Motor Trader

About Motor Trader

Motor Trader is the UK motor retail industry's journal of record, reporting on Britain's car retailing sector for over 100 years. Published monthly, it provides news, views and analysis on the dynamic car retailing market — and each year produces the Top 200 Franchised Dealers, the industry's definitive survey of the biggest dealer groups. It is read by senior management in franchised and independent car dealers, as well as car manufacturers, repair garages, bodyshops and the aftermarket sector. It is published by Emap from Southern House, Croydon, and its website is motortrader.com.

The magazine was in its 105th year when it was redesigned and relaunched as a monthly in April 2009 under editor Curtis Hutchinson — winning Best Trade Publication of the Year at the inaugural Headline Auto awards that July. Beyond publishing, it hosts key industry events each year: the Motor Trader Industry Awards, the Independent Dealer Awards, the Commercial Industry Awards and the Motor Trader Golf Day.

Over a Century of Motor Retailing

Motor Trader has been reporting on the fast-changing motor retail market for over 100 years — a span that covers the entire history of the motor car as a mass-market product in Britain. Its pages have chronicled the rise of the franchised dealer system, the post-war motoring boom, the Japanese invasion, the growth of the independents and supermarkets, the arrival of the internet, and the current transformation towards electric vehicles and agency models.

Few B2B titles anywhere have served a single industry so long. The magazine's archive is the institutional memory of British motor retailing: the deals, the dealer groups, the manufacturers and the market shifts that shaped how Britain buys its cars.

Relaunch as a Monthly, 2009

In April 2009 the magazine was redesigned and relaunched as a monthly — a "high quality monthly management magazine," in editor Curtis Hutchinson's phrase. The change of frequency and format, in the title's 105th year, was presented as the right decision for a readership of car dealer managers feeling the pain of the financial crisis alongside the rest of the industry.

The relaunch was vindicated within months: in July 2009 Motor Trader was named Best Trade Publication of the Year at the inaugural Headline Auto awards for the UK's automotive trade media. The independent judging panel praised the new-look title as a "vast improvement in appearance, layout and content" — with a clean design, bold picture-led front pages and heavyweight writers and columnists. It took top honours ahead of Fleet News and AM.

Editorial Scope: The Car Retailing Business

Every month Motor Trader provides the latest news, views and analysis on Britain's car retailing sector: dealer group results and acquisitions, manufacturer strategies and network developments, used car market trends, finance and insurance, aftersales and the aftermarket, legislation and regulation, and the people moves that shape the industry.

Its journalism is aimed at the managers who run the business of selling and servicing cars — the dealer principals, managing directors and senior executives whose decisions determine the health of the retail network. The magazine's analysis combines industry data with the voices of its leaders, giving readers both the numbers and the narrative.

The Top 200 Franchised Dealers

Each year Motor Trader produces the Top 200 Franchised Dealers survey — the industry's authoritative ranking of Britain's biggest dealer groups by turnover. The survey is the definitive measure of scale and consolidation in the franchised sector, tracking the groups that dominate the retail landscape.

In a market defined by consolidation — where the largest groups operate hundreds of dealerships and turn over billions — the Top 200 is an essential reference for everyone in the industry, from manufacturers managing their networks to suppliers targeting the biggest buyers.

Published by Emap

Motor Trader is published by Emap from Southern House, Wellesley Grove, Croydon — the B2B publishing group whose heritage titles include some of Britain's longest-running trade magazines. The magazine's postal address lists it alongside Emap's other automotive and B2B brands at the Croydon headquarters.

Under Emap the brand has developed as a multimedia operation: the monthly magazine, the motortrader.com website with its daily news operation, and the events portfolio that brings the industry together throughout the year.

Industry Awards and Events

Motor Trader hosts key events each year, including the Motor Trader Industry Awards — the franchised sector's night of celebration — the Motor Trader Independent Dealer Awards for the independent sector, the Motor Trader Commercial Industry Awards, and the Motor Trader Golf Day. These events are fixtures of the industry calendar, honouring the dealers, manufacturers and suppliers that lead the market.

The awards reflect the structure of the industry the magazine serves: franchised and independent dealers operating in distinct but overlapping markets, alongside the commercial vehicle sector. By celebrating each, the brand cements its position at the heart of the whole retail ecosystem.

Covering an Industry in Transformation

The motor retail industry Motor Trader covers today is undergoing its greatest transformation in a century: the shift to electric vehicles, the growth of online sales, the move by manufacturers towards agency models, the consolidation of dealer groups, and the changing economics of aftersales. The magazine's journalism tracks each of these shifts and what they mean for the retailers who must navigate them.

Through it all, the title's mission has remained what it was when it launched over a century ago: to keep the people who sell Britain's cars informed about the business they are in — its news, its numbers, its leaders and its future.

Motor Trader Today

From its origins more than a hundred years ago to the redesigned monthly of today, Motor Trader has been the continuous thread of British motor retailing. Its combination of monthly analysis, the Top 200 survey, daily online news and industry awards makes it the sector's central forum.

As the journal of the UK motor retail industry — published by Emap, read by the senior management of dealers and manufacturers, and online at motortrader.com — it remains what it has always been: the trade's own magazine, reporting on the fast-changing market for over a century.

Over a Century Reporting on Car Retailing

Motor Trader has been reporting on Britain's fast-changing car retailing market for over 100 years. Published monthly by the Metropolis Group — an Emap heritage title now operating from Southern House in Croydon — it provides news, views and analysis on the UK's dynamic car retailing sector. It is read by senior management in franchised and independent car dealers as well as car manufacturers, repair garages, bodyshops and the aftermarket sector: the people who sell, service and repair Britain's cars.

Through motortrader.com the brand extends its reach online with daily automotive news, while the monthly magazine remains the trade's management journal — covering dealer strategy, manufacturer relations, used-car markets, aftersales and the regulatory shifts reshaping motor retail.

Top 200 Surveys and the Industry Awards

Motor Trader produces the industry's definitive annual surveys: the Top 200 Franchised Dealers, the Top 75 Independent Retailers, the Top 75 Independent Garages and the Top 100 Bodyshops — rankings that map the structure of UK motor retail. It also hosts key industry events each year, including the Motor Trader Industry Awards, the Motor Trader Independent Dealer Awards, the Motor Trader Commercial Industry Awards and the Motor Trader Golf Day.

The title's editorial quality has been recognised with awards of its own: in 2009 it was named Best Trade Publication of the Year by Headline Auto, whose independent judges praised the new-look magazine — redesigned and relaunched as a monthly that April, in its 105th year — as a "vast improvement in appearance, layout and content". Editor Curtis Hutchinson said the honour vindicated the decision to review the format, content and frequency and present readers with a high-quality monthly management magazine.