Ebay announced this afternoon that it’s acquiring an auto industry technology company known as Cargigi, a large provider of advertising and marketing services on a number of popular free classified websites, like Craigslist and others. Deal terms were not revealed, though eBay described the acquisition as “small.” Cargigi’s team of 30 will join eBay as a result, and the product itself will replace eBay’s Dealer Center.
The full integration is expected to be finalized by the end of 2016, eBay tells us.
The company says that it’s interested in using the technology Cargigi developed to help onboard auto dealers’ inventory onto eBay’s website. In addition to replacing eBay’s own Dealer Center product, Cargigi will also help enable eBay to “build out its structured data capabilities for the vehicles industry,” said eBay in an announcement. Over time, more functionality will also be added. But more immediately, dealers will have access to analytics they didn’t before.
Though not a consumer-facing brand, Cargigi had developed technology that helped dealers more easily get their ads in front of online users, including tools that help market autos on Craigslist and other websites, through postings and ads, as well as on other social media, like Facebook and YouTube. Dealers could also access analytics to see how will their ads performed, plus use tools to monitor competitors, manage their own inventory, and enhance the photos used in their listings.
The startup itself was founded in 2009 by Tony Hoang, whose previous automotive data collection and marketing company CDMdata Inc. was acquired by Kelley Blue Book. Hoang and Cargigi’s team of 30 will now join eBay Motors as a result of this deal.
“After making a significant impact on the automotive sector early on, Cargigi quickly became one of the top classified marketing service providers for thousands of dealerships nationwide. As Cargigi has continued to scale, it has remained singularly focused on innovating and creating great products,” said Tony Hoang, who also served as Cargigi’s CTO, in a statement.
“With the company’s strong automotive DNA, Cargigi has evolved into a vertical support platform for major automotive classified websites globally. As an integral part of the eBay Motors vehicles business, Cargigi will bring greater value to its U.S. sellers and enhance the experience for eBay vehicles sellers,” he added.
For eBay Motors dealers, eBay says this means they’ll be able to more easily grow and manage their business, the company reports. Ebay declined to disclose how many dealers use eBay today to sell their autos, as well as how many customers were using Cargigi prior to the acquisition.
TechCrunch understands that Cargigi won’t actually be shut down as a part of this deal, meaning its other dealer services will remain available after the team joins eBay.
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