Traction Jan-June 2022 3 Issue 1 Issue 3Issue 2 Issue 4 Issue 5 Issue 6 Issue 7 Issue 8
Traction Jan-June 2022 5 Contents From the Top 6 From the Editor 8 Meet the flippers - Ken 10 Autotrader Group dealer stats 12 Getting the boomers to bite 16 Redefining top of the range - boomer buying behaviours 18 Saxon - driving the dealer marketplace 22 EV - behind the scenes 24 Introducing Jodie Smith, Head of Partnerships 28 Meet the flippers - Marcus 30 Walk-ins: The holy grail 33 CarsGuide Media and Gumtree Media insights 34 CarsGuide Labs 3D showcase 37 Autotrader group presents Ian Moss 42 Impactful marketing - Automotive Dealer Association Convention 44 Reach data 46 Meet Tim Nicholson 48 CarsGuide Media Q1 consumer pulse 49 EV Guide report 2022 53 YouTube snapshot 60 CarsGuide reviews 62 CarsGuide news 63 Most searched 64 Ranking by bodystyle 65 Major launches 66 Contact us 67
Earlier in the year we released our first EV Guide Report, a ‘one-stop snapshot’ of electric vehicles in Australia along with consumer research. It’s been referenced 167 times across key media. You’ll find both reports within, alongside a behind-thescenes look into a CarsGuide EV comparison test. We also bring you interviews with two recent key hires: Jodie Smith as Head of Partnerships for Automotive, and Saxon Odgers as Head of Dealer Marketplaces. I’m extremely excited about the impact these two have made already and will continue to make in the Motors section of our business.
*Nielsen Digital Content Ratings (Monthly) Tagged, September 2020 - June 2022. Text, P18+, PC, Smartphones & Tablets, Unique Audience
A focus on in-market buyers continues to pay dividends for the CarsGuide editorial team who remain Australia’s leading online automotive editorial content * source for 22 months in a row, a staggering achievement. We continued to invest throughout this half in marketing, new products, and people. And we find ourselves primed to better support automotive marketers across the industry in the second half of the year.
I’m sure you’ll find these insights and content of value.
Welcome to the ‘Boomer’ edition of Traction featuring our latest research on Boomers amongst a treasure trove of insights into the automotive industry. Why Boomers?
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This edition features two stories from our Gumtree ‘meet the flippers’ series, part of our social media program. It shines a light on two individuals using Gumtree in progressive ways - finding and converting vintage cars to EVs and converting vans into campervans. Make sure you’re following Gumtree on Instagram for many more inspiring stories like these.
Cheers, Mark ManagingKehoeDirector
From the Top
Well, Boomers as a demographic represent 25 per cent of our population, yet have 46 per cent of the nation’s disposable income and 50 per cent of its private wealth. Incredibly, however, they are often left off the marketing brief. We have some key data which may change the way you think about this lucrative audience segment. Best of all, we over-index in volume of Boomers in comparison to competitors* We continue to drive thought leadership in the EV space.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time attending the recent AADA Convention in Brisbane. It’s always good to rub shoulders with colleagues from the industry and share insights. We were grateful for the opportunity to present a panel of experts discussing marketing tactics hosted by our own Chief Marketing Officer Manisha Seewal; we’ve turned this into a highlights article within if you didn’t get the chance to get be there. I particularly enjoyed hosting dealers and industry colleagues at our exclusive Ian Moss event.
CarsGuide. Australia’s leading automotive editorial website 22 months in a row* . Nielsen Digital Content Ratings (Monthly) Tagged, September 2020 - June 2022. Text, P18+, PC, Smartphones & Tablets, Unique Audience
The clearest indicator of this is CarsGuide’s retention of our position as Australia’s leading online source* for automotive editorial for the past 22 months. So we’ve beaten COVID, and continue to win.
Unique
Our research department has also supplemented CarsGuide audience data with consumer research relating to EV adoption. The ‘EV Pulse Check’ report highlights that sustainability and the rising cost of living are two key drivers for Australians considering electric vehicles, with 70 per cent of new car intenders having a higher level of interest in an electric vehicle than they did five years ago. More broadly, our research department has also validated CarsGuide’s in-market buyer audience targeting via the Boomer research Mark mentioned on page 18. I was very pleased to see that we outperform our competitors in volume of Boomer traffic, given the large proportions of Australia’s disposable income and private wealth this generation Andrepresents.finally, we continue to invest in our team and recognise specific talents. Recent key examples are the promotion of Justin Hilliard to the new role of Senior Content Manager, and Tim Nicholson has now been brought in-house for the role of Senior Editor, having joined CarsGuide as a contributor in late As2021.always, our success would not be possible without the ongoing support of our OEM partners. Thank you, from the whole CarsGuide team.
Malcolm Flynn Editor, CarsGuide P18+, PC, Smartphones & Tablets, Audience
From the Editor
One investment that’s paying off particularly well is EVGuide, with traffic to the new energy vehicle-focused site section up a further 480 per cent year-on-year. The recent hike in petrol prices has been a particular driver here, but with over 90 (and counting) advice pieces relating to hybrids, EVs and electrification in general, there’s a fair chance we’ll have the answer to any question consumers are asking. You’ve probably also spotted EVGuide lead, Tom White, popping up in all sorts of places around the broader media landscape, talking about CarsGuide’s inaugural EVGuide Report. Tom put together the EVGuide Report as an adjunct to EVGuide, and represents an 18-page one-stop snapshot of all things relating to hybrid, electric and hydrogen cars in Australia, and how consumers might be able to live with them right now. If you’re in the market, it’s essential reading.
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Nielsen Digital Content Ratings (Monthly) Tagged, September 2020 - March 2022. Text,
And, we’re back! After the most challenging two years in our history, CarsGuide is embracing the ‘new normal’ with verve. We’re back on planes, we’re travelling the world, pounding the pavement and back on track with freedom to continue serving Australian car buyers the best editorial content in the land. You’ll find plenty of examples and insights littered throughout this issue. I’m proud to say it’s how we handled those challenging times that set us up well to embrace this promising future.
TRADIE GUIDE PLAYLIST Working Class Man - Jimmy Barnes Great Southern Land - Icehouse Khe Sanh - Cold Chisel Smoko - The Chats Friday on My Mind - The Easybeats
of Meet the Flippers, Ken shows us his 1979 40 Series LandCruiser, which he bought on Gumtree.
Ken also sourced a lot of the parts from Gumtree, and the parts he didn’t need he sold on there, too. All of his conversions he’ll be selling on Gumtree.
experience!*Youtube Search Data: Dec 2020 - Nov 2021 Click here to view
Meet Ken Macken, a car enthusiast, engineer, mechanic, award-winning inventor, and a ‘flipper’ based in Noosa who electrifies classic cars from the past for a greener future.
Converting classic cars to electric vehicles is a passion project booming in popularity.
The full Gumtree
EVs are a trending subject area with 320% YoY* growth for the search term “convert petrol car to electric”. This is likely due to increasing global sustainability efforts and the demand for electric vehicles with lower emissions than conventional Invehicles.thisepisode
NUMBER OF DEALERS ON OUR PLATFORMS Autotrader Group dealers 1,616 Gumtree cars dealers 526 dealersAutotrader544 Data: June 2022
* Nielsen Digital Content Planning, Dec 2021 - May 2022, P2+, Digital (C/M), Text, Gumtree Cars, Autotrader, CarsGuide, Total De-Duplicated Unique Audience = 3.3 million UA average per month.
