Not Used Or New, Just My Next Car

Evidence from Auto Trader, the UK's largest digital automotive marketplace for buying and selling new and used vehicles, suggests that the lines between buying a new car and buying a used car have become increasingly blurred. Today, consumers are far more likely to consider both, rather than starting from the premise that they want either one or the other.

Covering the period April to June 2015, the company's quarterly market tracker traced the views of a representative sample of more than 1,000 motorists. 72% of those who'd recently bought a used car said they had also considered new, while 75% of those who'd recently bought new, said they'd considered used. That compares with 43% and 61% respectively for the same period a year earlier.

"The lines we once drew around buying a new car or used car have become less relevant in today's marketplace," said Nick King, Auto Trader's Insight Director. "That may have something to do with the changing face of ownership in the new car market. The new car market is increasingly driven by PCP deals where monthly payments, rather than outright price is key. It would certainly explain why there has been such a dramatic increase in those considering new cars, before buying a used model."

Once again, the research revealed that not getting the asking price was the biggest obstacle for consumers in trying to sell their cars. 42% cited this as an issue, compared with 27% for the same period in 2014. "This is probably down to changes in the UK car parc," added King. "With more new cars coming to market, the used sector has seen a significant upturn in stock. With higher supply comes lower demand, and this might explain why more buyers don't feel able to sell at a price with which they are happy."

For all trade media enquiries, please contact:

Nigel Wonnacott, PR Director at JJ Marketing, on 07802 483 971 or nigel.wonnacott@jjmarketing.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

Auto Trader Group plc is a 100% digital business having successfully completed the transition from a print title in 2013. Auto Trader sits at the heart of the UK's vehicle buying process and operates the UK's largest digital automotive marketplace.

Auto Trader's primary activity is to help vehicle retailers compete effectively on the Marketplace in order to sell more vehicles, faster. The Marketplace brings together the largest and most engaged consumer audience. Autotrader.co.uk attracts around 44.5 million monthly cross-platform visits on its sites, with around 68% of visits coming through mobile devices, with the largest pool of vehicle sellers (listing more than 400,000 cars each day). In fact over 80% of all time spent on classified sites is spent on Auto Trader. The Group does not buy or sell any vehicles itself.

Auto Trader has around 92% prompted brand awareness in the UK, with 80% of UK retailer forecourts advertising via the website and around 65% of UK used car transactions involving cars listed on autotrader.co.uk.

Auto Trader's market-leading position enables it to generate and collect large amounts of data on the UK's automotive marketplace and leverage it to create a suite of services that allow retailers to:

• BUY – buy the right vehicles, at the right price
• MARKET - market their brands and businesses effectively in the digital world
• SELL- sell more vehicles through advertising on the UK's largest digital automotive marketplace
• MANAGE – optimise their stock turn and vehicle margin.

For more information please visit http://about-us.autotrader.co.uk/