In the old days, buying Auto Trader was a highlight of the week for MotorMartin. It was an adventure into the mysterious world of the used car buying game. There was always that chance that a 2.0 Laser Capri would turn up locally. The elusive low mileage, minter was out there somewhere. As time and the World moved on, the paper copies of Auto Trader fell in popularity whilst the the popularity and accessibility of the internet became commonplace. It was inevitable really that consumers would embrace the internet and the way in which its use allowed the used car market to opened up significantly. Suddenly you could access used cars from all over the globe. Amazing! Auto Trader needed to change if it were to remain relevant in this increasingly digitised market place and change it did. June 2013 saw the final print edition of Auto Trader before the presses fell silent and the Trader became 100% digital.
MotorMartin is now able to share with you the results of Auto Trader’s latest annual survey into the buying habits of the used car consumer in 2015. It comes as no surprise to be able to report that the BMW 3 Series was the most searched for car in the UK last year, according to Auto Trader – which, according to themselves, is now the UK’s largest online marketplace for new and used cars.
Closely followed by the Volkswagen Golf, UK car buyers searched for the BMW 3 Series more than any other car in 2015. Car buyers have long recognised the 3 Series’ many good points as, over time, the BMW has evolved into an extremely well rounded performer that is popular amongst a wide range of driver. The BMW 3 Series also topped most regional tables across the UK, including London and Manchester.
With an average of 43 million cross-platform visits each month to the marketplace, Auto Trader’s most searched list gives a clear insight into the UK’s appetite for new and used cars, with 2015 showing significant demand for premium car brands.
Auto Trader Editor in Chief, Jon Quirk, taking time out to explain the survey and results to MotorMartin, said “As we’ve seen previous years, the BMW 3 series has proven it is the undisputed king of the compact executive class, but it’s also interesting to see how dominant the premium car brands have been in both our national and regional searches. New car sales remain in strong health, supported by the availability of cheap finance via personal contract purchase (PCP), and this has allowed consumers to research and subsequently buy these more expensive, upmarket cars.”
Thanks to OptionAutoNews for the following video of BMW’s original promotional video from 2012.
Auto Trader’s top ten most searched for cars in 2015
1 BMW 3 SERIES
2 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF
3 FORD FOCUS
4 BMW 5 SERIES
5 MERCEDES-BENZ C CLASS
6 FORD FIESTA
7 AUDI A3
8 BMW 1 SERIES
9 MERCEDES-BENZ E CLASS
10 VAUXHALL ASTRA
Auto Trader have provided an interesting insight into the used car buying trends of 2015 with their annual survey and one can imagine that BMW are extremely happy to have featured twice more in the top 10 as well as winning. MotorMartin is pleased to see perennial favourites, the Focus, Fiesta and Astra, featuring as they can be seen as representing the ‘real life’ motoring aspects of the survey for a large section of Auto Trader’s readership.
Are there any real surprises? What would you like to have seen? Surveys of this nature are always interesting to read and MotorMartin applauds Auto Trader for taking the time to collate these results.
Where will you go?