Autotrader said today that all dealer fees have been removed to show support for Australian dealerships. It applies for the month of May and follows on from the 50 per cent discount applied to all dealer fees in April.

It said the offer of support will be automatically applied to all existing customers and will also be available to any Australian dealers who do not currently list their vehicles with Autotrader.

Autotrader and CarsGuide CEO Shaun Cornelius said the offer includes the full suite of Autotrader benefits: listings also being posted to CarsGuide and Facebook Marketplace, Autotrader Dealer Hub, Kelley Blue Book Price Advisor valuations plus multiple opportunities to promote the dealership.

“This initiative will help alleviate some pressure that Australian dealers are feeling at the moment,” he said.

“And for those dealers who aren’t currently using Autotrader, it may help get them more exposure and ultimately some more enquiry.”

Autotrader said it has also launched contactless sales process tagging that allows dealers “to clearly communicate to car buyers on their listings what initiatives they’re doing to provide a contactless sales process”.

Consumers will also be able to filter search results by those dealers offering these initiatives.

“This is a really important initiative,” Mr Cornelius said.

“We want Australian car buyers to know dealerships are open, keen to deal and are providing initiatives to put consumers’ minds at ease about visiting a dealership.”

By Neil Dowling