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Getting the Boomers to bite: How to attract Australia’s true big spenders
Shannon Fitzpatrick, Director of Commercial Partnerships at Gumtree Australia, CarsGuide, Autotrader
CarsGuide Media’s research report ‘Redefining Top of the Range: The car buying behaviours of the Boomer Generation’ offers a deep dive into methods for engaging this financially flush customer base. The report explains that Boomers typically “hate” the type of advertising that generally targets them and shows that social media is absolutely not the right channel for their automotive marketing efforts.
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Under five per cent of advertising in Australia features a person over the age of 55. Yet it is this demographic, the “Boomers”, that command 50 per cent of the country’s private Whywealth.then are Boomers (specifically 55 to 75-year-olds*) not front and centre of marketers’ minds? This is an age group that holds almost half (46%) of Australia’s disposable income. They are ready, willing, and able to buy cars. And we should all be ready and willing to sell to them.
Getting On Board with The Boomers
Advertising to Boomers therefore needs to respect their status in society, their significant existing knowledge, and their purchasing power. This is not a group to be trifled with! Boomers need value-add and plenty of it. They are influenced by trustworthy, expert content, for example product reviews by impartial third-party media. More than 80 per cent of Boomer respondents to the CarsGuide Media research have visited a review website like CarsGuide when finalising their new car decision-making. So what sets this demographic apart? For one, this desire for expert advice and reviews - high-quality content addressing their queries and concerns with exceptional editorial standards. But there’s also their general disinterest in social media and therefore the relative weakness of these platforms as marketing channels.
Who are the Boomers?
*For the purpose of this research report, Boomers are defined as those aged between 55-75 years of age. Comparisons were made to Generation X, defined in this report as those aged 35-54 years of age. Boomers are immediately turned off by advertising that patronises or makes false assumptions about their age.
‘Redefining Top of the Range: The car buying behaviours of the Boomer Generation’ is a major study led by CarsGuide in collaboration with FF2, to survey 1000 new car buyers and intenders (620 people aged 55-75 years of age and 380 people aged 35-54 years of age) in Australia. In-depth interviews were also conducted with nine individuals aged 55-75 years of age.
Boomers feel overlooked and misunderstood by traditional advertising. How do I know? My own parents tell me so! It’s not just anecdotal, of course. In the CarsGuide Media research only nine per cent of Boomer respondents said they’d discovered a brand via advertising in traditional media. Boomers are immediately turned off by advertising that patronises or makes false assumptions about their age. By and large these are not people with one foot in the grave, despite what funeral insurance and retirement home marketing tries to sell them! These are independent and active members of the community. They are working, playing, enjoying life, and looking for ways to spend their hard-earned money.
About the Research
Here at CarsGuide we understand the true value of Boomers as vehicle buyers and we put real effort into creating content that will engage them and fulfil their needs. Boomers make up 34 per cent of the CarsGuide audience and we work hard to make them feel ‘at home’ in our world. Not only does our AdventureGuide cater to their active lifestyles, but our video content offers a trusted and engaging platform for their prepurchase research. An example of this targeted content is the 4WD School for the Ford Everest featuring Bruce McMahon, a well-known Boomer himself with many years of experience. It’s a great example of the kind of engaging, useful content that Boomers appreciate, via a channel they know and trust. It’s an important combination when looking to win over this lucrative demographic.
While marketers often obsess over social media and shirk traditional advertising efforts, it’s Boomers who outspend Millenials in almost all leisure categories. This is a customer segment long-neglected but with enormous potential. They’re a confident bunch, too. The CarsGuide report demonstrates that with a huge per cent of Boomers calling themselves “confident” about purchasing a new car. Similarly, a significant 44 per cent of Boomers believe they have “strong knowledge” of cars on the market. This confidence translates into snappy sales. One in five Boomer buyers says they take under a month to make a new car purchase. Their buying power extends further than their singular purchase, too. As parents and grandparents Boomers have influence over and financially assist two in every five first-time car buyers. They truly are the consumer gift that keeps on giving. Not to mention their preference for cash purchases - 86 per cent of them pay upfront when buying a new car.
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Jan-June 2022 18Redefining Top of the Range The car buying behaviours of the Boomer Generation aged 55-75 yrs. Click here to view the full report
A new age opportunity Australians aged between 55 and 75 are a much misunderstood group, seemingly invisible to marketers obsessed with targeting Millennials and Generation X. However, the assumptions that underpin such strategies are hard to justify when you examine the spending habits, disposable income, lifestyle patterns and attitudes of what is a powerful and influential demographic. In this major study:
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A third are already planning their next road trip, as extended holidays, weekends away and leisure pursuits become possible. Boomers remember the unreliable, second hand cars they put up with when a new model was out of their reach. Now they can afford to push the boat out and reward themselves for all their years’ of hard work.
New adventures, new horizons
Baby Boomers have big plans for their new Duringcars. their retirement, they’ll be driving more kilometres than before, not fewer. As empty nesters, they have more freedom and more disposable cash and they’re going to make the most of it.
*For the purpose of this research report, Boomers are defined as those aged between 55-75 years of age. Comparisons were made to Generation X, defined in this report as those aged 35-54 years of age.
UA people
The Boomer research was conducted by Jerry Berowne of FF2, on behalf of CarsGuide / Autotrader. FF2 is a strategic research consultancy. Redefining Top of the Range: The car buying behaviours of the Boomer Generation’ is a major study led by CarsGuide in collaboration with FF2, to survey 1,000 new car buyers and intenders (620 people aged 55-75 years of age and 380 people aged 35-54 years of age) in Australia. In-depth interviews were also conducted with nine individuals aged 55-75 years of age.
| **Nielsen
Source: *Nielsen Digital Media Ratings, Monthly Tagged, Jan-Dec 2021 monthly average, P55+, Digital C/M, Text, CarsGuide, CarsGuide Editorial, Gumtree, Autotrader, Carsales Editorial, Drive, CarAdvice, Which Car, Unique Audience Digital Content Planning, Jan-Dec 2021 monthly average, P55+, Digital C/M, Text, CRU - CarsGuide, Gumtree & Autotrader, Total Deduplicated Unique Audience
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*Nielsen Digital Media Ratings, Monthly Tagged, Jan-Dec 2021 monthly average, P55+, Digital C/M, Text, CarsGuide, CarsGuide Editorial, Gumtree, Autotrader, Carsales Editorial, Drive, CarAdvice, Which Car, Unique Audience.
JC: Welcome Saxon. Give us some detail on your background. I believe working with cars is no coincidence?
SO: The three verticals - CarsGuide, Gumtree Cars, and Autotrader - coming together to form one offering for our dealership partners; there’s a lot of power in that, and it led me to making the jump. I haven’t looked back since.
SO: No, no coincidence. The automotive industry goes deep within my family, which has owned and operated various brands and dealerships in Australia for 102 years. Coming out of school, and having a passion for cars growing up, it made sense for me to go into the industry. I spent my childhood days around Rockdale Nissan, which was a dealership my family owned. I fell in love with cars and the industry. Then, when I completed Year 12, I got an opportunity to run the online department for one of Australia’s largest Toyota dealerships, Sydney City Toyota and Lexus in Waterloo, where I gained a lot of experience. I was working pretty hard; an eleven-day fortnight 8 am to 6:30 pm, which built the foundations of a good work ethic. It also enabled me to learn the ins and outs of the dealership from a marketing, operational, and sales perspective, and that gave me the passion and experience to continue with a career in the industry.
Saxon - driving the dealer marketplace
I was there at the cusp of digital adoption and online integration within car dealerships. Using computers, handling online inquiries, and having a digital presence was all quite new back in 2009.
