Allcars.com, the internet stock locator launched in the UK last April, plans to invest £5m in a promotional campaign over the next 12 months to raise its profile with dealers and customers.

The company has also announced plans to move aggressively across Europe and into South America and Australia. Nigel Frith, Allcars sales and business development general manager, said: “At present, site traffic is good but through our national advertising campaign, we aim to be the most-visited used car locator.”

Allcars has links to its site from a number of dealer management system providers, including Kerridge. Later this year, the company will seek further capital to finance its international expansion plans.

The website, which has received around 3m hits, automatically links stock from a dealer's management system onto the site.

There is no subscription fee but dealers pay an amount based on the number of customers who visit each ad: £80 a month for up to 1,000 visits, a further £70 for up to 2,000 visits and £60 thereafter.

There is no cost for dealers until visits to their ad are indicated.

More than 2,000 franchised and non-franchised dealers have signed up to the system and Nigel Frith anticipates another 1,000 dealers will join over the next 12 months.