eBay completed its acquisition of UK classifieds site Motors.co.uk this week, having announced its intention to buy the car-selling site from Cox Automotive in October.
Motors.co.uk became part of eBay’s Gumtree UK classifieds site, which eBay said would help UK dealers grow their leads. UK’s Competition and Markets Authority greenlighted the deal on Tuesday.
In its announcement, eBay stated:
“eBay has completed its acquisition of Motors.co.uk, a leading UK-based classifieds site that makes the car buying and selling process intuitive and simple.
“The Motors.co.uk team has joined Gumtree UK, an eBay Classifieds business, and, together with eBay Motors UK, will offer more than 620,000 car listings seamlessly across these platforms creating a leading alternative to the current UK motors classifieds market leader.
“This will enable car dealers in the UK to easily reach customers and give buyers access to more choice. In addition, the combination provides opportunities for cross-platform synergies with the eBay UK marketplace and an improved transaction experience for consumers.”
In October, Gumtree UK General Manager Matt Barham had said, “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.”
And Cox Automotive CEO Martin Forbes said had said it would continue to focus on building upon its strengths in the wholesale market and in supporting dealers, OEMs, Fleet and Leasing customers with a “connected retail” proposition.
SOURCE: eBay UK Announcement
