– 30 –

 

Media Inquiries:

Hannah Choat
Labour Creative
E: hannah.choat [at] labourcreative.ca
T: 416.889.3743

2023 GoTrader Award Winners:

Canada’s Most Trusted Car Brand: Toyota

Best Overall Car: Genesis G80 / Electrified G80

Best Overall SUV: Subaru Outback

Best Overall Truck: Ford Maverick

Best Overall Green Car: Ford F-150 Lightning

Best Subcompact Car: Chevrolet Bolt EV

Best Compact Car: Honda Civic / Civic Hatchback

Best Family Sedan: Honda Accord

Best Wagon: Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo

Best Compact Luxury Car: BMW i4

Best Large Luxury Car: Genesis G80 / Electrified G80

Best Mainstream Performance Car: Honda Civic Type R

Best Premium Performance Car: Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing

Best Subcompact SUV: Subaru Crosstrek

Best Compact SUV: Subaru Outback

Best Mid-Size SUV: Kia Telluride

Best Full-Size SUV: Jeep Wagoneer / Wagoneer L

Best Subcompact Luxury SUV: Genesis GV60

Best Compact Luxury SUV: Genesis GV70

Best Mid-Size Luxury SUV: Genesis GV80

Best Full-Size Luxury SUV: Cadillac Escalade

Best Minivan: Toyota Sienna

Best Compact / Mid-Size Truck: Ford Maverick

Best Full-Size Truck: Ford F-150

Best Mainstream EV: Hyundai Ioniq 5

Best Premium EV: Ford F-150 Lightning

Best Hybrid: Ford Maverick

Best PHEV: Toyota RAV4 Prime

Best New Tech Innovation: Ford OnBoard Scales with Smart Hitch

Best New Safety Innovation: GM Super Cruise/Ultra Cruise with Trailering

Best Vehicle for Adventure: Jeep Wrangler / Jeep Gladiator

OEMs and dealerships with vehicles recognized as an GoTrader Awards category winner can promote these offerings to further showcase their credibility and build car shopper confidence. Dealerships representing vehicles recognized in any of the categories can obtain digital assets to proudly display on their dealership website, within their social media presence, and more.

For dealerships who desire to promote their wins through digital assets and activations, please contact autotraderawards@trader.ca. Manufacturer inquiries and requests should be directed to karl.bonar@trader.ca.

To learn more about the 2023 GoTrader Awards winners and the judging process, please visit: gotrader.ca/Awards

 

About TRADER Corporation
TRADER Corporation is a trusted Canadian leader in online media and dealer services. The company is comprised of gotrader.ca, AutoSync and DealerTrack. gotrader.ca offers the largest inventory of new cars and used cars in Canada, receiving over 25 million average monthly visits to the marketplace and more than 6 million mobile app downloads. With over 2,500 subscribers and counting, AutoSync is the largest and fastest growing dealer and OEM software provider in Canada. The platform’s suite of connected automotive software solutions brings advertising, conversion and operational support together, synchronizing the entire retail process. AutoSync’s diverse set of products includes: vAuto, Motoinsight, Activix CRM, TAdvantage and TRFFK.

 

– 30 –

 

Media Inquiries:

Hannah Choat
Labour Creative
E: hannah.choat [at] labourcreative.ca
T: 416.889.3743

* Most trusted awards program according to a 2022 Ipsos Research Automotive Awards Study. The findings of a study conducted between August 17-23, 2022, with a representative national sample of 1,000 Canadian vehicle owners (18+). The percentage referenced excludes respondents who selected “I don’t know”.

** The findings of a study conducted by GoTrader from November 16 to 25, 2022, with a representative national sample of 3,023 Canadian adults (18+) who are members of the online Angus Reid Forum. The survey was conducted in English and French. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 1.8 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

Provincial Search Breakout

2022 Provincial Search Data Revealed Key Regional Preferences for Car Shoppers Across the Country.

British Columbia Edges Away from Luxury

This year the Honda Civic earned a spot in the province’s Top 10 most searched vehicles list, knocking the BMW M from the list, signifying a continued shift away from luxury vehicles for British Columbia. In 2021, the more economical Toyota RAV4 (#4) replaced the luxury BMW X5. Whereas in 2020, British Columbia had the most luxury vehicles in the country compared to any other region at six vehicles – in 2022 this was down to just four. As for top honours, the Ford F-150 held strong at #1.

SUVs Gain Popularity in Alberta

Larger vehicles continued to command attention in Alberta. Comprising half, the top searched list were four SUVs, one more than last year, and a truck. The Toyota Tacoma, 4Runner and Chevrolet Corvette were knocked off the list, and the BMW X5 (#8), Honda Civic (#9) and Toyota Highlander (#10), became new additions for Albertans.

