Since the start of this year, the automotive market has shown remarkable strength with robust demand leading to higher prices for both new and used vehicles compared to the previous year. The average price of a used vehicle in March 2023 remained stable compared to last month, hovering just around $39k, a 5% year-over-year increase. In contrast, new vehicle prices hit a record high of just below $62k, representing a significant 17.4% year-over-year increase.

For a fulsome view of our latest GoTrader Price Index, click here to get your copy of the report.

Both experienced as well as first-time car buyers look to answer two key questions when embarking on a vehicle purchase: does it meet their needs and is the price compelling? However, the journey first-time buyers take to get to their final purchase decision can vary immensely from those with more experience. Understanding their habits and behaviour is essential to fine-tuning your marketing and sales processes, driving car shopper engagement, and building customer trust and confidence in your dealership.

In this episode of GoTrader Carology Bitesize, we are joined by Tiffany Ding, Director of Insights & Intelligence at gotrader.ca, to discuss the key findings and insights about first-time car buyers uncovered from our latest Vehicle Path to Purchase research. Tiffany highlights essential takeaways to keep in mind to steer first-time car buyers in the right direction and provide them with the support they need as they progress through the most challenging phases of their purchase journey.

It should come as no surprise that today’s consumers turn to online resources to make purchases. The convenience and variety available at their fingertips makes this a no brainer. When we consider car shopping in this increasingly digitized age, it’s a widely known fact that today’s car buyers start their journey online, primarily focused on conducting research. Knowing where they are online is paramount in ensuring your inventory is front and centre throughout the top- and mid-funnel stages of the purchase journey.

Our recent examination of the car buying journey found that consumers consider online automotive marketplaces, like gotrader.ca, as the primary resource in their quest to find their next car. With a wide variety of vehicle types, makes and models, spanning budgets big and small, online automotive marketplaces enable them to search for exactly what they’re looking for, while providing the tools and aligning to the trust factor they demand.

Car shoppers follow a path throughout their buying journey that is constantly changing and evolving. Taking the time to understand the consumer mindset is an essential component to finetune your marketing and sales processes while addressing the needs of your customers.

In this episode of GoTrader Carology Bitesize we are joined by Tiffany Ding, Senior Manager of Insights & Intelligence at gotrader.ca, to examine the key findings and takeaways from our Vehicle Path to Purchase Research Study, which uncovers today’s car buyer’s journey, from desire to purchase.

Want to learn more? For a complete breakdown of the results from the study, please click here.

The automotive industry is quickly advancing toward a new world that will bring Electric Vehicles (EVs) to the forefront. By 2035, the largest automotive markets are predicted to be fully electric. Change is coming, and our plan is to embrace it while helping your dealership adapt to continue achieving success!

Our first on-demand GoTrader Carology Talks: Forces of Change – Supply and Electric covers everything you need to know about the transition to EVs across the industry. This episode is hosted by Ian MacDonald, Chief Marketing Officer at gotrader.ca and our seasoned GoTrader Carology guest, Nick King, Insights Director at GoTrader UK.

Nick bring’s you up to speed on the latest EV trends and consumer research insights, the road to 2030, and the prevalent opportunities for car dealers like you! Watch the full video below and find out how your dealership can prepare to serve the EV buyers of today and tomorrow!

We sat down with The Murray Auto Group third generation owner Chris Murray and General Manager Chris Emery, to discuss how they utilize the vAuto Provision Suite. They shared their experience and the impact the products have had on their dealership.

The Murray Auto Group joined the automotive industry in 1926. Since then, the group has grown to create numerous dealerships across Canada.

How were you introduced to vAuto?

Chris Murray: We actually signed up with one of vAuto’s competitors and we ran with them for almost a year and a half. We just felt it wasn’t giving us the information that we were looking for and so we made the decision to migrate over to vAuto. We first signed up in November 2013. We don’t mandate anything in our group but we strongly encouraged it and now I would think pretty much all our stores are on vAuto.

Who utilizes the tool the most in your dealership?

Chris Murray: The main user would be our General Managers who oversee the used cars, they would be the power user, daily or hourly.

How do you run your business differently since using vAuto?

Chris Emery: The main way vAuto streamlines things is the speed of gathering information, we can look at everything in the marketplace so that’s how the tool has made a difference to the business.

Also, the ability to track effectively and in one location so we can track all the stuff that matters to us, how many appraisals are we winning? How many appraisals are we seeing? When you have that data in front of you, looking at it day in and day out it allows you to stay on top of it and kind of drive those numbers up. Because you’re driving those numbers up you’re selling more cars and selling faster.

What is the biggest advantage you’ve experienced since using vAuto?

Chris Murray: It gives Chris [Emery] or any of the other sales managers here information to make a smart decision and also gives us some tools to be able to show the customer why things are the way they are. Before it was all gut-feel, this is what I think and this is what I feel. We’re here, we’re able to have actual data to show customers that our price is right or this is why we’re paying you “x” for your car, nothing more, and nothing less.

