eBay will acquire Motors.co.uk, a “leading UK-based classifieds site that makes the car buying and selling process intuitive and simple.” The site, owned by Cox Automotive, will become part of eBay Classifieds’ business GumTree UK.
eBay announced: “Motors.co.uk, a subsidiary of Cox Automotive, is one of the UK’s largest dealer-facing brands with over 350,000 used car listings on its platform. Its robust suite of tools is tailored specifically to the automotive vertical, helping over 5,000 of the UK’s leading automotive dealers to sell their cars, utilize buyer data in marketing and pricing decisions and expand reach through a large syndication network.”
In January, eBay had begun allowing car dealers to put a listing on both Gumtree UK Motors and eBay UK Motors using the eBay Motors Pro tool, boosting the number of listings on each platform and allowing dealers to reach more customers. (Excluding parts and accessories).
Matt Barham, General Manager of Gumtree UK, said, “This acquisition would finally present a viable car selling and shopping alternative for car dealers and buyers. By combining Motors.co.uk’s extensive inventory, dealer engagements, traffic and cutting-edge tools and services with the considerable audience of in-market car buyers provided by eBay and Gumtree, this acquisition would give UK car dealers a significantly broader reach.”
Motors.co.uk, Gumtree UK, and eBay Motors UK together offer over 620,000 car listings. Gumtree UK also lists secondhand goods, jobs, properties to rent and buy, professional services, community events, and more.
According to Fleet News, Motors.co.uk has a network of automotive sites including Topgear.com, Parkers.co.uk, Honest John, Autovillage and Raccars.co.uk. “Combined, the Motors.co.uk network enables automotive retailers to reach more than 5.4 million unique visitors per month,” the UK publication reported.
eBay did not disclose the cost of the acquisition in Friday’s announcement. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals in the UK and other closing conditions and is expected to close before the end of Q1 2019.