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I also strive to maintain the core elements of my experience and get out to visit as many customers as possible, whether they’re here in New South Wales, Western Australia, Victoria,
JC: What attracted you to Gumtree Cars Guide Autotrader?
Having this experience furthered my interest in the digital and online components of car sales. I earned an opportunity to join Carsales at a young age, where I spent nine years in various roles, from account management, sales management, Head of Sales for NSW and ACT, as well as media implementation and management within the business. This all led me to take up this opportunity at Gumtree CarsGuide Autotrader.
JC: As you mentioned, you’re Head of Dealer Marketplace. What’s your primary focus day-to-day? SO: My focus is to ensure my team is supported, to ensure our strategy is strong, and that our go-to-market collateral is in line with our customers’ expectations. But, most importantly, to make sure our dealers feel supported, engaged and are getting a return on their investment . It is imperative that we drive consistency when it comes to visitation and articulating our value, while also providing exceptional customer service from our team, whether that be over the phone or in person.
With a family connection to dealerships that goes back generations and a love for cars that courses through his veins, Saxon Odgers was destined to make his mark within the automotive industry.
Autotrader Group provides the Australian car dealer network with a unique advertising platform, where they can generate exposure for their inventory, as well as market their dealerships to consumers throughout all stages of the digital journey. There is an opportunity for a stronger competitor in the market. The three brands align to form one offering which ties in all audiences from editorial, dealer and private inventory, and dealership branding, and is a force to be reckoned with. I was aligned to Autotrader Group’s business goals, Motors growth strategy, and key objectives. From a sales strategy, dealer relationship, and automotive marketing perspective, my experience was a natural fit for Autotrader Group.
Now, as the Head of Dealer Marketplace for Gumtree CarsGuide Autotrader, Saxon sat down with CarsGuide Deputy Editor James Cleary, to discuss his vast experience, strategic goals, and how he lets off steam.
JC: What about downtime away from work, with family and friends? Do you have time for hobbies? SO: The gym, boxing, and spending time with my partner and dog. I love eating out in nice restaurants and heading to a bar or nightclub every now and then. I am also a big fan of UFC which I enjoy watching on a Sunday. My family also has a holiday house on the New South Wales south coast at Mollymook Beach, where I head every couple of months for a weekend, to switch off and enjoy the beach and surf.
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JC: How about hidden talents people may not be expecting? SO: Not sure if it’s a hidden talent, but I’ve never shied away from an opportunity to talk in front of a crowd. Public speaking at weddings, birthdays, conferences, etc. I love the opportunity to speak.
JC: You touched on the regional teams. How does that work for Autotrader Group clients?
SO: We have personnel represented in each market across Australia. They have clear objectives and responsibilities on ensuring the serviceability of our customers. We just hit a 12-month milestone since the launch of Autotrader Group, which is fantastic. The combined offering launched in May 2021. Our goal is to ensure our dealers are getting return on their investment. We pride ourselves on driving performance through conversation and reporting. As a collective, we take a partnership approach to our customers and dealers. Having strong relationships is an important part to our strategy, and all our staff have extensive experience within the automotive industry in Australia - there is a genuine love for the industry nationally. Furthermore, we ensure our new customers are receiving a first-class experience. We’ve got a lot of new customers to get on board in the next twelve months and we feel that we will have a strong position in the market to become the number one automotive classified business in Australia.
JC: What do you see as the biggest challenges and opportunities in automotive retail and for dealers over the next decade? SO: The automotive industry in Australia is volatile. It’s constantly evolving, it’s constantly changing. We have to pivot and ensure that we are keeping up with the latest Astrends.faras challenges and opportunities are concerned, the OEMs are starting to adopt the agency model, which is certainly a challenge for the industry, dealers, and advertising alike. It will have an impact on how dealers operate, and for Autotrader Group, used cars will become an even more important part to our strategy on supporting dealers. New car sales and the marketing strategy behind it will be more controlled by the OEMs as they strive for a more consistent approach to their dealership network to ensure the brand and pricing is protected.
SO: I won’t give too much away, but our strategic objectives, from a sales and operation perspective, as I mentioned, is to become the number one automotive classified player in HavingAustralia.CarsGuide, Autotrader, and Gumtree at our disposal creates a powerful offering. We are looking at areas where we can further develop that, and it comes down to value alignment in terms of product, and getting consumers in touch with dealers. We’re looking to innovate in various areas. Dealer finance is something we are looking into, as well as how we can provide dealers with stock, and how we can provide them with a competitive edge in the marketplace.
The market and dealership operating changes present dealers with an opportunity to control their destiny from a profitability, inventory, and market share perspective. Buy online and Digital retailing initiatives are making a lot of noise in the Australian market and it’s something Autotrader Group will evolve and adapt to, within the next three to five years. EV model availability and adoption is another area of change. Electric vehicles are seeing a 200 percent growth in Australia, and it’s something we, as a business, have to ensure we stay close to. With challenge comes opportunity, and as long as we adapt and adopt these new initiatives, while also building our business around supporting dealerships with the changes in the market we will remain a strong advertising proposition for dealers and a competitive alternative.
JC: Enough about the marketplace. Tell us about some of the cars that have found a place in your driveway.
SO: My first car wasn’t that desirable. It was a Nissan Pulsar, which was a trade-in at the dealership. It was just given to me and I was always taught that I had to earn a nice car. Over the years I saved hard and bought my first - what I thought was a nice car - a Lexus IS300. It was a great little car that I owned for a few years and it led me to purchase one of my dream cars, a BMW M340i, which I absolutely love. It’s black with black rims, so you won’t miss it on the road, but I’m very chuffed every morning I jump in it, to head into the office.
South Australia, Queensland, or down in Tassie. It’s important that I’m visible nationally. We are currently in the final stages of migrating existing customers onto the Autotrader Group platform, which is continuing to build momentum. We hope to have this completed by the end of the year.
JC: Further to that, what are your strategic goals? Is there anything you can share on future products or initiatives?
BehindtheEVscenes
The results highlighted some big surprises when it comes to range and efficiency for each driving condition, along with charging convenience and room for your family, child seats and luggage.
Jan-June 2022
26Is now the time to buy an EV? Can an EV work with my lifestyle?
Both questions are about as easy to answer as the length of a piece of string, but we took four of the latest and most significant new pure-electric models and put them through the rigorous CarsGuide comparison test process in April.
Our mission wasn’t necessarily to determine which model is best, but rather help the general consumer answer these questions for EVGuidethemselves.lead and CarsGuide new energy vehicle specialist Tom White commanded the test, which put the Hyundai Ioniq 5 up against the Kia EV6, Polestar 2 and BMW iX over hundreds of kilometres of highway and urban driving.
MF: How did you get your start and what drew you to the auto industry?
MF: So despite demonstrating the profit potential of the circular economy, what inspires you to keep learning and growing in your career?
MF: Fair call, and this drives loyalty, too. What did you learn from your time on the dealer side?
MF: Welcome back to CarsGuide then! What made you want to join the new-and-improved Gumtree CarsGuide Autotrader team?
Introducing Jodie Smith, Head of Partnerships for Automotive
CarsGuide Editor Malcolm Flynn sat down with Jodie during her first week in her new role.
JS: My first experience was actually on CarsGuide at News Limited looking after the classifieds business and the print section at a time when we published approximately 80 pages a week of Automotive classifieds, editorial and display. In roles since there’s always been an Auto element if not from a platform/brand perspective, working with OEMs in various sponsorships, campaigns and activations. I worked (with Mitsubishi as our Auto partners) to launch Family Feud with Ch10 and created a digital branded content series to extend Hyundai’s sponsorship of Grand Designs.
