partnerships with online auto marketplaces have recently been unveiled by Detroit Trading Co., including a deal to take care of all the inventory and lead operations for Yahoo Autos.

Detroit Trading Co. announced that it was selected as the exclusive technology platform for Yahoo Autos. It is also serving as distributor for its buyer network.

Essentially, what this means is that the firm will handle all in-bound inventory, all leads coming off that inventory and it will handle all new-vehicle price quotes, Detroit Trading Co. executive vice president Pete Bonner explained to Auto Remarketing on Friday.

In its statement announcing the deal, the firm explained that it will aggregate the millions of car listings from U.S. dealers into a feed for Yahoo Autos.

“This uniform feed will allow consumers to connect directly to dealerships by phone or by submitting a Web form. In addition, Detroit Trading Co. will be responsible for the distribution of consumers’ new-car quote requests generated using Yahoo Autos enhanced new car price quote process, which allows consumers to receive pricing from up to five local dealers,” the company explained.

Yahoo’s vice president of commerce Brandon Huff noted: “The relationship with Detroit Trading Co. helps Yahoo Autos better serve our users by providing access to potentially every dealership in the United States.

"Detroit Trading’s depth of inventory listings and distribution footprint offers consumers multiple options for interaction with the dealers and creates a better buying experience,” he added. “Lastly, Detroit Trading’s reputation for treating partners and consumers with integrity resonates with our key automotive advertisers.”

Bonner noted in the statement: “We were thrilled when Yahoo approached us with this exciting opportunity to showcase our technology and extensive network of vehicle inventory. With this relationship, we are able to help connect the more than 12 million monthly unique visitors on Yahoo Autos to our network of dealers, original equipment manufacturers and automotive partners.”

Detroit Trading president and chief executive officer Don Campbel addedl: “Our respective teams work very well together, and I am confident that our relationship will produce positive results for both companies and contribute to Yahoo!’s efforts in delivering a world-class consumer experience.”

In a similar deal, Detroit Trading announced that it has been tapped as the exclusive distribution partner for shopautoweek.com. In this deal, the firm will also aggregate the vehicle listings from dealers across the country into the site, which will let consumers connect with the dealers either by phone or online.
Detroit Trading is also handling the new-car lead distribution.

The firm will send new-car leads from consumers that come through shopautoweek.com “to a participating dealership within their network so that the consumer may receive detailed pricing information on the vehicle they are interested in.”

Bonner added: “Our strengths have always been relationships and connectivity, so when Chris approached us last year we felt we had a lot to offer. Shopautoweek.com is a world-class site and is now seeing more than 1,000,000 unique visitors monthly. To have accomplished this in such a short period of time is truly remarkable, and we look forwarded to serving Chris and his team for years to come.”