Chrysler to market certified used cars on eBay

DETROIT, June 12 (Reuters) - Chrysler LLC said on Thursday it would list its used car inventory on eBay Inc (EBAY.O), following a pioneering tie-up between General Motors Corp GM.N and the online auctioneer announced early this year.

Chrysler [CBS.UL] has reached a partnership to market over 15,000 certified pre-owned vehicles of its Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands on the eBay Motors site, the automaker said.

The agreement follows GM's program announced in February to list all of the inventory of certified pre-owned cars at some 3,900 GM-affiliated U.S. dealers on eBay. GM said on Thursday that its listings are now live on eBay.

Automakers increasingly have focused on selling used vehicles amid a deeper-than-expected slump in new car sales. U.S. auto sales are expected to drop to near 15 million units in 2008 and is tracking at a decade low so far this year.

The struggling No. 3 U.S. automaker sold more than 122,000 certified used cars in 2007, up 5 percent from a year earlier. Chrysler's used car sales are up 8 percent so far this year, while new vehicle sales have dropped more than 20 percent, hit by tumbling demand for gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs.

The Chrysler showroom on eBay enables consumers to view its used vehicles within their local area via a classified listings format.

Chrysler's certified pre-owned vehicles cover models from 2003 to 2008 with less than 65,000 miles and are reconditioned to meet the automaker's standards. They carry an eight-year, or 80,000-mile powertrain warranty, roadside assistance and rental car allowances.

Chrysler said it would seek more tie-ups with search engines such as Cars.com and AutoTrader.com in an effort to help dealers market used vehicles.

About 43 million used vehicles were sold in the United States last year, well over double the 16.2 million new vehicles sold. Used car profit margins are also generally better than they are for new vehicles. (Reporting by Soyoung Kim, editing by Dave Zimmerman)