An update from our CEO, Nathan Coe
Watch, or read below the latest update from Auto Trader CEO, Nathan Coe on the market complexities and how we’re supporting retailer success with exciting new products.
I hope you are well and that trading in the run-up to the end of the year is positive. We are seeing a resilient used car market, with the latest SMMT data reporting used car transactions1 up 4.7% year-to-date, up 5.5% in Q3 and our proxy sold data suggesting October was up 2% year on year[2]. Consumer demand is robust, with the volume of buyers on our platform up 9.4% in October[3]. These buyers are converting to strong speed of sale on Auto Trade Trader which continues to track ahead of prior year at 26 days[4]. New car registrations were up 14.3% in October[5], and our new car platform is going from strength to strength with over 1 million monthly visitors viewing new cars and vans in October, up 9% compared to last year[6]. We’re hopeful that we can support Retailers and Manufacturers to drive sales to hit those all-important end of year targets.
Supporting retailers in a complex market
The market today is far from simple, with several forces of change, including supply dynamics, consumer affordability and the demand and supply of electric vehicles. This is leading to big performance differences in different segments of the used car market. As I’ve been speaking to retailers in the last few weeks, it’s clear there’s uncertainty over how best to respond. I would strongly urge everyone to make use of the data you have available to you as part of your package to ensure you manage your risk and don’t miss any opportunities.
That’s why we continue to innovate to ensure you have the data you need to navigate this market and make confident sourcing and pricing decisions. We’ve recently announced that we’re launching Trended Valuations, which along with new, enhanced Retail Check functionality, will be available as part of all advertising packages from next year.
Make confident decisions to maximise margin with Trended Valuations
Retailers, more than ever in the current market, are consumer-led and rely on our retail valuations to guide them in sourcing and pricing decisions, in fact retailers have run over 20 million valuations requests with us in September alone[7]. Retail pricing trends have softened in September and October, and we have heard from you that a point-in-time valuation in a market that is always moving doesn’t give you the full picture.
To address this, we’ve created a Trended Valuations product, which will be launched through both Portal and Auto Trader Connect partners. This means you can see at a vehicle level how price trends have changed over time, and see our forecasted valuation for vehicles you own or are considering buying.
Retailers we’ve spoken to in the discovery process for the product are excited about how this will help them maximise profitability , price sensitivity and risk when making key retail decisions. Read more about this and see how you’ll be able to use it here.
Drive the performance of every vehicle with local market insights from new, enhanced Retail Check
Having a clear understanding of the local retail market for each vehicle is the key to making confident retailing decisions. Retail Check is essential for many retailers I speak to and provides you with the most accurate view of the live retail market to make better decisions whether you’re sourcing new stock, reviewing a part-exchange, or re-pricing vehicles on your forecourt. That’s why we’re making sure that all retailers will have access to this powerful solution, including, for the first time, commercial vehicles. We’ve launched a series of new Retail Check features following feedback from you, including: live market condition, price adjusted days to sell, retail rating brand range and supply and demand data.
Access our data where you need it
Early access to both new products will be available from January 2024 in Portal, where all retailers can access our market-leading solutions. We also know that many of you also use your own, or third-party systems to manage stock and pricing decisions, which is why we launched Auto Trader Connect two years ago. We continue to build on this, adding both Trended Valuations and Retail Check capability.
Both Retailers and technology partners have embraced our platform, with over 9,300 retailers benefiting from services powered by Auto Trader Connect across over 150 technology partners[8]. This means that thousands of retailers are now accessing our taxonomy data to build accurate adverts without the need to manually appraise vehicles and can sync across selling channels from one system. They’re accessing our retail valuations seamlessly, no longer needing to trawl Auto Trader and compare vehicle pricing manually. This is a great example of how we’re using AI to build powerful data products into your system of choice to drive decision making.
We continue to invest in retailer success
You may see coverage today on our half-year results. I’m proud of the performance the team have delivered in the first half of the year which is a testament to the partnerships we’ve built with all our customers. This performance means we can continue to invest in our platform, so we remain the most effective and efficient way to source, price and sell vehicles. In the last 12 months we’ve delivered many product updates, invested more than ever in marketing, and continue to build the best team with the best tools to support you. You can expect even more from us in the next 12 months, despite these times of uncertainty, we are more committed than ever to continuing to invest to help drive your performance. As ever, if I or any of the team can support your success or if you have any feedback, then please do reach out to me at nathan.coe@autotrader.co.uk.
Sources
1 SMMT used car sales data
2 Auto Trader Internal Data, based on stock removed.
3 Auto Trader Snowplow Analytics, % increase in average number of cross-platform visits a month in Oct-23 vs. Oct-22.
4 Auto Trader Internal Data, based on stock removed.
5 SMMT Oct-23 data
6 Auto Trader internal data
7 Auto Trader internal data including both Portal and Auto Trader Connect API usage
8 Auto Trader internal data
