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A NEW vehicle market platform has been launched under the eBay umbrella with three “shop windows” that target dealers, private buyers and sellers and features shared editorial content that, combined, attracts close to 40 million visits a month.

The UK-based eBay Classifieds Group umbrella has bought the assets of Cox Australia Media Solutions – including Autotrader and CarsGuide – after it sold out of its involvement in automotive media in line with its strategy to concentrate on dealer solutions in the US, UK and Australia. eBay already owns Gumtree Australia.

Carsguide and Autotrader will sit within a business known as Carsguide Autotrader Media Solutions (CAMS) that, said its CEO Shaun Cornelius, promises more value and a broader audience and has specific benefits to dealers.

“This deal makes sense because it helps dealers access a single audience through the three parts of Gumtree, CarsGuide and Autotrader which makes almost 40 million visitors a month,” he told GoAutoNews Premium.

“We see this new business as representing an opportunity. At eBay we have constantly been told by dealers that they are looking for a strong cost-effective partner. So by joining forces with Gumtree in Australia, it gives us a step change that really helps us give more value to dealers.

“Our aim is to make it easier for dealers to work with us and access that audience through one service and one account.

“At the moment, our 2500 dealer partners can choose to work with Gumtree, CarsGuide and Autotrader. In the longer term we plan to deliver one ecosystem so dealers can reach all audiences in all three platforms.

“That is the goal. It will take a while to integrate – it took several months in the UK – but we’re very keen to do that because we see it offers more value to customers.”

Gumtree’s new managing director, Mark Kehoe, said Gumtree “was in a sweet spot”.

“It’s a great business going through change and this acquisition consolidates a fragmented market in Australia,” he told GoAutoNews Premium.

Mark Kehoe, Managing Director, and Shaun Cornelius, CEO, Cox Australia Media Solutions

Mark Kehoe, Managing Director, and Shaun Cornelius, CEO, Cox Australia Media Solutions

“You probably couldn’t get three better brands to come together and offer the efficiencies and benefits to customers as this.”

Mr Kehoe, who comes to Gumtree after extensive experience in e-commerce including being a founding member of GraysOnline and head of digital at Virgin Australia, said Gumtree’s reach was “massive” and better than any other car site in Australia.

“Then you add CarsGuide which is the leading content site and then Autotrader that is one of the leaders in the dealer space.

“These provide more choice and better value for the dealers from one business unit.

“Each business will retain their structure, so the acquisition is more about consolidating the resources of the back office. We can pool resources and then have the added benefit of leveraging technology from overseas through the eBay group.”

Mr Kehoe said the three platforms maintain their identity but offer something different to the community, depending on where they are in the buying cycle.

“Dealers, for example, have seven million viewers a month available to them through Gumtree,” he said.

“We give them access through a single proposition, so it gives dealers a bigger digital footprint into the Australian market.”

Mr Kehoe said the joining of the three brands dovetailed with the boom in online sales that have been accelerated by COVID-19.

“Though not just about the auto industry, US e-commerce penetration was about 16 per cent at the beginning of this year and it’s taken 10 years to get to this level,” he said.

“That was up until March. In April it went to 27 per cent, so it’s gone up more than 10 percentage points in eight weeks.

“April in Australia saw a three-fold increase in online spending. In April, PayPal processed the highest number of transactions ever.

“We are seeing people spending more time online and those who were never online or rarely used the service, have no choice but to go online in order to purchase goods. The seller is seeing the same trend.

“So it’s becoming increasingly important for dealers. I’ve heard people say this is the worst time for this acquisition – I would argue that it’s the best time.”

Mr Cornelius said the automotive market in terms of dealer numbers and cars on sale makes Australia a significant and competitive market.

“It also is one going through a lot of changes, including global changes such as COVID-19 which has shifted consumers to online,” he said.

“So content and buying options are strong for these online shoppers. Consumers are doing more online and a bit less in showrooms and we see that as a positive.

“Dealers are looking to run more efficiently and online tends to drive efficiency in business. With the combined offerings of Gumtree, CarsGuide and Autotrader, it gives dealers a strong cost-effective partner.”

By Neil Dowling

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