JS: A white 1985 Mazda 323 sedan, which I loved.
JS: The importance of delivering ROI, deep diving into analytics and identifying what’s driving results while trying to have clients working on longer-term planning when they are only as good as their last month.
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JS: To work with a challenger brand (No 2) in growth with a strong framework to deliver for our partners, along with a network approach, is exciting. The inclusive culture and the impressive backgrounds of the leadership team also appealed to me.
JS: I bought ski gear for my 3-year-old and sold last year’s ski gear that didn’t get used because of COVID (and made a profit, too).
MF: Wow, a rare species, even when new. Speaking of historic treasures, what was the last thing you bought or sold on Gumtree?
JS: Curiosity and interest in what’s next in our industry. I don’t read as much as I should, but I also keep up to date with industry news and key contacts to get a feel for how the market is performing.
MF: Jodie, let’s kick off with the most important stuff. What was your first car?
MF: And what’s the biggest opportunity in the media industry?
MF: Makes sense to me!
JS: There’s great opportunity for challenger brands with stock to get on consumers’ wishlists. There’s an even greater need for OEMs to find ways to keep consumers engaged with their brand while waiting for delivery of their vehicle, or likewise start communicating with them earlier in the purchase cycle.
MF: What’s the biggest challenge?
JS: First party data and being able to use it well, understanding your audience and how they are interacting with your own brand and our partners. CarsGuide Media is in a unique position versus our competitors, having the additional power of Gumtree in our network solution. The ability to work with our partners on early identification of changes in life stage and buying signals is extremely valuable.
MF: Tell me about right now. What role does the Head of Partnerships for Automotive play in our business? My role involves working closely with our agency and OEM partners to ensure we are delivering engaging, effective solutions across our network. The team works as a conduit between our experts within our business, including Editorial, Labs, Audience Engine and our Marketing teams to deliver the best results for our partners. This can be from creating high quality video content to data lead media solutions across CarsGuide, Autotrader and Gumtree and everything in between.
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MF: What do you see is the biggest opportunity in the automotive industry right now?
JS: In the short term it’s attracting and retaining talent. Everyone - both media owners and those on the agency side - face similar issues so it’s about how we identify and attract the right talent. Longer term there are many challenges but as a challenger brand I would like to think they are also our best opportunities to adapt, invest and make sure we are agile and can move ahead of the industry and our direct competitors.
What started as a passion project for Marcus has transformed into a full-time businessconverting campervans on a budget using Gumtree and renting them out for road trips.
Marcus sources each vehicle from Gumtree. He also uses Gumtree to source recycled timber, recycled hardwood, appliances, and materials for free or heavily discounted prices.
Click here to view
Every van and bus from Marcus’s fleet is equipped with the essentials and more, such as rain showers, kitchens, dining tables, 65L fridges, 110L water tanks, and hot water systems!
EXPERT GUIDE PLAYLIST ‘92 Subaru - Fountains Of Wayne Highway to Hell - AC/DC Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz - Lost Boyz White Walls - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Long May You Run - Neil Young
We know when receiving a pre-arranged visit how customers found the dealership, whether that is from a third-party website, online research, or direct advertising. But when it comes to walkins, what is it that encourages people to visit a forecourt unannounced?
Nicole Laidlaw is Head of Sales Victoria and Tasmania for Autotrader Group Research commissioned by Autotrader Group, independent consumer research agency, F22 Market Research, surveyed 1,000 Australians between 21 September – October 2021 via an online quantitative survey.
So what activity are buyers engaging in before they get to the highly critical stage of contacting or visiting a dealership?
Most consumers want dealerships to have more publicly available contact information
The report, entitled ‘Engage’, clearly shows that increasing the number of walk-ins should be a priority for every dealership. But achieving this has been a consistent challenge. After all, how do you accurately report on the volume of walk-ins when they are often difficult to report on?
Traditional methods of contact are preferred with visit (73 per cent), phone (38 per cent) and email (20 per cent) being the three preferred contact methods, the research showed, further drawing attention to the need for dealer contact information to be available to people on online trading platforms such as Autotrader as they browse listings for their next second-hand car.
By Nicole Laidlaw
Dealers should never underestimate the value of a walk-in and this small improvement in the information about the dealership could help unlock more walk-ins.
By contrast only 16 per cent of those surveyed preferred to leave details for the dealership to make initial contact.
Recent research commissioned by Autotrader Group shows that most consumers want dealerships to have more publicly-available contact information which affords them a level of anonymity and less hassling when on site.
Although extended lockdowns have impacted the car buying journey recently and led to some radical and rapid industry innovation, the Autotrader research shows that consumers still value visiting a dealership over any other method when it comes time to buy a new car.
It is thanks to this preference for making unannounced contact that respondents (65 per cent) also preferred to see the actual dealer location and contact information so that they could be in control of reaching out.
59 per cent of people surveyed stated that their first contact with the dealership from which they eventually bought their car was an unannounced visit in person.
This has been confirmed in the latest research report commissioned by Autotrader Group which showed that walk-ins had almost double the conversion rate (30 per cent) when compared to a pre-arranged visit (17 per cent)
Walk ins: The Holy Grail
One thing that doesn’t improve walk-ins is when contact details for a dealership are hidden behind data capture forms.
In fact, seven out of 10 respondents surveyed during the ‘Engage’ research preferred to drop in unannounced rather than give their contact information before visiting the dealership. This was due to consumers preferring to remain anonymous and enjoying the freedom to arrive at a dealership in their own time.
The use of internet research and car websites has also only increased thanks to the impact of COVID. The research showed that people are doing more online research ahead of contacting a dealership, making it crucial that dealers are listing their contact details where buyers are doing their research to encourage leads or, better yet, potential Thewalk-ins.research indicates that by advertising on sites that promote the location and contact details for a dealership, the dealers are putting themselves in a position to increase the potential number of unannounced visitors to their showrooms.
This industry is wedded to the metric of leads versus conversion rates. But there seems to be a clear preference amongst car retailing customer base that publicly available dealer information encourages walk-ins.
The fall of the Brand Loyalists
Contact jodie.smith@carsguide.com.au to learn more about what CarsGuide offers to attract or nurture in-market buyers.
The rise of the Brand Switchers
There is an untapped opportunity to target a new car Brand Switcher, with most anticipating a long wait. 1-in-3 29% are willing to wait for their desired car to become available likely to have to wait over 3 months for their new car delivery 45% likely to wait over 6 months
Source: CarsGuide 'Stock shortages and purchase triggers survey'. June 2022. N = 752.
() Gumtree carsguide Autotrader �
Brands suffering stock shortages are likely seeing a decline in interest. So, the biggest opportunity for brands is to target outside of their current customer base. Most intenders are open to new brands: Tap into the Brand Switcher don't want to learn about alternate brands that have stock availability
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Uncovering new car buying behav iour in the face of stock shortages carsguide media Stock shortages have triggered a shift in the way consumers are buying new cars.
Throughout the buyer journey as car buyers narrow down their preferred options: 1-in-2 53% of new car buyers say they'd consider another brand with stock available now If their first preference isn't available immediately: 1-in-3 29% of in-market new car buyers, will buy an alternate vehicle brand
Stock shortages have created new opportunities for brands
We surveyed over 750 CarsGuide visitors to understand the impacts and actions from in-market new car buyers. Stock shortages have plagued the new car industry for over two years, with seemingly no end in sight.
Long wait times mean big opportunities for those brands with stock availability.
The Spring Renewal 3-in-4 users surveyed (74%) will actively ‘Spring Clean’ their home this September to November, providing an immense opportunity for brands to connect with potential buyers at a time of transition.
