IRVINE, Calif. — Autobytel Inc., a provider of online consumer leads and marketing services to the auto industry, formed an agreement with Edmunds.com to include inventory-based leads sourced directly from Edmunds.com as part of its new car leads program for dealers.

The inclusion of VIN-based leads from Edmunds.com is the latest step in the evolution of Autobytel’s new car leads program to meet increasing consumer demand for specific online inventory.

"We are pleased to expand our relationship with Edmunds.com to include these high-conversion, high-purchase intent leads as part of our new car leads program for dealers," said Autobytel COO Mark Garms. "With data from Edmunds.com showing that new car shoppers are five times more interested in specific inventory than in price quotes, it is critical to generate the broadest range of highly motivated inventory-based car shoppers. This is exactly what the Autobytel program is designed to do as it gives dealers access to the most comprehensive VIN-based inventory lead coverage in the industry."

As part of the agreement with Edmunds.com, VIN-based leads submitted on Edmunds.com for a specific vehicle in the inventory of an Autobytel member dealer will be included as a part of the mix of high quality consumer leads Autobytel sends to its dealers.

Each customer lead will go through the patented Autobytel lead process and the company’s proprietary quality verification system, and will benefit from Autobytel’s multi-pronged lead follow-up treatments, such as rapid response, custom messaging and e-mail manager. The VIN number will be included in each lead to ensure a knowledge-based customer interaction.