Autobytel.com Plans Web Site in Germany

Autobytel.com Inc., an online automobile-dealer referral service, said Wednesday that it plans to open a German Web site late in the first half of 2000, moving into Europe’s biggest auto market.

Irvine-based Autobytel.com, which said it will broker $9 billion to $13 billion in sales this year, has already opened sites in Britain and Sweden and has plans to open sites in the other Scandinavian countries and Japan.

The company may have problems entering Germany. Volkswagen AG, Europe’s largest car maker and the one with the biggest market share in Germany, has warned its dealers in Britain that they could lose their franchise by cooperating with Autobytel.com. Autobytel makes money by signing up dealers who pay to have the Internet service refer them to its clients.

The company’s shares have retreated since Autobytel went public in March. Shares have fallen more than 63% from a high of $41.88 at the end of March to trade at around $15 in the past month. The company has yet to turn a profit and won’t predict when it may be profitable.