LOS ANGELES — LeadPoint, the world’s first and largest online leads exchange, announced the debut of a new lead trading platform for the nation’s multi-billion dollar new-car market. LeadPoint’s latest offering brings the company’s revolutionary, auction-style model to the automotive leads market. Initially targeted to new-car purchase and auto warranty, LeadPoint will expand its automotive platform over the next several months to also include auto finance leads.

As it did with mortgage leads, LeadPoint is turning the existing automotive leads model on its head by enabling dealers to dictate exactly what type of lead they want at the exact price they are willing to pay. Up until now, dealers were forced to buy leads for a flat rate regardless of quality, make, model or trim. With LeadPoint, dealers now can specify the exact make, model and trim, along with other details of the leads they want to buy. The platform also enables dealers to pay exactly what they believe the leads are worth via bidding. Dealers who use LeadPoint’s new car leads exchange are not committed to minimum volumes and they can change their bid criteria and price at any time.

“The Internet is increasingly becoming an important sales channel among dealerships, and as a result, dealers continue to increase their online advertising budgets,” said Belis Aksoy, automotive analyst at JupiterResearch in a recent report. “As dealers increase Internet usage in selling cars, their expectations go beyond generating leads. Dealers are seeking partners that provide them with high-quality leads that will turn into sales.”

With LeadPoint’s trading platform, market prices drive the price of leads, so dealers can pay exactly what they want to receive the optimal mix of quality leads. For example, a dealer could bid on and purchase only leads connected to a certain, high-margin model and trim level. Or, if a dealer has a glut of a particular model, they could choose to buy leads for just that model.

“Our new auto leads platform fundamentally alters the economics of how car dealerships market themselves online by eliminating the high costs of buying irrelevant leads and by enabling dealers to respond more quickly to promising customers,” said Marc Diana, CEO of LeadPoint. “Over the past year we have received a phenomenal response to our mortgage industry products and we anticipate a similarly robust adoption of our auto platform as dealers see how easily they can improve their sales with LeadPoint.”

With more than 1.6 million leads traded since its inception in 2004, LeadPoint has revolutionized the multi-billion dollar lead generation industry through its trading platform, bringing a pay-for-performance model to what has been historically an inefficient fixed price market. In contrast to the fixed-price model where buyers have no control over the leads they are buying and paying the same amount for each lead regardless of quality, the LeadPoint platform allows these lenders to bid only for the types of leads they are interested in receiving.