Auto Trader launches new logo, unveils future plans

Auto Trader

Auto Trader, Britain's biggest car classified selling site, today launches its new brand identity - as part of an ambitious expansion plan for the future.

The previous logo had not changed in 37 years and was designed for the printed magazine, which ceased publication in summer 2013. Auto Trader, which is the provider of classified cars for sale to MSN Cars, is now a digital-only outlet.

The new chief executive of Auto Trader, Trevor Mather, said that Auto Trader typically has around 460,000 cars for sale at any one time - and claimed that the site is by far the biggest car buying and selling site in the UK.

"We have between 16 and 20 million users come to our website each month," he said. "The average person now spends 18 hours on buying a car - and 11 of those hours are online. The rest is spent on test drives and visiting dealers."

Buyers increasingly use the internet to research their new purchase, and Mather said that most users now prefer the digital delivery. "Auto Trader magazine had a print run of 90,000 versus our 16 million online visitors this month - so you can see why it was a natural move to close the printed mag."

The new boss of Auto Trader was appointed six months ago and is overhauling the way the company does business. He said Auto Trader had 41 different sub brands, from selling agricultural machinery to back-end systems for car dealers. "I want to simplify that to just one or two," he said.

He promised to improve the way Auto Trader treats the motor trade and admitted in the past the company had abused its dominant market position by overcharging used-car traders and treating them poorly - because there was no alternative service available to them.

The Auto Trader relaunch will be accompanied by a TV advertising campaign to premiere on Boxing Day. The screenshot below shows how the ads will portray motorists jumping in and out of different cars (change of ownership made fun, geddit?).

Auto Trader

From a punter's perspective, Mather vowed that Auto Trader would continue to innovate by launching more "beautifully desinged, natural digital experiences" such as Auto Trader's new iPad app. "This is what car buyers want - we know when we get it right, because we see the dwell time on our services soar and people come back again and again.

"We want to make sure that Auto Trader remains the best place to buy and sell cars, with a scale that nobody else can match, giving customers an unparalleled choice of cars to buy and sell."

The average price of a car sold on Auto Trader is £7,500 - making it a huge £3 billion marketplace.

Search for used cars on Auto Trader

By Tim Pollard, managing editor, MSN Cars