We to over a thousand Gumtree users to help brands anticipate the evolving needs and desires of everyday households as they actively upcycle, uptrade buy new this Spring.
home
home or outdoor entertainment equipment Planned furniture
When life moves, things change. Breaking the status quo, new life milestones often reveal unmet needs that require attention. there as Australians discover solutions, compare and make decisions, and establish new norms in the moments that matter. are likely to move house in the next 12 months (23%) are looking to buy a in the next 12
(27%)
Australian
and
Focus in on life’s key moments
home
spoke
Australians are trading up and refreshing their living environment
Over half are likely to buy
kitchen appliances
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Be
Over half will invest in (22%) are likely to buy or (24%) will invest in purchases in the next 12
kitchen appliances
months: Lounge / Sofa / Chair 20% Storage / Shelving 17% Bed / Mattress 16% Outdoor Set 13% Desk / Home Office 11% Planned furniture purchases in the next 12 months: Lounge / Sofa / Chair 21% Storage / Shelving 16% Outdoor Set 15% Bed / Mattress 14% Dining Room Set 11% 1-in-4 1-in-5 1-in-5 1-in-4 Take advantage of Gumtree’s scale and influence across millions of Australians undergoing home refreshes this spring. Reach them using our retail-focused marketplace products and first-party data opportunities. Contact gumtreemedia@gumtree.com.au for more information. Source: Gumtree Q3 Spring Clean Consumer Survey. June 2022. N = 1673 HOUSE MOVERS HOME BUYERS These are the major decisions that will impact Gumtree user behaviours as spring rolls around: 53% 52%
outdoor entertainment equipment
months
Four Nissan models. Four lifestyles. Four 3D worlds. Four virtual road trips. CarsGuide Labs 3D and Virtual Roadtrips products immerse the consumer into the lifestyle benefits of Nissan ownership. CarsGuideshowcaseLabs 360˚
TractionJan-June 202238 Take a virtual test drive to Birubi Beach in the Nissan Navara PRO-4X Ride along with CarsGuide Labs presenter Jon Sivewright 360˚ Click here to view
Traction Jan-June 2022 39 Take a virtual test drive to Scarborough in the Nissan JUKE Ti Ride along with CarsGuide Labs presenter Annette Van Roden 360˚ Click here to view
TractionJan-June 202240 Take a virtual test drive to Berrima in the Nissan LEAF e+ Ride along with CarsGuide Labs presenter Ben Dillon-Smith 360˚ Click here to view
Traction Jan-June 2022 41 Take a virtual test drive to Wollombi in the Nissan X-TRAIL Ti Ride along with CarsGuide Labs presenter James Jennings 360˚ Click here to view
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Autotrader Group presents Ian Moss
The Autotrader Group hosted dealer customers for an exclusive live performance by Ian Moss at this year’s AADA event. Ian brought the house down with an incredible performance in an intimate setting.
The following paragraphs offer a few highlights from the discussion, hosted by Manisha and featuring panellists Michael Olek (Alto Group Marketing Manager), David Hanlin (Universal Internet Services Director), and Tim Stanton (Maserati Australia and New Zealand National Marketing Manager).
The44 Australian Automotive Dealer Association Convention in early June played host to a number of exciting conversations – not least the one led by our very own Manisha Seewal, Chief Marketing Officer for Autotrader Group, CarsGuide, and Gumtree.
Of course, as Michael admitted, there are always times when traditional marketing methods have a part to play.
And how did he accommodate this cycle? A period of critical analysis when he first started in the job two years ago, seeking opportunities for growth. At that stage Maserati had time up its sleeve to do some forward-thinking, look to the future, and shape the business to prepare for the release of new products to market.
“As a group we sell close to 15,000 cars a year, we service around 65,000. So we’ve got a vast database and that’s growing every year. Really for us, it’s about how do we make the most of that without spending any money on retail marketing?”
Impactful Marketing with Autotrader Group
Manisha kicked off the panel with a question that hits right at the heart of what we all do: What does impactful marketing look like within your organisation? What’s clear from the panellists’ responses is that the concept and measurement of impactful marketing is unique to each organisation. Tim, for example, explained how the longevity of the Maserati catalogue plays a huge part in how they approach the topic:
The panel discussion, titled ‘Impactful Marketing with Autotrader Group: What Strategies Industry Leaders will Prioritise in 2022’ offered fascinating insights into the real-world strategies of industry experts who have been powering through an incredibly challenging period.
An unconventional approach
Under Tim’s direction a new media agency was brought on board, along with some talented data scientists, to build a complex dashboard to manage and analyse live data.
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According to Michael, dealers are increasingly taking an unconventional approach in their pursuit of growth. Gone are the days of relentless email marketing – pushing hard and often. Instead, Michael explained, social media has allowed Alto Group to make contact and touch base with customers in an environment that’s most comfortable for them.
“Some of our senior management teams, they have a really basic version of it that gives them those key touch points and it’s all live data. We’re not waiting a month for a media agency to come back to us and say ‘hey we had success, or hey we missed some opportunities – let’s address that next month’. It’s all live”.
“Our product portfolio was pretty stable, was pretty old in many senses. The newest car we had on fleet was about five years old. That, in terms of this industry, is a very long time frame and you sort of get stuck in a bit of a cycle of doing the same thing, generating the same sort of results”.
“There are a few problem cars or some models that just don’t seem to ever move regardless of what’s happening in the market. So we will still go to market with those, specifically for those cars. We’re trying to solve problems the whole time. We don’t do anything without purpose”. Most importantly though?
In search of growth opportunities
“We don’t blast. We stopped doing that. Every time we blast, whether it be via EDM or SMS, we get massive opt-outs, and really my job is to protect that database”.
Michael elaborated on the relationshipbuilding strategy behind the birthday email: “We all capture the birthdays of contacts. We’ve all got the data so we send out messages. And it’s not to sell anything. It’s not a coupon code for discount on accessories or something. It’s really just to say, you know, “we’re thinking about you today. We hope you’re having a great day”. As Manisha put it: “everybody loves a Happy Birthday!”
Happy Birthday to you
Manisha ended the panel with a positive assessment of the industry in the current era: “In my experience times that are challenging bring out the best in us. I look forward to watching your journeys and to see where we all land”.
Birthdays are hardly unconventional, but their power in the marketing world may well be slightly under-appreciated. As Manisha highlighted during the discussion, birthday emails have the highest opening rates of any email marketing (upwards of 90 per cent, according to Michael, and no opt-outs – ever!)
Chasing cars, chasing leads In this world where consumers are not being blasted by advertising, does it then follow that marketers are no longer chasing leads quite so voraciously? Michael explained to the panel that there was certainly some truth in that line of thinking.
Tim went on to explain that, in his view, the way to achieve this is a balance between the old and new.
Michael went on to explain how the best course of action is not always the busiest course of action.
Where do the panellists see automotive marketing heading in the near Davidfuture?explained that he has his eye on two very important future trends. The first: parts and accessories sales. While he admitted this area is not an easy nut to crack, he maintains it is one that needs to catch up to the rest of the business. The second: wholesale, which David describes as another area that needs opening up and one that would offer a significant boost to Timbusiness.emphasised his belief in a “back to basics” approach, especially in the luxury car arena.
During the discussion
“I think as dealers we do a lot of activity because we feel like we always have to be doing something. Always chasing more and it’s not the best mentality. It does cost a lot of money to do that when it’s not achieving anything. So everything needs to have a purpose”.
“I think that whole customer relationship piece is changing. I think that intimate one-to-one relationship is coming back and I think that’s going to be quite important as we move […] into that less transactional element”.
