Ally’s SmartAuction Receives Best E-Channel Award from Avis Budget Group

DETROIT – SmartAuction, Ally Financial’s online used vehicle auction, received the 2010 “Best Performance – eChannel” award from Avis Budget Group. The award was announced at the 2011 Conference of Automotive Remarketing (CAR).

According to Greg Thibault, Avis Budget Group’s vice president of Fleet Disposal, SmartAuction helped Avis Budget Group remarket more vehicles from its fleet than any other online auction company in 2010 and had consistently high performance levels within several key measurement statistics.

”Avis Budget Group relies on all of its remarketing service providers to meet or exceed certain performance metrics each year, and Smart Auction delivered exceptional results for us in 2010.”

Mark Newman, SmartAuction managing director, said the company’s strategy to provide a wide range of high-quality used vehicles to dealers creates an attractive platform for consignors, including rental car companies. With an average 13,500 vehicles posted on the site daily representing 40 different makes, dealers have a broad array of products to review and purchase to help stock their used vehicle lots.

“Highly engaged consignors like Avis Budget Group have found they are able to efficiently market their inventory with tools like SmartAuction because of the quality of the dealer community it draws,” said Newman. “We appreciate the recognition of our efforts as a leading auction channel and look forward to helping Avis Budget Group and other SmartAuction users continue to match the right vehicle with the right customer.”

About SmartAuction
Launched in 2000, more than 3.5 million vehicles have been sold through SmartAuction since its inception. In 2010, approximately 412,000 units were sold in the United States on SmartAuction. Approximately 104,000 units, or more than 25 percent of its volume, came from dealers, leading consignors of rental, repossession, and independent auction inventory. For more information about SmartAuction visit www.smartauction.biz.

About Ally Financial Inc.
Ally Financial Inc. (formerly GMAC Inc.) is one of the world’s largest automotive financial services companies. The company offers a full suite of automotive financing products and services in key markets around the world. Ally’s other business units include mortgage operations and commercial finance, and the company’s subsidiary, Ally Bank, offers online retail banking products. With more than $172 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2010, Ally operates as a bank holding company. For more information, visit the Ally media site at http://media.ally.com.