10:40 am, December 3, 2025
Auto Trader has confirmed the creation of its new Customer Advisory Groups as it looks to quell the backlash against its controversial Deal Builder product.
The new groups are now open to both independent and franchise retailers as Auto Trader looks to create more ‘open and transparent dialogue’ with its dealer partners.
Getting underway later this month, sessions will be held in both Manchester and London, with hopes for regular meet-ups throughout 2026.
The new groups were first announced by Auto Trader boss Nathan Coe, during his recent appearance on the Car Dealer Podcast.
They are now up and running and bosses are hoping that they will help to start repairing the fractured relationship between the firm and its customers.
Confirming the news, Rebecca Clark, Auto Trader’s group sales’ director, said: ‘Working in partnership with our customers, listening and iterating is our primary focus and we hope that by creating these new Groups that we can establish a stronger relationship with them.
‘We don’t always get it right, but we hope that by having an even more transparent relationship with our customers that we can positively move forwards together.’
The latest step comes after a major backlash broke out in response to Auto Trader’s mandatory roll-out of Deal Builder.
A recent poll by the Independent Motor Dealer Association (IMDA) claimed that 165 dealers had cancelled their Auto Trader contracts, following the move.
Auto Trader refuted the numbers but the firm has been rocked by complaints from car dealers over the past few weeks.
The protest gathered pace when Facebook groups called for dealers en masse to cancel their contracts.
Deal Builder lets consumers reserve cars on Auto Trader for £99. It will become mandatory for all dealers in the near future.
Nathan Coe, defended the roll-out of Deal Builder when he appeared on the Car Dealer Podcast and ruled out changing the timeline for the introduction of the product.
On the subject of the new Customer Advisory Groups, he added: ‘We recognise that there’s certainly a group of customers that feel like they’re not being listened to, so we’re going to establish an advisory group for both independent and franchise retailers to make sure that we’re getting their input from a broad range of customers, including those that don’t feel heard.
‘We have heard the collective feedback from our retailer community. We know that trust is earned, and our goal is to move beyond assurances of listening to provide concrete support and clear, actionable solutions.
‘To that end, we already continually engage with our retailer partners to help us shape our products and services, but we are looking to formalise our feedback processes with the creation of advisory groups for our independent and franchise customers.’
Anyone who is interesting in joining the new Customer Advisory Groups should email [email protected].
