DaimlerChrysler launches Five-Star Market Center

DaimlerChrysler Corp. has launched a nationwide Internet-based marketplace, called Five Star Market Center, that gives its Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge dealers the opportunity to purchase products and commodities at volume discount prices.

"The Five Star Market Center is focused on improving our core business by adding value through a combination of two of our greatest strengths - the best dealer relations and the best supplier relations in the industry," says DC President and CEO James P. Holden. "At a time when everyone else is using the Internet against dealers to take away sales and lower margins, the Five Star Market Center helps dealers raise margins and improve processes. This initiative is further proof of our commitment to supporting the individual dealer as entrepreneur."

When fully operational, DCX says the Five Star Market Center could save its entire dealer body as much as a billion dollars a year, or about $500 per vehicle in fixed business costs.