Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader to Align Under Common Leadership Team

New structure aims to drive growth and harness power of complimentary brands

ATLANTA, Sept. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Cox Automotive today announced a common leadership structure that brings two of the most well-known and highly respected automotive brands closer together.  Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader will now both be led by Jared Rowe, who has been named President of the Cox Automotive Media Division. Rowe will report directly to Cox Automotive President Sandy Schwartz. Prior to this promotion, Rowe spent just more than a year as the president of Autotrader, and spent the two years before that at the helm of Kelley Blue Book.

"This new structure will drive growth by enabling us to optimize our product set for our dealer and OEM customers and to drive traffic across sites in a way that best addresses the needs of our consumers," Schwartz said. "Jared has exactly the leadership, understanding, passion and experience we need to lead Media at this critical point in the formation of Cox Automotive."

Together, Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book garner more consumer recognition, more shoppers and deliver more advertiser value than any other third-party automotive site. More than 65 percent of all car shoppers visit Autotrader.com or KBB.com during the car shopping process.

Emphasizing that this is a growth opportunity for both companies and not a cost-cutting initiative, Rowe said: "Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book are naturally complimentary. By aligning the businesses against this principle, we can grow both brands while respecting each company's unique position in the marketplace. We will leverage a larger pool of resources, our best collective thinking and an aligned strategic approach to deliver enhanced solutions for our customers and a better shopping experience for consumers."

About Cox Automotive
Cox Automotive is a leading provider of digital marketing, wholesale and e-commerce solutions across the automotive industry. Cox Automotive includes Manheim®, Autotrader®, Kelley Blue Book®, vAuto®, Xtime®, NextGear Capital®, and a host of global businesses and brands. Headquartered in Atlanta, Cox Automotive employs nearly 24,000 employees in over 150 locations worldwide. The company partners with more than 40,000 dealers, as well as most major automobile manufacturers, and touches car buyers in the U.S. with the most recognized brands in the industry.

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SOURCE Cox Automotive

For further information: Lou Laste, Senior Public Relations Director, 404.568.7791, Louis.Laste@coxautoinc.com