“During Covid we saw a 40-50 per cent increase in leads. Our conversion crashed to around 15 per cent…. That’s a poor experience for the customer, not being followed up, and we just had too many leads when we weren’t set up to have that number”.
Manisha agreed with Tim, noting that the chip shortage is here to stay a while longer. She urged that the key to impactful marketing in the near future is stretching the marketing dollar using customer data. “The first-party data that we have is really like gold and we should leverage on that as much as possible”.
A peek inside the crystal ball
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“People want to embrace the brand a bit more and understand a bit more and have a proper feeling around it. So yes, we’ll use digital technology to enhance that process and find those customers, but then we still need that one-to-one relationship with people to really sell that business going forward and make some growth and have the confidence to retain that growth going forward as stock starts to free up”.
TractionJan-June 202246 7+Reachingmillion oureachAustraliansuniquemonthacrossnetwork This is your opportunity to drive scale and unlock new audiences. [SOURCE:1]Nielsen Digital Content Planning June 2021 May 2022 P2+ Digital C/M Text Gumtree Autotrader CarsGu de Average Deduplicated Unique Audience [2] Nielsen Digital Media Ratings (Monthly Total) June 2021 May 2022 P2+ Digital (C/M) Text CarExpert, WhichCar Drive Carsales Kogan smh com au nine com au news com au Average Unique Audience 3,654,739 carsales com.au 1,092,323 drive com au 603,989 whi chcar com au 303,939 carexpert com au 7+Reachingmillion oureachAustraliansuniquemonthacrossnetwork This is your opportunity to drive scale and unlock new audiences. SOURCE[1]Nielsen Digital Content Planning June 2021 May 2022 P2+ Digital C/M Text Gumtree Autotrader CarsGuide Average Deduplicated Unique Audience [2] Nielsen Digital Media Ratings (Monthly Total) June 2021 May 2022 P2+ Digital (C/M) Text CarExpert, WhichCar Drive Carsales Kogan smh com au nine com au news com au Average Unique Audience 3,654,739 carsales com.au 1,092,323 drive com au 603,989 whi chcar com au 303,939 carexpert com au
Traction Jan-June 2022 47 12,419,895 news com au 7M+ Combined Network Audience 9,832,336 ni ne com au 7,162,667 Total Dedupli cated Uni que A udience[1] 5,934,352 smh com.au 4,700,710 kogan com au
Meet Tim Nicholson
A recent addition to the CarsGuide editorial team, Senior Editor Tim Nicholson jumped into automotive media in his early 30s after spending his 20s working in state government and the tertiary education sector. Prior to that he was the head party host at McDonald’s in Prahran and ate a lot of ice cream cake.
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While studying a Master of Arts (Media and Communications), he realised that his ability to talk a lot might translate to half-decent radio content. That led him to conceive the wellreceived car show, Fender Bender, on LGBTIQA+ community radio station, JOY 94.9. During that time, he landed his first job at industry publication GoAuto and eventually held the role of Managing Editor for five years.
Tim changed direction in 2018 with a stint as Motoring Editor at RACV before shifting across to work with a team he greatly admired at CarsGuide.
While journalism became a passion in his 30s, an obsession with cars was there from a young age. Tim’s grandfather ran the local Holden dealership in a regional Victorian town, and his father passed that passion on. Unlike some colleagues, Tim does not have a cool catalogue of cars that he has owned. A 1996 Holden Nova GS hatch and a 1999 Mitsubishi Lancer MR Coupe may harm his credibility in some circles, but fits CarsGuide’s consumer focus to a tee.
Traction Jan-June 2022 49 CONSUMERQ1MEDIACARSGUIDE PULSE Uncovering today’s consumer sentiment and adoption to new energy vehicles
TractionJan-June 202250 than half are likely a new energy vehicle (EV, PHEV or Hybrid) as their next car. a serious shift, purchasing an Source: CarsGuide Onsite Consumer Pulse Survey March 2022. N = 550 70% 152% -in-5 CARSGUIDE MEDIA Q1 CONSUMER PULSE Uncovering today’s consumer sentiment and adoption to new energy vehicles Anticipate the rise of EV adoption, with a growing movement towards sustainability. We spoke to over 550 CarsGuide users to uncover the key consumer shifts and emotional drivers to new energy vehicle adoption.
The much publicised rise in fuel prices is also top of mind, with close to 1-in-3 (29 per cent) EV intenders stating decreased operating costs and rising petrol/diesel prices as the key motivator.
TECH CONNECTED EV’s next generation technology and a desire to be an early adopter is the third highest reason to purchase. With EV intenders keen to get on the front foot with technology.
THE PETROL PRICE EFFECT
CARSGUIDE MEDIA Q1 CONSUMER PULSE
OWNERSHIPFORMOTIVATIONSTOPEV
Source: CarsGuide Onsite Consumer Pulse Survey March 2022. N = 550 84% more likely to buy an EV as their next vehicle compared to those in regional areas. more likely to buy a Hybrid/Plug In Hybrid as their next vehicle compared to regional areas. People living in metro areas are:
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Uncovering today’s consumer sentiment and adoption to new energy vehicles
Source: CarsGuide Onsite Consumer Pulse Survey March 2022. N = 550 % Metro matters: The strength of suburban areas
The top motivation for purchasing an EV is sustainability, with more than 1-in 3 stating the environmental benefits and reduction in emissions as the leading reason to purchase.
When it comes to differing preferences amongst geographic locations, people living in metro areas are earlier adopters.
SUSTAINABILITY FIRST
March
TOP BARRIERS FOR OWNERSHIPEV PRICE POINT PINCH
People with solar panels installed are:
CarsGuide
Source: Survey 2022. N 550
TractionJan-June 202252 86% more likely to purchase an EV, compared to those who don’t. 63% more likely to purchase a Plug In Hybrid as their next vehicle The Solar Effect
The top barrier in purchasing new energy vehicles is higher initial purchase price and lack of government subsidies, with 1-in-4 (25 per cent) stating it as their primary concern.
Source: Onsite Consumer Pulse Survey March 2022. N = 550
CarsGuide Onsite Consumer Pulse
Uncovering today’s consumer sentiment and adoption to new energy vehicles
CARSGUIDE MEDIA Q1 CONSUMER PULSE
With the ongoing shift toward sustainability, those with solar panels installed at home, are more likely to purchase a new energy vehicle 1.7x more likely to purchase an EV (167 per cent), compared to those who don't People intending to install solar panels within the next 12 months are: 1.1x more likely to purchase a PHEV (112 per cent), compared to those who don't
E Charging infrastructure, vehicle range and access to at home charging facilities are mentioned as main concernssecondary , highlighting the need for consumer education as key. Interestingly, 1-in-8 (13 per cent) have stated that they are not interested in EVs, due to functional factors. Having to regularly drive off-road and tow heavy items.
Australia’s one-stop snapshot of all things relating to electric cars THE REPORTEVGUIDE 2022 Click here to view the full report
Charging infrastructure15
at ChargeFox, Tesla, Evie, Jolt and NRMA. Data correct as at 28 February 2022 72TAS 348QLD 17ACT 619NSW 7NT 172SA 194WA 439VIC1868TOTAL
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As mentioned above, the Federal Government’s recently announced Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) infrastructure program is designed to create more high-speed charging locations along the east coast, allowing more chargers to pop up in Victoria, NSW, and QLD. NSW also takes the lead for the spread of high-speed chargers across the state, allowing more realistic ‘weekend trips’ while most other states have the charging infrastructure centered in capital cities, which therefore limits travel outside urban areas. sources
Because of Australia’s relative scale and the distances between capital cities, our density of electric vehicle chargers is probably never going to match a country in continental Europe. However, this snapshot provides an idea of the states and territories that are taking the lead in the rollout of infrastructure, which will hopefully add up to bigger numbers over time.
