eBay's target for Romania: 1,200 professional car dealer registrations in 2009

Mobile.de is Germany’s marketplace for used and new vehicles, the parent company being mobile.international GmbH, founded in 1995 with headquarters in Berlin.

The American internet company eBay acquired in 2004 mobile.de portal for 152 million US dollars.

An intense electronic commerce on sale-purchase segment of new and used vehicles, respectively a supported growth of profile market represent some of the reasons of launching a Romanian version of mopbile.de, said Tim Helpert, Director International Business at mobile.international.

“Romania is a highly-attractive market for mobile.international. It is now the second most important country: a car from the German market is sold to Romania every five minutes. Studies reveal that 35 percent of vehicles listed by dealers on mobile.de end up abroad – many of them in Romania. In addition, mobile.de/mobile.ro is well-known in Romania, with 43 percent of online users being aware of the brand,” said Tim Helpert.

Launching mobile.ro was one of the top priorities for mobile.international this year, being part of the company’s growth strategy to become the focal point for the European automotive trade. Without providing any exact details of the investments in the website’s launching, Hilpert said the total investment in mobile.ro will be a seven digit euro figure.

According to mobile.international representative, this year and next year the company will focus on creating “enthusiasm” among Romanian consumers and dealers and top achieve a successful position in the local market.

As for electronic commerce in Romania, Hilpert says internet users show a high interest for online trading platforms using them on a day-to-day basis.