WASHINGTON: General Motors and eBay announced Monday that the US automaker, which emerged from bankruptcy protection a month ago, will begin selling new cars and trucks on the online auction site.

The program will initially involve 225 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Pontiac dealerships in California, GM and eBay said in a statement.

Customers will be able to "click and buy" vehicles online at the website gm.ebay.com from Tuesday through September 8 after browsing through online showrooms, negotiating prices and arranging financing with dealerships.

"Shoppers can at any given time expect to see a wide selection of up to 20,000 new GM vehicles at very competitive prices," they said.

EBay has offered mostly used cars through its popular eBay Motors site and GM is the first US automaker to offer new vehicles online through eBay.

Vehicles can be purchased through eBay's traditional "Buy It Now" format, in which shoppers agree to pay the advertised price, or through its "Best Offer" option, where buyers indicate the price they are willing to pay.

"With 12 million individual car shoppers visiting our site every month, eBay Motors has unique insight into how people prefer to buy their cars," said Rob Chesney, vice president, eBay Motors.

"Through this program, we are helping GM dealers to extend their physical showroom while at the same time delivering to our buyers the great deals and broad selection they expect from eBay," he said.

Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of US sales, said the program was "reinventing the car-buying experience for our California customers.

"As the dealer showroom expands from the parking lot to the laptop, this makes it easier for a customer to browse available new-car inventory, make an offer, buy it now, or send a message asking for more information," he said.

GM's move targets a California market which is technology-savvy and where GM is seeking to recapture market share from Asian manufacturers.