The auto industry has endured tremendous changes over the past two years as the world continues to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, for many dealers, 2021 was a year of recovery, profitability, and hope. And at CarGurus, we also accomplished a lot in 2021, and we’re excited about the future of our industry and our continued commitment to supporting you and your business.
We took a moment to reflect on the year—here are some of the defining highlights.
We unified CarGurus and PistonHeads dealer product offerings to amplify your audience reach
“Using CarGurus and PistonHeads we reach a wider customer base and improve our sales performance.”– Mark Hollingworth, Sales Manager, Redrose Cars
We kicked off the year by unifying our CarGurus and PistonHeads dealer product offerings, giving customers on either platform access to both as part of a single business relationship. The advantage for dealers has been audience reach: getting listed on both sites gives dealers the chance to show their stock to significantly more buyers.
We announced new features and product enhancements with you in mind
“As CarGurus has evolved, I think we’ve evolved with them. We’ve gone along on the journey with them, and I think that’s why it’s worked so well…They have a very dynamic marketplace.” – Darren Ardron, Group Managing Director, Perrys
You asked for new features and product updates—and we delivered! Here are a few highlights:
- Dealer Dashboard Lead Report enhancements made it easier to view and manage your CarGurus lead details all on one page and filter leads by priority
- We added Facebook Messenger’s chat platform to VDPs as an option for the Managed Text & Chat shopper experience
- “Home Delivery” badges were added to all Area Boost listings to increase buyer discoverability of these vehicles
- A “New: Just added” badge displays on paying dealers’ new inventory to help drive buyer engagement
- The new SRP “How to shop” filter has been added to improve the customer shopping experience
Have a feature request? We’re always listening to our dealer partners. Get in touch with your account manager to let us know.
We invested in the growth of our brand with an exciting new TV campaign
To help drive more leads and sales to your dealership, we launched a new TV ad campaign called “Consumer Confidence.” The two spots highlight the transparent car-buying experience CarGurus provides, aiming to reinforce the benefits of buying on our site to consumers. They will continue to air through the end of the year with the aim of building awareness and expanding CarGurus’ consumer audience in the UK.
We honoured our inaugural class of Top Rated Dealer Gold Award winners
“We’re overwhelmed to be a CarGurus 2021 Top Rated Dealer. That shows that the customers trust us, which I think is a really important thing in this business.” – Mark Hollingworth, Sales Manager, Redrose Cars
In addition to recognising the winners of the 5th annual Top Rated Dealer Awards, which celebrate an exclusive group of dealerships with the highest average ratings from CarGurus buyers, we also congratulated our inaugural Gold Award winners. This elite group of dealers earned Top Rated Dealer status for five consecutive years and is among the best in the industry when it comes to customer satisfaction.
Learn more about the annual award here.
We launched valuable resources to help you drive success
We dug into our data, surveyed buyers across the country, had conversations with our dealer partners, and created valuable resources to help you navigate the evolving landscape. These were some of your favourites:
- Vehicle Availability Index & Insights Report
- COVID-19 Sentiment Study
- 2021 Buyer Insight Report
- Partner focus with Perrys
Looking ahead to 2022
Building on the success of 2021 and our commitment to the UK market and our customers, we have big plans for 2022. Here’s what you can expect in the new year:
- We’ll bring more products to market.
- We’ll continue to scale our website traffic and audience, increasing the visibility of our partners and their vehicles.
- We’ll build on our commitment to developing a transparent and trustworthy digital destination where dealers can reach the right shoppers and sell with confidence.
Ready for 2022? Reach out to your account manager today and make sure your dealership is set up for success.