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Auto Trader Group PLC on Thursday said it was ‘confident’ in delivering its full-year expectations after it reported revenue growth with the expansion of AI innovations. The Manchester, England-based owner of the UK’s largest online automotive marketplace said revenue rose 5.0% to £317.7 million for the six months ended September 30, from £302.5 million a year earlier. Revenue in Auto Trader’s core Autotrader business grew 4.5% to £296.3 million from £283.5 million, driven largely through retailer customers. Average revenue per retailer grew at 5%, driven by its April pricing and product event. Auto Trader said the launch of its generative AI product Co-Driver at the event ‘underpinned’ this growth. Co-Driver is ‘a set of AI-enabled features designed to drive both retailer performance and efficiencies’ in advertising. Autorama revenue rose 13% to £21.4 million from £19.0 million, which it credited to the delivery of 16% more vehicles year-on-year, with significant growth in cars through its Autotrader platform offset by a decline in vans and pickups. Pretax profit rose 6.3% to £199.3 million from £187.5 million. The company said it continues to see ‘strong levels of demand for used cars, with a record number of cross platform visits spent on Autotrader and continued high levels of engagement.’ Auto Trader declared an interim dividend of 3.8 pence per share, up from 3.5p per share for the same period last year. Describing its outlook, Auto Trader said it delivered in line with its half-year expectations and its full-year expectations remain unchanged. Having launched Co-Driver this year, the company said it sees a ‘rich future pipeline’ of AI opportunities to build on ‘advertising, data and digital retailing products’. Chief Executive Nathan Coe said: ‘In 2025, we continued our decade-long journey of creating AI-powered products that improve the buying and selling experience on Autotrader and help drive improved performance, efficiency and time-saving for our customers. This year, over 10,000 of our customers have used our Co-Driver product to deliver over one million improved vehicle adverts, enhancing the buying journey.’ ‘By combining this technology with our proprietary data, alongside scaling our Deal Builder product, we’re improving car buying and selling across the UK. As a result of this strategic progress, we remain confident in the outlook, supported by our strong market position, customer value, and unique data and technology.’ Shares in Auto Trader rose 1.7% to 787.00 pence a share on Thursday morning in London. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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