AUTO TRADER BOLSTERS UK’S LARGEST AUTOMOTIVE MARKETPLACE WITH EVERY NEW CAR AVAILABLE TO ORDER

Auto Trader, the UK’s largest digital automotive marketplace, has launched a new proposition for brand new car buyers and manufacturers, as it will now advertise thousands of brand new cars. The cars, are essentially ‘virtual stock’, as they may not physically exist at the dealership at the time of search.

In addition to over 65,000 ‘nearly new’ vehicles on the marketplace which include pre-registered cars, Auto Trader will now give consumers access to every new car available to order in the UK. Buyers will be able to browse multiple variants, colours and other optional extras, refining their choice before contacting a UK franchise dealer of their choice.

As part of a significant strengthening of Auto Trader’s new car proposition, the market leader has also appointed Marc Palmer, previously of Ford, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan, to help spearhead manufacturer relationships and help identify the current challenges held by car makers.

Kantar research revealed that 64% of new car buyers already visit Auto Trader, and the marketplace has continued to develop its new car proposition, not only allowing manufacturers to advertise brand new stock but also updating its consumer search functionality. Auto Trader research highlighted that 60% of all car buyers are open to considering a brand new vehicle, with a third of all buyers open to new or used. Therefore, the introduction of virtual stock will give consumers more choice when in the market for their next car, opening up all available options across new and used models.

To offer more information and guidance for consumers in the market for a new car, Auto Trader’s new car proposition includes make and model editorial pages to match every new car accessible on the marketplace, this is combined with an SEO strategy designed to capture buyers using Google at the start of their car search and bring them into the Auto Trader buying journey.

Marc Palmer, Auto Trader’s new manufacturer brand director, said: “There are clearly many benefits for consumers looking for a new car on Auto Trader with the introduction of every new car available – but this new proposition also opens up a huge new car audience on Auto Trader for car manufacturers, the scale of which they simply may have been unaware of before.”

Palmer, who comes to Auto Trader with over 15 years of manufacturing experience with car brands, adds: “Manufacturers do not often speak to the buyer who is undecided when it comes to new or used vehicles, but now they can do just that, in an environment that hosts the UK’s largest audience of car buyers.”

Auto Trader has sought to prove the value and relevance of that audience to car manufacturers, and the new car proposition looks to enhance this even further, providing more unrivalled insights to inform marketing decisions as well as new opportunities for car manufacturers to reach car buyers in innovative new ways.

Auto Trader Digital Director, Chris Ward, said: “We’re delighted to have Marc, and all of his experience here at Auto Trader, as it will help us further understand the challenges of car makers. Marc’s appointment and the new car offering will both help us provide more innovative advertising solutions that meet the needs of our customers, led by a detailed understanding of the consumer car buying behaviours of our vast new car audience.”

ENDS