Supporting consumers

Supporting
consumers

To support consumers in making the
switch to more environmentally friendly
vehicles we have increased the
coverage and exposure we give electric
vehicles ('EVs') across all our platforms.

Our aim is to support consumers in making the switch to more environmentally friendly vehicles and be the number one electric car destination in the UK.

On our marketplace, we have taken steps to make it easier for car buyers to search
for EVs, so the filters now reflect the key attributes of an EV. Our EV adverts now include more information about battery range and charge time, which are key to helping consumers to make the switch. The number of EV models listed on Auto Trader has grown from 84 to 129 in the year and over 23,000 adverts appeared
on our site on average across the last year.

We launched an EV hub on site which has new content and tools added to it all the time, so consumers can get the information they need to decide whether an EV is right for them, right now.

The team have published more than 110 electric-themed editorial reviews, news, help and advice articles on site (2022: 91). Across our tracked electric keyword set as a whole, including consumer FAQs, our share of voice grew from 27% to 33%. As part of this we grew our electric make model terms share of voice by 11% over the year, giving us the third highest market share in this area.

Evolving our dedicated EV hub

The dedicated EV hub on our marketplace makes it easy for consumers to access articles, reviews, advice and videos on
electric vehicles. We also present the facts regarding cost of ownership ensuring they have all the info they need to make the correct purchase decision, for them. Cutting through the jargon,
we cover all of the pertinent topics, including:

Charging at home
Charging on the go
Range
Understanding the jargon
Battery life

Find out more

Helping consumers make more environmentally friendly vehicle choices

Leveraging the popularity of podcasts

We've launched our first ever consumer facing podcast, Show on the Road. The brand-new celebrity packed series marks another significant investment in creating greater brand engagement among consumers, and to drive even more car buyers to our retailer partners’ stock.

The eight-part series, hosted by celebrated motoring journalist and Auto Trader presenter, Alex Legouix, takes celebrities out of the studio for a personalised road trip around the places that shaped them, from their old school to their favourite chip shop.

Show on the Road podcast

Listen here

Refreshed marketing campaigns
EVs have been a key marketing focus in the year, with new partnerships formed and campaigns launched. The EV monthly giveaway continued and achieved over 3.5 million entries, and we achieved a Guinness World Record which saw the team host the largest online quiz to promote EVs. We developed ‘Electric Sceptics’, our first original social content series with full marketing mix support, and signed a three-year partnership with Green.TV Media to build association with EVs, both with consumers through their World EV Day and EV Live events and with the industry at the EV Summit.

Initiatives such as these help ensure we continue to stay the most relevant marketplace for consumers looking to buy and sell their vehicles, be that electric
or not.

Supporting women
and new audiences

Our research shows that women are more likely to say they don’t like the car buying process and they don’t feel confident in buying a car. They are also less likely to consider buying an electric vehicle. So we are supporting them in making the switch to EVs; we are actively trying to change this by engaging the media that influence women and changing the conversation so that women feel more empowered about buying their next car, be that electric or otherwise.

Also in this section

Our net zero commitment

Net zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gases produced vs the amount removed from the atmosphere. We reach net zero when the amount we add is no more than the amount taken away. As a responsible business, we are committed to reaching net zero by 2040 — ten years ahead of the government’s target.

Supporting the industry

The government’s plans to reach net zero are ambitious and a lot need to happen in the coming years to ensure the infrastructure is in place to support the mass consumer adoption of EVs. We are also playing an active role supporting the industry with their own sustainability plans.

TCFD reporting

We support the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (‘TCFD’) and its recommendations and are committed to assessing the impacts of climate risks and opportunities across our operations and supply chains.