Autoquake.com: Kaser joins Autoquake.com from Expedia.com

Autoquake.com is pleased to announce that Troy Kaser has joined the company as Chief Technology Officer. Troy is joining Autoquake.com from the world's largest online travel agent Expedia Inc where he was a Vice President of Engineering.

"It's an exciting time to be part of Autoquake," said Kaser. "Just as Expedia changed the face of the travel market, so Autoquake is working with its suppliers to change the shape of fleet car remarketing. The parallels between the travel and automotive industries are strong. Expedia harnessed the power of the internet to help customers buy travel in a new and completely transparent way. Autoquake is at the forefront of this evolution in the used car industry."

For fleets, Autoquake.com already offers higher returns than wholesale auctions, low days to sale and a 90% conversion rate. For consumers, Autoquake.com is a convenient, transparent and inexpensive way to buy a used car online.

Troy believes that his ecommerce experience in the travel industry will help him refine Autoquake's service to fleets and the car buying public alike. "When you know what works in one industry you can apply it to other markets. By leveraging our ecommerce solution to improve website conversions, improve customer relationship management and optimise our multi-channel distribution approach, we can improve the Autoquake.com proposition still further."

Before being appointed Expedia's Vice President of Engineering, Troy was the company's Senior Director of European Product Development where he worked on Expedia's properties in 11 European countries. "Fleet remarketing is ripe with ecommerce opportunities," said Kaser. "Joining Autoquake is a chance to get in on the ground floor of a business that I am confident will be a global success."

Prior to joining Expedia, Troy worked for a number of high-profile consumer internet companies including MSN. He joins an Autoquake.com team with broad ecommerce experience, with colleagues who have worked for eBay, Yahoo, Lastminute.com and Priceline.com in addition to automotive experience from companies such as Masterlease, Avis, Inchcape and Pendragon; the perfect combination to build a business which serves the fleets and the consumer.

Ecommerce veteran, Dermot Halpin, formerly President of Expedia Europe and who sits on the board of Autoquake.com says "I'm delighted to welcome Troy to the company, further strengthening our team. At Expedia he was one of the key people who helped grow the company into a leader in online travel in Europe and I look forward to repeating our Expedia achievements at Autoquake.com."

Says Autoquake.com CEO Garry Hobson "One of the strengths of Autoquake.com is the mix of automotive and ecommerce experience. With Troy on board we are further strengthening our technology team to ensure we continue to deliver innovative ecommerce solutions to the fleet industry and consumers."

Autoquake.com continues its strong growth. The Autoquake.com website has 300,000 unique visitors per month and the company already remarkets cars on behalf of 11 of the top 20 UK leasing companies. Sales for 2009 are on course to hit 10,000 units, doubling 2008's total.

About Autoquake.com

Autoquake.com's proven online retail model sells high quality used cars on behalf of large corporate fleet and leasing companies direct to consumers through its website www.autoquake.com. Autoquake.com has pioneered the concept of enabling consumers to buy a used car from the comfort of their home. Cars are displayed in Autoquake.com's virtual showroom with descriptions including 40 high quality digital pictures. The breadth and transparency of information about the vehicle dramatically improves the purchase experience for the buyers who are enthusiastically embracing the Autoquake.com model which includes low, no haggle prices. All cars go through a 141 point inspection and come with a 100% money back guarantee. Car finance, warranty, insurance, and delivery are supplementary options that buyers can benefit from.

Fleets typically remarket cars through trade channels such as wholesale auctions where cars are sold at trade prices to car dealers. For fleets Autoquake.com is an attractive disposal channel that gives them a slice of the retail margin whilst delivering days to sale that are similar to auctions. Autoquake.com sells used cars on behalf of large fleet and leasing companies. The ex-company cars are taken directly from the UK fleet operators, prepared to retail condition and sold via the Autoquake.com website. Because Autoquake.com takes out a step in the value chain, it can provide higher returns for fleets while still saving consumers money. The company is funded by leading venture capital companies Accel Partners and Highland Capital Partners who investor in companies such as Facebook, Digg and Real Networks.

CONTACT: Karen Parry Tel: +44 (0)1784 456 526 Tel: +44 (0)7903 955696 e-mail: karen@prandmediaworks.com

((M2 Communications disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to info@m2.com.

Related terms: automotive, business, ceo, consumer, corporate, crm, ecommerce, e-mail, engineering, europe, insurance, internet, leasing, market, money, online, president, prices, retail, sales, technology, trade, travel, venture capital, web, wholesale