eBay Motors Group rebrands as Motors

The new owners of the dealer-facing eBay Motors Group and consumer-facing Motors.co.uk brands have come together as Motors. 

The rebrand is part of the ongoing investment in the dealer advertising business following its acquisition from eBay in 2021 by O3 Industries and Novum Capital. 

Chief executive Barry Judge, said: “The market for buying and selling cars has fundamentally shifted, so it is time to rethink how advertising platforms best support their consumer and trade audiences. Rebranding our operations as Motor provides an opportunity for us to drive the business forward and expand our role as a key partner for car retailers across the UK. 

“The last two years have seen considerable change across the business with new ownership and increased investment. What has never changed is our focus on helping dealers reach in-market car buyers cost effectively. By aligning under the Motors brand, we are doubling down on our commitment to growing as both a consumer site and as an industry partner.  

“We know from our latest digital touchpoints survey that buyers are visiting more websites than ever before, currently averaging 4.2 compared to 3.5 in June 2021, which is why it is important for us to continue to provide retailers with a single access point to multisite advertising through our partnerships with eBay and Gumtree. This ensures we reach audiences at scale to fulfil our commitment to deliver cost-effective vehicle advertising. 

“The Motors advertising proposition reaches consumers at various stages of the car buying cycle, delivering high quality sales enquiries and compelling market intelligence to help dealers succeed.  

“Financially stretched car buyers are more anxious today about making the right decision around fuel types, makes, models and retailers; as a business we recognise it can be an overwhelming landscape to navigate. With Motors being one of the UK’s largest destinations for car buyers, we will be doing more to cut through the chaos by giving buyers everything they need and nothing they don’t,” said Judge. 

Daniel Ozen, president of O3 Industries, said: “We are incredibly proud of the important role that our advertising platform plays for car dealers. We believe that by investing further in the Motors business, we will be able to significantly grow the value we deliver to dealers. Our philosophy is simple, we believe that we will be successful if we help our dealers be successful in their day-to-day business. 

“Under our ownership, we have invested heavily in people, technology and marketing. We intend to continue this investment to unlock the full potential of Motors for car buyers and our dealer partners.” 

Motors said it will make further announcements over the coming of weeks of major investments to support this new strategy. The business will continue to offer dealers access to multisite advertising across eBay and Gumtree, with no immediate changes to their advertising packages. An all-new Motors mobile app will follow in early 2024.