How would you describe the ease of use with vAuto?

Chris Emery: I think it’s pretty simple for a sales manager to get in and kind of understand what’s going on.

Chris Murray: It’s simple to learn and use, but, to learn how to use everything that it offers? Its massive, it has so many tools. As far as figuring out how to use the system? Most dealers should be able to figure it out.

Where do you see the most benefit?

Chris Emery: The appraising is what we use the most, followed by pricing, staying on top and making sure all our inventory is in line with where it should be. Then to a lesser extent stocking and then merchandising and wholesaling, in that order.

Would you recommend using vAuto?

Chris Emery: I think in this day in age if you’re not using [vAuto] then you’re not really serious about managing your used car lot.

However, I wouldn’t recommend it for our competitors, [laughs].

Chris Murray:  I think it helps us make better decisions. I think with vAuto, you need to have it, that’s why I strongly encouraged it to all the dealers in our group.

What are 3 main benefits that vAuto has brought to your dealership?

Chris Emery: Speed of decision making, accuracy of decision making, ability to manage large used car inventory.

Chris Murray: Accountability over how the General Manager manages the inventory, intelligent conversations over our used strategy, speed and accuracy of the data, management tool.

Designed in Canada exclusively for automotive dealers, TRFFK provides intelligent, data-led solutions to convert in-market car shoppers into real-time customers

TORONTO, ON – November 29, 2017 – TRADER Corporation today announced the launch of TRFFK powered by gotrader.ca, a first-to-market, all-in-one digital advertising solution designed exclusively for the automotive sector in Canada. Led by a dedicated team of category experts, TRFFK provides digital marketing strategy and execution across paid search, display, social media and audience retargeting – all powered by exclusive consumer shopping data and unmatched consumer behaviour insights, from Canada’s #1 automotive marketplace, gotrader.ca.

Currently available in Quebec, the full-service offering uses proprietary gotrader.ca data of in-market car shoppers to power local, digital advertising campaigns and convert online traffic into real-time customers. The specialized team of automotive and digital marketing experts will work collaboratively with dealers, leveraging data intelligence analytics to offer strategic, effective and fully customizable campaigns that target consumers that are in-market. TRFFK offers dealers a one-stop, data-led, full-service solution for all areas of the digital advertising process.

San Francisco, CA – July 1, 2016 – Thoma Bravo, LLC, a leading private equity investment firm, announced the acquisition of TRADER Corporation (TRADER), Canada’s leading digital automotive marketplace and software solutions provider, from funds advised by Apax Partners for approximately C$1.575 billion.  The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close by the fourth quarter of 2016.

“We’re extremely impressed by TRADER’s growth into the largest and most trusted digital automotive marketplace in Canada,” said Holden Spaht, a managing partner at Thoma Bravo. “We look forward to partnering with Sebastian Baldwin and the entire TRADER team in their commitment to innovation and accelerating the use of TRADER’s current and future software solutions.”

TRADER Corporation is Canada’s largest and most trusted digital automotive marketplace and provides the most comprehensive set of marketing software solutions to Canadian automotive dealers. Its market leading online properties — gotrader.ca, AutoHebdo.net and Autos.ca — attract 13 million visits per month and are regularly relied upon by over 5,000 dealers, listing over 450,000 vehicles.  In addition, the company provides software solutions that enable its dealer customers to make smarter and faster business, inventory, and marketing decisions.

Sebastian Baldwin, TRADER’s President and CEO, said: “Thoma Bravo’s track record of success in working with and growing software solutions companies makes them the ideal partner for the next phase of TRADER’s growth.  We look forward to working closely with them to continue strengthening TRADER’s market leading position.”

“TRADER is well positioned to continue providing high return-on-investment products to its customer base,” said Arvindh Kumar, a principal at Thoma Bravo. “We’re excited to collaborate with TRADER to expand its product portfolio organically and through strategic investments and acquisitions.”

Peter Stefanski, a vice president at Thoma Bravo added: “We have spent several years evaluating the broader automotive technology sector.  Our partnership with TRADER is an excellent opportunity to invest in a mission-critical franchise we believe will benefit from the growth in automotive online media advertising.”

Kirkland & Ellis LLP and McMillan LLP served as legal advisors to Thoma Bravo. Evercore served as M&A advisor.

Toronto, ON – May 9, 2016 – gotrader.ca has made a $5,000 donation to the Red Cross in support of the relief efforts to help those impacted by the destructive fires in Alberta and encourages all Canadians to do what they can to help.

“Our thoughts are with the townspeople of Fort McMurray,” said Sebastian Baldwin, CEO of TRADER Corporation. “We have all witnessed this terrible tragedy and we want to do our part to help support the community and people of Fort McMurray in dealing with the ongoing wildfires.”

To make a personal donation to the Red Cross, supporting Fort McMurray fire relief efforts, please click here.