Auto Trader Group plc, owner of AutoTrader.co.uk, the U.K.’s largest automotive marketplace, has raised dealer advertising fees by 8%.
The news comes after Auto Trader saw a revenue increase of 5% and a 9% boost in pre-tax profit for the financial year ending March 2025 (FY2025).
Auto Trader also confirmed in its annual statement that it would offer its Deal Builder pay-per-lead service to all dealers as part of its advertising package.
“We never put through a price rise without delivering value”
Speaking to CarDealerMagazine.co.uk, Catherine Faiers, Auto Trader’s chief operating officer, defended the price rise: “If we keep investing, keep innovating, keep driving product growth, then it’s right for us to capture the value we’re delivering.”
“We never put through a price rise without delivering value, whether that value be through more buyers, more engagement, more audience on our platform, or through the data, the products, the technology.”
Average revenue per retailer rose 5% year on year (y-o-y) to £2,854 ($3,855 U.S.) in FY2025, while average live stock increased by 1% to 449,000 cars, driven by increased private listings.
In FY2025, the average number of dealers advertising on Auto Trader increased by 2% y-o-y to 14,013, and it expects growth of 5-7% in FY2026.
Auto Trader said in a statement: “The acceleration seen last financial year was largely driven by a fall in used car prices which have steadily increased throughout the second half of the year as retailers have sought more normalised margins.”
