Acquisition Includes Polk’s Popular Vehicle Comparator Service
Lake Success, N.Y. - Expanding its portfolio of world-class vehicle data and digital retailing solutions, DealerTrack Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRAK), today announced the acquisition of Polk’s U.S. Price and Spec Business, including Polk’s popular Vehicle Comparator Service. The newly acquired business will be merged into DealerTrack’s subsidiary, Chrome Systems, Inc.
The Vehicle Comparator is a highly-flexible and customizable service that delivers up-to-date price and specification details to automobile manufacturer and retailer websites for visitors to perform competitive vehicle comparisons online. The Vehicle Comparator solution is currently used by a majority of vehicle manufacturers, and the price and specification data is used by some of the major automotive portal sites.
In addition to the Vehicle Comparator, other services within the U.S. Price and Spec Business which Chrome will be acquiring include: the price and specification data product and AutositePro, which is used for detailed competitive analysis by OEM marketers.
“The Polk U.S. Price and Spec solutions will be a great addition to our comprehensive portfolio of vehicle data and solutions,” said Mark O’Neil, chairman and chief executive officer, DealerTrack Holdings, Inc. “Polk has an outstanding reputation in the industry and its Vehicle Comparator is highly regarded for its superior quality and flexibility.”
Amit Maheshwari, general manager, DealerTrack Data Services, added, “We are committed to helping all facets of the industry realize more vehicle sales and profitability, and we are confident that this acquisition will help us to further deliver on that commitment. We look forward in the long-term to further develop these products, as online vehicle research and sales services continue to evolve, and extend Chrome’s world-class customer service and support to current Polk clients.”
Current U.S. Price and Spec Business clients will not see any changes to their current applications or services provided by the business unit.
“Chrome is renowned throughout the industry for its strong digital vehicle content, enterprise data products and exceptional customer service,” said Stephen Polk, chairman, chief executive officer and president, R.L. Polk & Co. “We are confident current and future customers will be highly satisfied with Chrome’s commitment to accurate and timely vehicle data, customer support and technical knowledge.”
About Chrome (www.chrome.com)
Chrome Systems, Inc. provides vehicle content, software, technology and services to deliver complete enterprise solutions to all segments of the automotive retail industry. Chrome pioneered the technology behind electronic vehicle configuration with the introduction of PC Carbook, and since 1986 has collected, analyzed and enhanced “raw” automotive data from all manufacturers.
02/16/11
