A message from our CEO
Today, all customers have received details of this year’s Autotrader annual price increase. The update is a 5.5% rise across all car and van advertising packages, though the impact on individuals may be slightly less on your overall spend depending on what other products you buy from us.
I want to take a moment to talk to you about the increase, explain how we’ve reached the rate decision and what we’re doing to continue delivering better trading for your business.
Why 5.5%?
Every year we look at the full picture: the market, the value we’ve delivered and what retailers need from us next. We consider the buyers we’ve brought to your adverts and converted, the products we’ve launched or improved, the wider economic backdrop and what feels like the right next step for our customers and the long-term health of our marketplace.
We’ve always been upfront about our business model. We know price changes can create some friction, but transparency matters to us – as does making sure you feel confident in the return you get from your Autotrader investment. We’ll continue working hard to make sure our products, platform and partnership deliver for you.
Our audience remains incredibly strong. We now see an average of 1.6 million people using the platform daily¹, and 8 in 10 car buyers visit Autotrader as part of their purchase journey². We know car buyers spend 6 times longer on Autotrader than they do on all of our main competitors combined³ , and these buyers convert - we influence 70% of all used car sales in the UK⁴ . And with the way our slot model works, fast speed of sale means you’ve listed more cars in 2025 for the same spend.
New cars are also performing better than ever, with over 2 million monthly visits to new car adverts⁵ , and hard leads on new cars up 10% versus 2024⁶.
Where your investment goes
Every year we invest to bring more buyers to your cars and to build products that support your success and this year has been no different. We’ve invested heavily in marketing, including over £20m of marketing spend, monthly EV giveaway, the Autotrader Car Hunt, and our FoundAT campaign for brand new cars – all designed to drive more interested buyers to your vehicles.
We’ve also continued to grow and evolve the tools to help that partnership improve your profit. From Co-Driver and Economy Stock right the way to the recent launch of our brand new Buying Signals. Giving you clearer insight into buyer preferences and intent – so you can identify which leads are more likely to deliver a sale and provide a better experience for your customers. For more details of all our product updates and innovations throughout 2025, read more here.
As we enter 2026, our focus remains the same: helping you drive more sales and profit through strong products, data and insight. We’re now live with our latest £6.5m consumer campaign and have new exciting collaborations launching, including one with social media sensations Spudbros. Soon we’ll introduce the reservation request journey to provide flexibility for retailers, and next week we’ll be launching a big improvement to search for car buyers with AI-driven car categories. This will allow buyers to search based on their needs or preferences – even if they’re not sure which model is right for them.
How we’re supporting you
We know the market feels different for different retailers right now – some are thriving, others are working through challenges. That’s why support matters. Alongside continuing to invest in bringing more buyers to your adverts, we’re also offering a new set of retailer offers to help you get extra value when you need it most.
Provided you are on a Standard package or higher, from mid-February until the end of May you can choose one of the following:
free double stock for 4 weeks
free PPC for 4 weeks
free package upgrade for 12 weeks
These offers are designed to give every retailer something beneficial – whatever your stock mix or challenges. There’s no commitment, just an added boost of value when you need it most.
A final word
We recognise that not everyone is experiencing the same market right now, and that’s exactly why we want to encourage conversations with one of our 250 Partnership Managers. They’re here to understand your goals, talk through any concerns and help you get the most from your package.
We share accountability for ensuring you get a good return from Autotrader. If you’re feeling like your return isn’t where it should be, please reach out – we’d genuinely welcome the chance to help. Most of the time we can together.
On Tuesday 27th January I’ll be joining the live webinar to talk through this in more detail and to answer your questions, so please do join me then.
We’re at our best when you’re successful which we look forward to helping you be in 2026.
¹ Autotrader internal data (average unique daily visitors, cross‑platform), Jan–Dec 2025
² Based on Autotrader’s average share of Unique Visitors (79%) from January–September 2025. Calculated by dividing Autotrader’s total Unique Visitors with the total unduplicated Unique Visitors for the competitor set, Comscore MMX® Multi-Platform
³ Comscore data. Average total minutes Jan-Sep 2025 comparing eBay, Motors, Gumtree, Cazoo, CarGurus, Pistonheads, CarWow.
⁴ Sales influence is calculated using 883,212 used‑car sales records from 2,878 retailers who shared data between January–September 2025, with 70% of those sales influenced by Autotrader. Influence is determined by matching consumer activity on Autotrader to each retailer’s sales data for vehicles listed on the platform.
⁵ Autotrader internal data (New Car advert visits), Jan–Dec 2025.
⁶Autotrader internal data (New Car hard leads), Jan–Dec 2025 vs. Jan–Dec 2024.
