BMW Group's up2drive.com Teams With Kelley Blue Book on kbb.com

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., April 17 /PRNewswire/ -- BMW Group Financial Services of North America today announced that up2drive.com has been selected by Kelley Blue Book as its exclusive online lender for the kbb.com Web site. Kelley Blue Book is a leading provider of automotive information including new car prices; car reviews and news; used car Blue Book(R) Values, auto classifieds along with car dealer information and locations.

An automotive financing Web site that features convenient loan services, up2drive.com is designed to empower consumers through every step of the car buying, refinancing and selling process. Launched in the fall of 2007, up2drive.com is a direct-to-consumer lending business unit of BMW Group Financial Services that is backed by the same award-winning customer service that provides automotive loans to BMW Group customers in the U.S.

Qualifying potential buyers researching the purchase and financing of a vehicle on kbb.com can access a direct link to up2drive.com, where they easily can apply and be approved for a loan. Once approved, buyers can use up2drive.com's unique loan process, the drive check(TM), to negotiate with private sellers or auto dealers as if they have cash on hand - saving them valuable time and money.

"Together with kbb.com, we can now provide a new group of automotive shoppers with a convenient way to research financing options with up2drive.com," said Fred Isele, President of up2drive.com.

One of the few companies specializing in direct-to-consumer automotive financing, up2drive.com offers competitive rates, award-winning service, and time-saving tools.

"Working together with up2drive.com we can now provide our millions of vehicle shoppers with a simple and easy way to obtain new and used vehicle financing whether buying from a dealership or a private party," said Damon Bennett, director, business development, Kelley Blue Book. "We strive to work with companies that allow vehicle shoppers to make informed decisions and connect them to their next vehicle and up2drive.com allows us to achieve that goal."

For more information about up2drive.com, please visit: www.up2drive.com

About BMW Group Financial Services

BMW Group Financial Services was established in the U.S. in 1993 to support the sales and marketing efforts of BMW of North America. Since then, the group has expanded to provide service to markets in multiple countries.

BMW Group Financial Services offers a wide range of leasing, retail and commercial financing and banking products tailored to meet the needs of the BMW customer. The group also provides financing to BMW dealers for expanding dealership capabilities and enhancing overall operations. With approximately $30 billion in serviced assets and 700,000 automotive lending customers, BMW Group Financial Services finances about half of the BMWs sold or leased in the United States. BMW Group Financial Services employs approximately 800 people, including consultants and temporary workers, most of whom are located in the Hilliard, Ohio Customer Service Center.

In 2001, the MINI Financial Services division was established to provide support for the brand's dealer and customer networks by offering various financing and leasing options. Alphera Financial Services was established in 2006 to provide financial services to dealers who are part of the BMW and MINI networks, as well as non-BMW affiliated dealers.

BMW Group Financial Services also offers credit card products through its subsidiary, the BMW Bank of North America. up2drive.com is a division of BMW Bank of North America, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BMW Financial Services NA, LLC. BMW Insurance Agency, Inc., a property and casualty producer, is also part of BMW Group Financial Services.

About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)

Since 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource(R), has provided vehicle buyers and sellers with the new and used vehicle information they need to accomplish their goals with confidence. The company's top-rated Web site, www.kbb.com, provides the most up-to-date pricing and values, including the New Car Blue Book(R) Value, which reveals what people actually are paying for new cars. The company also reports vehicle pricing and values via products and services, including software products and the famous Blue Book(R) Official Guide. According to the C.A. Walker Research Solutions, Inc. - 2008 Spring Automotive Web Site Usefulness Study, kbb.com is the most useful automotive information Web site among new and used vehicle shoppers, and half of online vehicle shoppers visit kbb.com. Kbb.com is a leading provider of new car prices; car reviews and news; used car blue book values; auto classifieds and car dealer locations. No other medium reaches more in-market vehicle shoppers than kbb.com.

For more information about BMW Group Financial Services, please visit: http://fs.bmwusa.com/bmwfspulp/

Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet at:

www.bmwgroupna.com
www.bmwusa.com
www.bmwmotorradusa.com
www.miniusa.com
www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com

Source: BMW Group Financial Services

CONTACT: Martha McKinley of BMW Group Financial Services,
+1-201-307-4368, martha.mckinley@bmwfs.com

Web Site: http://www.up2drive.com/

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Profile: automotive-news