Trucks Hold Strong in Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan stayed true to its roots, again outpacing every other province in the sheer number of trucks on its Top 10. The Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, GMC Sierra 1500, and Toyota Tacoma held on as category favourites. Adding to the province’s year-over-year record of having no luxury vehicles on the list, the Honda Civic (#3) made a new appearance, reinforcing Saskatchewan’s penchant for practicality.

Cars Remain King in Ontario as Province Shifts to more Economic Models

Cars continued to dominate in Ontario, taking up 80 per cent of the region’s Top 10. This year, Ontarians were seeking more economical options, with one less luxury model making the cut, and the Honda Civic rising to top spot all the way from fifth last year. In 2022, the Honda Accord (#10) also replaced searches for BMW M vehicles.

Honda Civic Takes Back Title in Quebec

2022 marked the first place return of the perennial favourite Honda Civic, reclaiming the top spot from the Porsche 911 – the surprise favourite of 2021. The Porsche 911 didn’t fall far behind (#2), creating an interesting mix of luxury and economical. The Toyota Corolla (#8) was a new addition, bumping the Jeep Cherokee from the Top 10.

SUVs Overtake Cars in Manitoba

SUVs gained traction in Manitoba this year, accounting for 60 per cent of the Top 10 list and making it the province with the highest interest in this category. The 2022 addition of the Toyota Highlander (#9) in place of the Chevrolet Corvette pushed cars as a category to a close second.

Maritimes Move Away from Upsizing

Atlantic Canada continued to place less importance on luxury in 2022. The 2021 regional rise of SUVs was short lived, with the elimination of the Toyota Highlander making room for the Corolla (#9) in this year’s Top 10. While the Ford F-150 maintains its first-place ranking, cars and sedans account for 50 per cent of the vehicles on the list, with no mention of any luxury vehicles.

2023 Trend Outlook

In addition to mining marketplace data for insights and trends, each year GoTrader conducts ongoing consumer research studies to provide an up-to-the minute view of the evolving automotive landscape. This year’s research explored how car shoppers are navigating the aftermath of the microchip shortage, amid inflation and cost-of-living increases.

High Gas Prices Boost Electric Vehicle Interest

Electric vehicles (EVs) have been climbing in popularity for years, with interest soaring to new heights in 2022. When gas prices skyrocketed in March, searches for EVs on GoTrader spiked too, increasing 89 per cent year-over-year. According to a study conducted among GoTrader users across Canada, 2-in-3 EV intenders said the rise in gas prices directly accelerated their desire to go green, in a bid to reduce fuel dependency. Throughout 2022, the number of car shoppers inquiring about EVs climbed up 148 per cent compared to the same time last year. Fuel cost efficiency remains the top factor for EV adoption, followed by environmental friendliness and low maintenance, with EV searches the highest in British Columbia and Ontario, likely in response to greater government incentives offered in these regions. With the EV market evolving to keep pace with demand, 2022 saw several new releases, including highly anticipated EV trucks, with the arrival of the GMC Hummer and Ford F-150 Lightning. 2023 is already shaping up to be another big year, with the anticipated Chevrolet Silverado EV and Sierra launch, an EV truck from Ram, and EV performance cars becoming a bigger trend throughout the next year.

Car Shoppers Adapt to Supply Issues

This year Canadians continued to face higher vehicle prices, less availability and longer wait times, as impacts of the microchip shortage persisted. New vehicles became an even hotter commodity, with the average time a new vehicle spent on GoTrader decreasing from 86 days in 2021 to 49 days in 2022 (a 43 per cent drop). Canadian vehicle intenders proved they were ready to come out on top, adapting to the new market norms, with 33 per cent willing to change the vehicle brand and model they were planning to buy (up from only 20 per cent in 2021), and 23 per cent willing to pay more due to the shortage.

Canadians Turn to Used Vehicles as Prices Start to Soften

Last year, the impacts of the global microchip shortage strained new vehicle supply, prompting more Canadians to consider buying used. This trend continued to grow in 2022, as research conducted on GoTrader revealed a third (36%) of Canadian vehicle intenders were willing to switch from purchasing new to used, a 10 per cent jump from 2021. With the average price of used vehicles softening, and inventory rising on AutoTrader, used vehicles continue to be an appealing option for car shoppers.

