Kia, eBay team up for online sales portal

Kia Motors America and eBay partnered to launch an online vehicle shopping portal on November 22.

More than 345 US Kia dealers are listing their entire stock of vehicle inventory online. The automobile company's goal is to reach consumers in the comfort of their homes while offering a larger inventory from across all participating dealers. Consumers can bid for vehicles on the site through eBay's “best offer” option.

A spokesperson for the South Korea-based automobile brand said that the portal “enables Kia to reach a larger audience, a number of which may not have previously considered a Kia vehicle.”

The company said half of Kia's US dealerships signed on to the program in two weeks, with more doing so every day.

Kia also wants to take advantage of the growing online shopping market for automobiles. The number of online car shoppers is up 17% in 2010, and 79% of all vehicle shoppers research a third-party website before buying a car, according to JD Power and Associates.