Auto Trader (UK)
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive trading via Internet, Magazine and Mobile |
| Founded | 1975 |
| Founder(s) | John Madejski |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Area served | United Kingdom, Eire, South Africa, Italy |
| Key people | John King (CEO) |
| Products | Vehicle advertisements. |
| Owner(s) | Trader Media Group |
| Website | http://www.autotrader.co.uk |
Auto Trader is an automotive sales website and classified magazine located in the United Kingdom, owned by Trader Media Group, itself a joint venture between Guardian Media Group (50.1%) and Apax Partners (49.9%). It specialises in new and second hand automotive sales, including cars sold by private sellers and trade dealers.
With more and more customers now using the website and mobile versions of Auto Trader, the circulation of the weekly magazine is falling. For the second half of 2011, the aggregate circulation of all regional editions in the UK and Eire stands at 60,524, a fall of 36.5% year-on-year.[1]
Table of Contents
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Background
The founder of Auto Trader in the United Kingdom was John Madejski in 1975, who went on to take over Reading Football Club in 1991. The 'Auto Trader Concept' was founded in America. John Madejski brought this idea back from the USA, and set up Hurst Publishing with Paul Gibbons in 1977.
The first Auto Trader to be established was Hurst's Thames Valley Trader in 1977. This was followed by the publication of a second title, Southern Auto Trader, which launched in 1981. Guardian Media Group approached Hurst, with intentions of launching similar titles in the North of England, rather than competing head to head. Gradually, a group of classified advertising titles evolved that were either wholly owned by Hurst or by Guardian Media Group, or jointly owned by the two organisations. In July 1998, the two partners in Hurst sold part of their business to the specialist European venture capitalists BC Partners, who approached Guardian Media Group and proposed a merger to form a new company. Trader Media Group was launched in May 2000.
Printed Magazine
The magazine is currently published weekly in the following regional titles (as at February 2012),
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- North London & East of England
- London, Kent, Sussex & Surrey
- Thames Valley & Southern
- Midlands
- North East & Yorkshire
- North West
- Northern Ireland
- Rep. of Ireland
- Scottish
- South West & Wales
In Kuwait, the magazine is published monthly by the Al-Watan Group.
Website
Autotrader.co.uk was launched in 1996 allowing users to buy or sell a car online. The site allows users to search for cars and other motor vehicles using their postcode. Autotrader.co.uk the UK's busiest automotive web site which attracts some 10.3 million[2] unique users per month.
In September 2009 Auto Trader overhauled their website. Some of the changes received a negative response from consumers and so since then the website has been undergoing a programme of continuous improvement, becoming more straight forward and focussing on tools for buying and selling cars rather than on editorial content. Auto Trader has used their own consumer feedback on the site to shape the changes they made.
Mobile
Auto Trader has had a mobile (WAP) site since 2002.[3] In July 2008 Auto Trader launched a .mobi site[4] and in July 2009 they launched separate versions[4] for differing handset capability levels. Auto Trader developed their mobile offering further in March 2010 when they released an app[5] making it easier for users to search for cars on their iPhone or iPod touch.
References
- ^ Ponsford, Dominic. "Mag ABCs: Breakdown of circulation for all 500 titles". Press Gazette. http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=48769&c=1. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
- ^ http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/news/1826695/autotrader-web-site-switches-linux
- ^ http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/831892/Digital-Auto-Trader-eyes-WAP-site-revamp/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH
- ^ a b http://www.mobileindustryreview.com/2008/07/autotrader_to_revamp_its_mobile_site.html
- ^ http://www.techdigest.tv/2010/03/auto-trader_app.html
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