Again, New South Wales takes the lead here with the largest number of chargers - over half of all chargers available in the country. While the chargers here essentially mirror the state populations, they are also affected by geography. The ACT, for example, is relatively small by size and population and therefore needs far fewer charging locations.
STATE AC Chargers DC Chargers Total Chargers ACT 16 1 17 NSW 523 96 619 NT 7 0 7 QLD 333 15 348 SA 143 29 172 TAS 64 8 72 VIC 408 31 439 WA 189 5 194 Total 1683 185 1868 15Data collated from
16Polestar. Life cycle assessment 2021 — Carbon footprint of Polestar 2 variants 13 July 2021. 17Keane, Daniel, et al. “Solar panels switched off by energy authorities to stabilise South Australian electricity grid.” ABC, 16 March 2021. 18BMW.com. “From raw materials to recycling – the life cycle of a BMW battery cell.” BMW.com, 3 September 2020. Electric cars have the obvious environmental benefit of generating no harmful emissions like carbon dioxide (CO2) or nitrogen oxides (NOx) while they move, but there are other factors that need to be taken into account in terms of transport sustainability.
While overall emissions per kilometre for driving a purely electric vehicle are less than their combustion counterparts, even when the power is sourced from a fossil-fuel based energy grid, this does not include the extra emissions burden electric cars carry from the manufacture of batteries.
This can of course be reduced if the power is sourced renewably, such as from solar panels or a grid which has better utilisation of wind, solar, or hydroelectric energy, ultimately falling as low as 40,000km. At this point the vehicle can start to become cleaner than a combustion car in terms of overall emissions.
Batteries themselves are also able to live longer than just the eight-year warranty most manufacturers offer, or even the average life of the car. Brands like BMW are investing in re-purposing batteries from old electric cars to be used in power storage units, which it estimates can be used for another 10 years. The batteries are ultimately recycled for their raw materials, as some valuable rare earth elements can be reclaimed from expended battery cells and used to forge new ones.18
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Polestar, for example, currently estimates it would take roughly 110,000km for its Polestar 2 to break even on its emissions footprint with the combustion equivalent from the Volvo, the XC40 SUV. This estimate is based on an average global mix of power grid sources (which includes a mix of both fossil fuel and renewable sources), according to its publicly-available life cycle assessment report for the car.16
Environmental impact
Electric vehicles also have an important role to play on an individual level, allowing owners a convenient place to store energy from home solar arrays which could otherwise be wasted on a power grid unwilling or unable to accept extra supply.17
What do electric cars really mean for the environment?
6. Electric car battery manufacturers: Who makes batteries for electric vehicles? The complete list of EV battery companies Perhaps a stand-in for the engine - the topic of battery manufacture and construction will be a hot one.
8. Every electric car available in Australia
7. Electric trucks: Five best electric pickup trucks in Australia Pick up trucks, or ‘utes’ as we know them in Australia are the most popular bodystyle - but will there be EV versions?
9. Chinese electric cars: Top five electric vehicles from China Chinese brands have been brought to the fore of the market in the last year - and are bringing innovative electric models with them.
The title of this one speaks for itself - buyers want to know what their options are!
4. Hybrid vs plug-in hybrid: What is the difference between hybrid and PHEVs? Perhaps one of the more confusing topics in the new-energy space, PHEVs are hard to understand.
5. Full electric car: 10 best fully electric cars available in Australia (or coming soon) Looking to the future, buyers are aware that their best option probably hasn’t arrived in Australia yet.
Again on-trend, buyers are desperate for electric vehicles in popular bodystyles.
Confirming the trend - people are primarily motivated by price when it comes to searching for an EV.
2. Cheapest electric cars in Australia
Our EVGuide top 10 stories ranked by traffic should give you an idea of what Australians want to know about electric cars.
Clearly, hybrids are Australia’s preferred form of electrification, thanks to the popularity and convenience of Toyota’s expansive range, plus the reputation they’ve garnered from being on the market for more than two decades. However, the interest in electric cars by price shows there’s a broader interest in electrified vehicles beyond hybrids.
TractionJan-June 202256 Consumer interest The articles EV buyers and intenders care about the most. Top 10 most viewed advice articles on CarsGuide in 2021.28
As much as people want to buy a fully electric car - hybrids for convenience and upfront cost are still king!
1. 10 best hybrid vehicles in Australia
10. Electric 4x4: Top five 4WD electric cars in Australia Like their ute siblings, 4x4 SUVs are all the rage in Australia - people are quite rightly looking for their electrified options in this space.
28CarsGuide Google Analytics. March-December 2021
3. Electric SUVs: Five best electric SUV cars in Australia
Battery supply and technology will become the industry’s biggest focus.
Bigger, bolder commitments from automakers which could accelerate the decline of combustion technologies.
As Europe becomes more wary of a reliance on fossil fuels, there is a chance the end of combustion production will be decided faster. Will Australian policymakers follow suit? More competition from China and Europe will put pressure on Tesla as supply shortages are predicted to ease. Will Tesla be able to maintain its EV dominance into 2023? Volkswagen is nipping at its heels in Europe with its popular and keenly priced ID range, and more affordable models out of China from SAIC, BYD, and Great Wall pose a legitimate threat.
As electric vehicles begin to gain mainstream popularity, consumers and manufacturers are beginning to ask what the real cost of an electric car is. The realities of the industry, like the sourcing of controversial materials like cobalt used in battery construction, are likely to become more harshly scrutinised.
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This bush-bashing escapade took place down in NSW’s Shallow Crossing, which saw our reviewers tackle a number of challenging 4WD tracks and river crossings.
Adventure Editor, Marcus Craft pits the Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior against the Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain to see which top-spec ute is the best for off-road warriors.
Click here to view
YouTube snapshot Top performing videos and statistics - Jan-Jun 2022 1. 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor: New V6 engine and 4x4 performance pickup ute revealed in detailed preview! 3:20 Average view duration 227.1K Total views 12.7K Total watch time (hours) 2. Ford Ranger review: 2023 V6 diesel Wildtrak test drive (inc offroad!) Australia prototype drive. 4:29 Average view duration 131.5K Total views 9.8K Total watch time (hours)
Channel stats Subs +16.2K Views 7.1M Viewable hours 491.4K 3. 2022 Toyota Rav4 review: Does the facelifted SUV reset the benchmark? Petrol-electric hybrid tested! 4:26 Average view duration 128.2K Total views 9.5K Total watch time (hours)
TractionJan-June 202262 CarsGuide reviews The car reviews that attracted the most views. Source: Google Analytics - carsguide.com.au adventureguide tradieguide familyguide expertguide urbanguide 421 53 2022 Haval Jolion review: long term 2022 Isuzu MU-X review: LS-T 4WD long-term test Kia GT-Line2022Sportagereview:diesel AWD MG3 2020-2022ReviewToyotaRav4Hybrid 2022 review: Cruiser AWDEveryone wants it, but is it the best midsize SUV? 6. 2022 Kia Sportage review: GT-Line petrol AWD long-term family test - five-seat SUV tested with dogs and baby! 7. 2022 Subaru Forester review: The facelifted midsize SUV rival to Outlander, CX-5 and Rav4 - tested! 8. Toyota Fortuner 2022 review: Crusade - Can refreshed SUV top Everest, MU-X and Pajero Sport? 9. 80 Series LandCruiser: Used Review 1990-1998 10. Kia Sportage vs Mitsubishi Outlander vs Subaru Forester vs Hyundai Tucson Midsize SUV Comparison 11. 2022 Volvo XC40 electric car review: Recharge Pure ElectricLuxury small SUV EV test! 12. Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid 2022 review: Urban HybridGunning for Puma, CX-3, Captur, Stonic, and T-Cross 13. 2022 Haval H6 review: Spending three months in the Rav4rivalling Chinese budget family SUV 14. 2022 Kia Cerato GT review: We drive the sporty sedan - better than a hot hatch? A real Mazda3 rival? 15. Toyota Prado 2022 review: Kakadu - off-road test, but is top spec worth it over a GX or GXL? 16. 2022 LDV T60 Max Review – Can it beat Chinese rival GWM Cannon Ute, or Triton, D-Max, Hilux, Ranger 17. Nissan Qashqai 2022 review - Coming to hammer CX-30, Seltos and Kona 18. Toyota LandCruiser 100 Series: Used review (1998-2002) 19. Used Nissan Elgrand review: 1997-2014 20. 300 Series LandCruiser GX vs Nissan Patrol Ti-L vs Land Rover Defender 110 D250: 2022 comparison review - off road, towing, on road driving and more!
