8:00 am, December 10, 2025
Bosses at Auto Trader say that the recent fallout over its controversial Deal Builder product is not to blame for its tumbling share price.
The marketplace yesterday (Dec 9) saw its stock value dip to a low of 594 pence per share before bouncing back slightly later in the day.
It comes after a month of significant drop offs throughout November, coinciding with a retailer revolt over the roll-out of Deal Builder.
Earlier this week, executives at Auto Trader spoke with automotive journalists in London to discuss the group’s performance in 2025 and plans for 2026.
When the subject of the company’s share price was raised, CEO Nathan Coe denied that the response to Deal Builder was to blame.
Instead, he said that the fall was more to do with a lack of certainty from investors about how AI will impact businesses.
He also defended Auto Trader’s pricing strategy, after rises were roundly criticised by dealers. ‘We know we are not cheap,’ Coe admitted before adding ‘the best product isn’t always the cheapest’.
In a wide-ranging conversation, he also explained how the company plans to support dealers over the coming years.
He said: ‘As we think about the year ahead and the years ahead, what will be really really important is retailers being able to think about how they might transform the way that they operate, which we think technology is the answer to.
‘A lot of the stuff that we have been doing is about thinking we are quite good at technology, we’re quite good at data, we’ve got a brand that people trust in the UK.
‘Maybe we can work out how, with those three things, we can help retailers answer that fundamental challenge, which is “We’ve got to find a different way do this because labour costs aren’t going to go down any time soon”.
‘Generally costs are going up, interest rates may come down a bit but they’re still going to remain elevated for some time to come.’
Following the roll out of Deal Builder, a wave of discontent among some Auto Trader customers led to some cancelling or downgrading their packages with the firm.
Speaking to journalists on Monday, Coe said he had been ‘surprised’ and ‘hurt’ by the level of criticism the firm had received in the wake of the Deal Builder roll out.
However, he said he welcomed the ‘constructive’ feedback dealers had given the firm. He added that he believed Deal Builder was also ‘one of the best products’ the firm had launched.
Earlier this week the firm announced tweaks to Deal Builder in response to feedback from customers.
‘Used electric goes mainstream’
Also present at the event was Marc Palmer, head of strategy & insights at Auto Trader, who said that for dealers, 2026 will be the year that used electric cars go ‘mainstream’.
He explained that driven by stronger demand, used EVs have been the fastest selling fuel type throughout this year and that pricing movements are now in line with the rest of the market.
The news will come as a relief for specialist EV dealers, many of whom have been burnt by multiple price drops over recent years.
Auto Trader’s data also shows that the number of retailers selling EVs has increased by 500 year-on-year – almost all of which are independents.
Palmer added that he thought it was ‘unlikely’ that the government would change the 2030 ban on new ICE vehicles, despite the EU pushing their own target back to 2040.