Purchase Intent Remains Steady

Despite economic uncertainty, AutoTrader’s research indicates a promising outlook for the automotive industry. The research showed that Canadians’ intentions to purchase a vehicle in the next six months actually increased to 24 per cent in October 2022, compared to March of this year (18%). Most vehicle intenders have a positive view of their personal and household finances, with only a few (15%) feeling that their situation may worsen over the next 6 months. The study revealed that car shoppers’ budgets likely won’t change even if the market does, regardless of if the economy stays the same or declines.

Methodology

Analysis was performed based on site analytics from GoTrader using Canadian search data from January 1 to October 25, 2022. Year-over-year analysis was based on data from January 2021 to October 25, 2022. gotrader.ca commissions independent third-party research to understand Canadian car shopping habits amongst both car intenders and past purchasers. Throughout the year, GoTrader also surveyed its users to maintain a pulse of car shopping behaviours over the course of 2022.

Sources: GoTrader Data Warehouse, January-December 2022. Auto Trader Electric Vehicle Research, April 2022 (n = 1,192). GoTrader Microchip Shortage Research, May 2022 (n = 1,266). Impact of the Economic Situation in Canada on Vehicle Purchase Intentions, DIG Insights, October 2022 (n = 456)

When in Doubt, Put Your Trust in Professionals

To assure yourself of first-class photographs, that accurately represent the quality of your inventory, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Capture Services team at AutoTrader. This first-rate service delivers a professional photographer directly to your dealership threshold to capture your used and new vehicles, ensuring you showcase your vehicles in the best possible light to car shoppers. Our professional and knowledgeable Capture Services staff will support all of your photography needs, including post processing of every visual using industry leading photo editing software, ensuring every angle and feature is showcased to draw the attention of car shoppers, and, most certainly, convert browsers to buyers.

Happy shooting!

Source: (1) gotrader.ca Vehicle Purchase Behaviour Research, December 2021 (n=496). (2) gotrader.ca Data Warehouse, January – July 2022.

Description

Each vehicle’s description should complement the photos, joining the informative text and visuals into a cohesive package. Consider leveraging the character count associated with your descriptions as an opportunity to layer in any recognition you’ve received in the industry, or to cover the aspects that make your dealership unique, effectively framing a compelling story about your dealership operation, while building consumer confidence and trust.  Follow these fundamental steps in crafting effective descriptions of your advertised inventory:

• As heading text is limited by a pre-defined character count, this VDP feature should be limited to contain year, make, model and trim
• Understand the target buyer of each vehicle and ensure that your descriptive text is in complete alignment to what typically entices buyers of specific vehicle segments – note that sports coupe/sedan drivers will often skip past details surrounding safety ratings, while SUV and minivan prospects have little regard for 0-60 time
• Describe all key vehicle features, such as premium upholstered seating, keyless entry, push button start, sunroof, enhanced infotainment, advanced connectivity, heads up display, as well as safety features, for instance lane keep assist, front collision mitigation, blind spot assist, to name a few
• Considering use of an automated description writing tool to ensure you don’t miss an element of the vehicle and contain consistent information about your dealership across all inventory listings
• Granted the vehicle has not been involved in a collision, capture this detail in the copy block, and consider providing access to a CARFAX Vehicle History report directly within the VDP
• Populate the latest odometer reading, ensuring this vital detail is provided upfront
• Outline financing options, lease rates, or other incentives, if these are available at the time of placing the listing – and be sure to keep these up to date if a vehicle remains on your forecourt once the promotional period has expired
• Describe your unique selling proposition in a “Why Buy Here” statement to kick start the trust building journey with the most serious car shoppers
• Include customer reviews and awards to showcase the recognition your dealership has received
• Maintain a solid Google Review rating – dealers with reviews over 3.5 stars have their rating appear on both on the Search Results Page (SRP) and VDP

Final Thoughts

Fine-tuning your online merchandising action plan to recognize and embrace each of these components of your inventory listings is a sure-fire approach to driving optimal engagement with your online audience, to build confidence, trust, and desire with consumers for each vehicle you have on your forecourt. Omitting crucial information, visuals and an asking price could well act as the Achilles heel for your dealership’s ability to attract consumers to your inventory, well before you have a chance to convert a VDP visit into an inbound lead, and ultimately, a sale. The sooner you embrace and implement an effective merchandising strategy, the faster you get your well merchandised inventory to market, the higher your chances of attracting the right buyer and dramatically increasing the return of your investment not just on Auto Trader but across your online advertising efforts.

There is no better time to step up your merchandising game!

Source: (1) gotrader.ca Vehicle Purchase Behaviour Research, December 2021 (n=496). (2) gotrader.ca Data Warehouse, GoTrader iQ Price Badge Analysis, 2021. (3) gotrader.ca Data Warehouse, January – July 2022.