Traction Jan-June 2022 63 CarsGuide news The car news articles that attracted the most views. 1 Toyota’s game-changing i-FORCE MAX engine registered for Australia! 5 How the Australian Police are saving a modern icon from following the Holden Commodore SS and Ford Falcon XR8 into oblivion 6. Ram is ready to rumble! Look out Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger, the Ram 1200 is the mid-size ute we’ve been waiting for - Car News 7. Is Toyota in trouble? Why the all-new Hilux can’t come soon enough! Opinion - Car News 8. Has Kia broken the Commodore curse? Korean brand succeeds where Australian-made Holden failed - Car News 9. Best electric cars arriving in 2022 10. A new off-road king? Look out LandCruiser, Nissan says the Y63 Nissan Patrol will crank up the 4WD capability for Australia - Car News 11. This tiny Tank 100 is coming for your Suzuki Jimny: Chinese brand GWM takes aim at super-popular off-roader - Car News 12. Shock pricing for 2022 Ford Ranger: Auto-only new-gen Ranger and Ranger Raptor should please cheaper brands but give the Toyota Hilux, Isuzu D-Max, Mazda BT-50 and Mitsubishi Triton a truck-sized headache - Car News 13. Why I’ll never buy a Tesla | Opinion - Car News 14. 2023 Toyota GR Hilux: Everything we know so far about the new Ford Ranger Raptor, Volkswagen Amarok W580X and Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior rival - Car News 15. Help needed! The next-generation Ford Mustang V8 problem that Ford cannot yet figure out - Car News 16. Best hybrid cars arriving in 2022 17. The best new cars coming to Australia in 2022 18. Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon? Nah, Australian vehicle development is now all about utes like the Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior, Ford Ranger, Chevrolet Silverado and Ram 1500 - Car News 19. Nissan readies for off-road war with the Toyota LandCruiser GR Sport! New toughened-up Patrol Warrior takes shape! - Car News 20. Toyota Hilux powers up! New GR-S Hilux would out-muscle the Ford Ranger Raptor to be the most powerful four-cylinder diesel ute in Australia - Car News Source: Google Analytics - carsguide.com.au 3 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor R teased by Ford as V8powered super ute that outmuscles Toyota GR Hilux and Volkswagen Amarok V6 4 Best SUVs arriving in 2022 2 New reports call for old Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon factories to become new electric car hubs
TractionJan-June 202264 Most searched makes & models - used. Source: Google Analytics - carsguide.com.au and Autotrader.com.au 1. Toyota Hilux 2. Holden Commodore 3. Toyota Corolla 4. Toyota LandCruiser 5. Ford Ranger 6. Ford Falcon 7. Toyota LandCruiser Prado 8. Toyota Rav4 9. Mazda3 10. Hyundai i30 Most searched makes & models - editorial. Most searched makes - used. 1. Toyota 2. Ford 3. Holden 4. Mazda 5. Nissan 6. Mitsubishi 7. Hyundai 8. Volkswagen 9. Honda 10. Mercedes-Benz Most searched makes - editorial. 1. Toyota 2. Kia 3. Nissan 4. Hyundai 5. Mazda 6. Ford 7. Mitsubishi 8. Volkswagen 9. Mercedes-Benz 10. Subaru 1. Toyota LandCruiser 2. Nissan Patrol 3. Toyota LandCruiser Prado 4. Toyota:Hilux 5. Isuzu Dmax 6. Mitsubishi Outlander 7. Subaru Forester 8. Toyota CHR 9. Suzuki Swift 10. MG ZS
Traction Q3 2021 65 Ranking by body style CarsGuide and Autotrader classifieds Top 10 most searched car types for sale. SOURCE: Google Analytics - carsguide.com.au and Autotrader.com.au Top 10 Sedans Top 10 Hatches Top 10 SUVs Top 10 Utes 1. Holden Commodore ■ 2. Ford Falcon ■ 3. Toyota Corolla ■ 4. Toyota Camry ▲ 5. Mazda3 ▼ 6. Honda Civic ▲ 7. Mitsubishi Lancer ▼ 8. Holden Cruze ■ 9. Kia Cerato ■ 10. BMW 3 series ▲ 1. Toyota Corolla ■ 2. Mazda3 ■ 3. Hyundai i30 ■ 4. Toyota Yaris ▲ 5. Volkswagen Golf ▼ 6. Honda Civic ■ 7. Mazda2 ■ 8. Kia Cerato ■ 9. Ford Focus ■ 10. Subaru impreza ▲ 1. Toyota Rav4 ■ 2. Toyota LandCruiser Prado ■ 3. Toyota LandCruiser ■ 4. Nissan X-trail ▲ 5. Mazda CX-5 ▼ 6. Mitsubishi Outlander ▲ 7. Mitsubishi ASX ▲ 8. Honda CR-V ▼ 9. Mercedes-Benz G-class ▲ 10. Toyota Kluger ▲ 1. Toyota Hilux ■ 2. Ford Falcon ■ 3. Ford Ranger ▲ 4. Holden Commodore ▼ 5. Toyota LandCruiser ■ 6. Mitsubishi Triton ■ 7. Nissan Navara ■ 8. Isuzu D-max ■ 9. Holden Colorado ■ 10. Mazda BT-50 ■
TractionJan-June 202266 Major launches Popularity of launches this quarter. Top 10 views 1. Toyota Rav4 2022 review 2. Isuzu D-Max 2022 review 3. Volvo XC60 2022 review 4. MG HS + EV 2022 review 5. Kia EV6 2022 review 6. Audi e-tron S 2022 review 7. Nissan Qashqai 2022 review 8. Cupra Formentor 2022 review 9. Ineos Grenadier 2022 review 10. 2022 Mazda CX-60 review Source: Google Analytics - carsguide.com.au and Autotrader.com.au
Traction Jan-June 2022 67 Contact us Let us show you how your brand can get maximum exposure in one of Australia’s leading automotive marketing ecosystems. For media sales enquiries Jodie Smith Head of Partnerships - Automotive 0403 262 jodie.smith@carsguide.com.au228 For editorial enquiries Malcolm Flynn 0411Editor115 malcolm.flynn@carsguide.com.au869 For dealership enquiries Saxon Odgers Head of Dealer Marketplace 0401 337 sodgers@autotradergroup.com.au091 Printed on recycled paper.
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