Welcome to BMW New Cars on Auto Trader
As the UK’s largest new car marketplace, we want to ensure that you can maximise your opportunity with us.
So whether you are already subscribing for BMW new cars or currently considering Auto Trader, this support hub is designed to help you stand out from the crowd and boost your new car performance, whilst upholding your BMW brand guidelines.
A retailer success story
Alex Houghton
Group Sales Manager (BMW & MINI), Lookers plcWe really set out some clear expectations with the team on making sure all of our new car stock is published on Auto Trader and on the Lookers website. We did that in December 2020. We have seen a huge spike in activity - and a huge spike in enquiries - off the back of that.
In March, we took 350 new car enquiries, which is more than double what we've ever taken before. The proof’s in the pudding really that it does work.
How to do the basics brilliantly
3 steps to improving your performance in today’s market
Attract buyers
Stand out amongst the competition and win your share of buyers
Appeal to the widest audience
With over 1.5 million unique buyers viewing new cars on Auto Trader every month, you don’t want to miss out on any opportunities. Ensuring you have adverts for each model line and budget range, will maximise your audience reach.
Use your own images
Uploading more of your own photos can generate up to 4.5x more advert views than using just 2-5 images, making it the most significant driver of response. Only 42% of new cars on Auto Trader have at least 10 real photos applied, so there’s real potential to beat the competition.
Put your customers first
Adapt to the current circumstances and ensure your customers feel safe and secure by promoting any COVID-19 safety measures you have in place and flexible services, such as Click & Collect and Home Delivery.
How it's done
Here’s a real-life example of advertising best practice
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A fair saving on the RRP in-line with national offers
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Highlighting key selling points with an attention grabber
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Allowing buyers to contact them anytime via Live Chat
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Generating enquiries via text messages
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Capturing multiple images and videos of the car
Optimise your adverts
Keep buyers engaged and locked-in to your adverts
Describe your vehicles effectively
Attention grabbers are the only customisable text a buyer can see before viewing your advert. Call out strong spec features and ensure your BMWs appear as unique as possible to maximise your response.
A good description of the model and options is a great way of bringing an advert to life – you could even make description templates to reuse and save time
Activate live chat and text
Provide easier ways for consumers to connect with you, by activating your live chat and text features on your Auto Trader adverts today.
The BMW network generates 8% of its leads through live chat and text, so make sure you’re not missing out on valuable opportunities.
Finance and monthly price
Finance enquiries make up 14% of all new BMW leads on Auto Trader. Although a BMW Financial Services feed is not yet available in Auto Trader, you can still offer a 'request monthly cost' and enquiries of this type can be followed up directly with a personalised finance offer from BMW Velocity. In addition, be sure to follow up all enquiries swiftly and with relevant information, from BMW LaunchPad.
Take it to the next level
How to convert customers without them visiting your forecourt
Bring your cars to life with video walkarounds
Adverts with a video included generate double the leads. The opportunity is huge, as less than 2% of new cars on Auto Trader have a video today. Using video for your priority models is a good starting point to build from. We recommend keeping your videos to 90 seconds or less to maximise engagement.
If you want to reach maximum performance, combine video with plenty of real photos and a bespoke attention grabber for each vehicle.
Take our Retailer Performance Masterclass
Our free online learning hub has been designed to fit around your busy schedule. Offering bitesize tutorial videos lasting approximately five minutes in length, RPM will guide your teams through techniques to excel on Auto Trader. All modules are available on demand, so you can complete in your own time. Check out our new car module through the link below.
Track your performance easily in Portal
Quickly identify which vehicles are generating the most response - and the ones that need a little attention. Portal offers an easy, in-depth analysis of your Auto Trader performance.
Alongside response tracking and lead information, Market Insight data shows BMW supply and demand across the network on Auto Trader, at the click of a mouse. Book a free session with a Performance Manager for a demonstration with your stock today.
Why Auto Trader?
>70%
of the BMW network are advertising new vehicles with Auto Trader
1.5m
unique car buyers browsing new car adverts every single month
3x
more minutes spent on Auto Trader than all our competitors' sites combined
Our new vehicle package
Locally optimised
Buyers searches are pre-filtered to a 50-mile radius, so you can own your area of influence
All-you-can advertise
One affordable monthly payment, unlimited new vehicle adverts
Sell before you buy trial
First time advertising brand-new with us? You won’t pay a penny until you make your first sale*
New to new cars on Auto Trader?
If you haven’t advertised brand new vehicles with us before, you can take advantage of our Sell Before You Buy offer. This enables you to advertise your new cars free for up to 3 months* as long as you:
Publish at least 5 cars within the first week of going live.
Apply 10+ real photos of each car within the first week of going live.
Supply sales data for each full month you are advertising new cars.
Please note terms and conditions apply. We will monitor your initial performance with you and when we identify one or more sales as being influenced by Auto Trader, then we’ll discuss a move to the paid version of the product.
If no sales are matched, then you can continue advertising for free for a maximum of 3 months. Fill out the form at the bottom of this page and we will contact you to discuss the offer further.
With you every step of the way
A dedicated Account Manager and our Performance Management team will be at your disposal throughout your new vehicle advertising journey. We offer each of the below steps to all our retailers to help get you up, running and performing:
Scheduled check-ins
Over your first month of joining, we’ll schedule in plenty of time to help you start advertising to your full potential.
Regular support emails
As you work through the initial steps of getting your new car advertising set up, we’ll send you useful updates to help you maximise your response.
Help is on hand
Your Account Manager and the Performance Management team will be at your disposal throughout your new vehicle advertising journey.
Talk to us about brand new
Through this form, you can easily:
Register your interest in starting your free trial
Schedule a session with a specialist Performance Manager to help maximise your Auto Trader performance
Receive more information on our new car package and how it works
If you’d prefer, you can give one of our experts a call on 0330 303 9011
Monday to Friday
09.00 - 17.30