12:14 pm, July 14, 2026
Every sale starts with a lead and in an increasingly competitive market, dealers need partners that can consistently connect them with serious buyers.
This year the firms that were highly commended in the Consumer Lead Generation category are Carwow and CarGurus. However, taking the title in 2026 is a business that continues to generate huge volumes of enquiries for retailers across the UK Autotrader.
Ian Plummer, chief customer officer at Auto Trader, said the win was all the more meaningful because it came directly from the retailers the company works with every day.
‘It’s fantastic. Obviously, we are really delighted, but more than anything, we’re honoured,’ he told Car Dealer.
‘It’s always a moment of real pride when you win an award that’s voted for by customers, the very people we work tirelessly to support, because we know just how tirelessly they work at driving their business forward each and every day.’
With dealers facing a challenging trading environment, Plummer said lead generation had never been more important.
‘With some challenging business conditions to deal with just now – and you could say in automotive retail that happens just about every day – lead generation is more important than ever,’ he said.
‘So knowing that many of our retailer partners voted for us really means that they genuinely feel we’re helping them sell cars faster, smarter and protect their bottom lines. That is really something we take a lot of pride in.’
Plummer said the win would mean a great deal to the wider Auto Trader team.
‘The team at Auto Trader are going to be absolutely delighted because they put in a lot of effort to support their retailer partners, whether it’s those at the front end dealing with customers directly or the product and tech folks working behind the scenes,’ he said.
‘Fundamentally, all of our business is focused on trying to deliver value to our partners. That’s the only way we can deliver value to our own shareholders and to the car buyer. Hopefully we create a virtuous cycle – the car buyer loves what they see, the car seller sells more, faster, better.’
Asked why dealers had voted Auto Trader top of the category, Plummer pointed to the company’s focus on partnerships and its use of data.
‘I think we’ve been leaning into our partnerships particularly closely in recent times to really understand exactly what kind of commercial support retailers need in today’s market,’ he said.
‘A lot of it comes back to how we can really leverage our data, our tech and our scale to help retailers sell faster and smarter.’
One of the biggest developments over the past year has been the rollout of buying signals, which give retailers greater insight into consumers before they make contact.
‘At the moment, we’re working to almost turn some of our data inside out by sharing buying signals insights with retailers about the car buyers who are getting in touch with them,’ Plummer said.
‘It shows the reality of that car buyer’s search journey so far, the propensity to buy of that buyer and much more, hopefully making the journey smoother and easier for a customer who isn’t having to pick up from the beginning.
‘They can start the journey with the retailer where they left off online. There’s real power in that insight, and we’re really looking to literally empower our partners to use it to full effect.’
Looking ahead, Plummer said dealers could expect to see even more from the data Auto Trader shares with them.
‘In the next 12 months, people can really look forward to seeing more and more of the opportunity to use the data insights that we’re sharing with them to work smarter and faster, and to generate more, better sales,’ he said.
‘That’s optimising margins, optimising the consumer experience, converting more effectively and hopefully supporting the bottom-line performance of all of our partners. That’s fundamentally where our efforts are pointed.’
Thanking dealers for their support, Plummer added: ‘Thank you to all of those who voted for us. We really are very grateful.’
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