8:32 am, May 16, 2018
CAR dealers can now sell vehicles through Facebook Marketplace for the first time in the UK.
After teaming up with listings partners Motors.co.uk and GForces, the social media and networking service is letting car buyers browse through dealer used car inventories on Marketplace.
Messenger can now be used to communicate directly with dealers to find out about particular vehicles via live chat providers such as Gubagoo or Contact at Once, as well as through lead forms when a dealer isn’t available.
Listings can be filtered by year, make, model, mileage, vehicle type and transmission.
All of this will help dealers sell their vehicles to the 800m people who already use Facebook Marketplace. There are also new options to target buyers on the move with mobile-friendly listings, provide instant answers to inquiries with real-time messaging and to export multiple listings.
Annelies Jansen, global director of Marketplace partnerships at Facebook, said: ‘Since launching vehicles on Marketplace, we’ve seen it continue to grow as one of our most popular categories. We’re excited to expand this new experience to the UK to help people find their next car.’
Phill Jones, pictured, managing director of Motors.co.uk, said: ‘We are delighted to announce this new solution, which will help our dealers reach more online in-market car buyers through their relationship with Motors.co.uk.
‘This solution connects our customers with more consumers who are already using Facebook to search for their next car – making both dealer engagement and the car search process easier.’
Paul Hilton, retail director at GForces, said: ‘While new car registrations have taken a year-on-year dip, our industry-leading business intelligence insights show that used car searches and sales volumes are on the rise in the UK as a direct result of the current market disruption and uncertainty.
‘The new Marketplace offering is arriving at a key time for the UK’s car dealers.’
Brad Title, president and chief executive of Gubagoo, added: ‘We have seen incredible interest from customers since launching our solution for Facebook Marketplace in the US last October. We look forward to continuing this momentum in the UK and generating qualified leads for dealers.’
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On WorkshopMagazine.co.uk: JOB OF THE WEEK – MOT tester/technician in Derbyshire
