New partnership set to redefine future of automotive retail

Auto Trader and What Car? have today announced the extension of their multi-year partnership, set to transform the new car buying and selling experience across the UK. This strategic collaboration will unite two of the country’s most trusted and influential automotive brands, bringing nearly 11 million unique users together in a seamless journey to research, locate, and purchase brand-new vehicles.

Beginning in October, What Car?’s current ‘New Car Deals’ configurator will be replaced by an innovative search and display function powered by Auto Trader. This upgrade will grant consumers easy access to over 20,000 in-stock new cars advertised daily. Users selecting a vehicle will be seamlessly directed to Auto Trader’s acclaimed platform to complete the remainder of their car-buying process.

This partnership expansion builds on the existing collaboration, where Auto Trader has powered used car listings on What Car? and its sister site, Autocar, since July 2022. With the new agreement, What Car?’s audience will gain full visibility of the market, encompassing 20,000 new cars, 37,000 nearly new cars, and 430,000 used vehicles daily.

The integration aims to streamline the often-complex new car buying journey by consolidating research, pricing, and purchasing into one cohesive experience. Consumers will continue to benefit from What Car?’s expert reviews and advice, alongside Auto Trader’s extensive editorial content and the largest inventory of immediately available new cars in the UK.

Auto Trader and What Car? are both renowned for their deep-rooted British heritage and consumer trust. Recent studies highlight their dominance, with nearly three-quarters of respondents identifying them as their first choice when searching for a new car. Together, these platforms offer a combined audience that is four times larger than their nearest competitor.

For car retailers and manufacturers, this partnership presents a significant opportunity. Auto Trader’s partners, who already benefit from approximately 2 million monthly visits to its new car platform and 6.5 million daily new car searches, will now see their reach extended to an even larger, highly engaged audience.

As of October, they will also enjoy the advantage of advertising across both platforms under a single Auto Trader contract, enhancing cost efficiency and market penetration.

The timing of this partnership is particularly crucial as the new car market faces increasing challenges. Auto Trader has committed to stimulating retail demand with its largest-ever marketing investment, a multi-million-pound campaign designed to reach 96% of the UK population. This campaign, featuring eye-catching creatives across multiple media formats, is set to run over six months.

“Combined with our significant new car consumer marketing campaign, bringing together two of the UK’s most influential automotive brands marks a very important step in our commitment to helping our partners meet the challenges of the new car market.

“These significant investments will not only make it easier and more cost efficient to access a huge new car buying audience earlier in the journey, but also drive more highly engaged new car buyers to our partners’ stock. We believe it’s among the most powerful ways in which we can support our partners and would encourage brands not to miss out on the huge opportunity it affords.”

“Building on the success of our used car partnership, we are delighted to now be working with Auto Trader on new cars, too. The synergy between our brands and audiences is obvious, and by working together we can offer consumers, retailers, and car manufacturers an unrivalled end-to-end car-buying and selling experience.”