TORONTO, ON – July 3, 2024 – AutoTrader.ca, Canada’s largest and most trusted automotive marketplace, today announced the launch of Storefront, a first-of-its-kind new car shopping experience, equally, a fresh tactic for automotive manufacturers and their dealership network to promote their complete new vehicle lineup to the millions of Canadian consumers that frequent the marketplace every month.

Storefront is a dedicated space on AutoTrader.ca that provides Canadians a unique way to shop for new vehicles, spanning all stages of the car buying journey, from awareness right through to action. Available to automotive manufacturers with an established presence in the Canadian market, Storefront is targeted to OEMs poised to tap into the nation’s largest collective of new car shoppers. The offering provides a seamless new vehicle shopping experience, integrating the critical information and the tools that span every aspect of the buying journey, including the manufacturer’s brand story and heritage, new vehicle lineup, custom model pages, branded content as well as videos, and inventory matching technology, with the objective of providing even more exposure and sales opportunities for the OEM’s dealership network. Immersive augmented reality (AR) is also delivered to the Storefront experience through AutoTrader’s latest innovative technology, Pivot, which provides consumers with a 360-degree vehicle viewing experience, empowering car shoppers to explore vehicles from every angle with unparalleled clarity and interactive hot spots for static or video content.

“Storefront presents an incredible opportunity for automotive manufacturers to tell their story and influence the biggest car shopping audience in Canada,” said Benoit Laforce, Executive Vice-President Media and New Car Solution at AutoTrader Media. “We know that consumers are unique in how they shop for new cars and their tendencies and preferences are very diverse, so we sought out to build a solution that delivers flexibility to the car shopping experience, regardless of the stage the consumer has reached.”

Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada was the first automotive manufacturer to partner with AutoTrader to launch the much-anticipated inaugural Storefront in June of this year (AutoTrader.ca/Explore/Mitsubishi). The Mitsubishi Storefront offers the OEM an opportunity to showcase their new vehicle lineup, tell their brand story through tactical content and video, present owner stories and more, while bolstering sales opportunities for their representative dealers.

“We know that roughly 80% of Canadians come to AutoTrader.ca to buy a car, and our reporting platforms tell us that our users exploit a variety of available features on our marketplace, from research to comparison shopping, before they transact,” said Ian MacDonald, Chief Marketing Officer at AutoTrader.ca. “We strategically leveraged this knowledge to provide an opportunity for OEMs to step into the mix and present their new vehicle lineup to the millions of Canadians we attract on a monthly basis, while publicizing new cars locally available to shoppers through a manufacturer’s network of dealership operators.”

For more information about Storefront, please contact Benoit Laforce, Executive Vice-President Media and New Car Solution at AutoTrader Media, by email, at benoit.laforce [at] trader.ca, or via telephone, 514-998-3477.

About AutoTrader

AutoTrader is the largest and most trusted automotive marketplace in Canada. Offering the largest inventory of new and used cars, AutoTrader boasts hundreds of thousands of new and used vehicles for sale to Canadians across the country. AutoTrader receives over 25 million monthly visits to the marketplace and the AutoTrader app has been downloaded by more than 7 million Canadians. Visitors can buy or sell cars, trucks or other motorized vehicles quickly, easily, and confidently. Buyers can search based on vehicle model, make, colour and geographic location to find the deal that is right for them. AutoTrader is also an online destination for automotive research and entertainment, featuring news, reviews, videos, and podcasts from award-winning automotive journalists. Follow AutoTrader on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

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Media Inquiries: 

Ciara Dalziel
LABOUR Creative
E: ciara.dalziel [at] labourcreative.ca
T: 416.564.6918

Dan Dakin
Manager, Communications Strategy and PR
Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada
E: dan.dakin [at] na.mitsubishi-motors.com

T: 437-349-9494

Source: AutoTrader.ca Consumer Experience Research, June – July 2023, (n=6,540).