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UK Automotive Online Car Retailers - PPC Market Share Analysis March 2026

Leveraging Adthena’s Whole Market View, this analysis explores recent trends in Google Ads for the UK Online Car Retailers category from the last month. Our Data Analyst, Ask Arlo provides commentary on key findings.

Online Car Retailers – UK

Google AI Overview visibility for Automotive Online Car Retailers UK

See how often AIOs appear and how search intent is distributed across buying signals.

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AIO Frequency

How often a Google AI overview appears on search terms relevant to this category.

Frequency Percentage
Frequency 15.2760996519
84.7239003481
15%

Complex Query Frequency

A complex query is a longer, more detailed search that often contains multiple keywords, specific conditions, or multi-part questions.

Frequency Percentage
Frequency 63
37
63%

Search Intent Distribution

Breakdown of search queries by their underlying goal.

Intent Distribution
Investigational 36%
Transactional 41%
Navigational 2%
Seasonal 0%
Local 2%
Problem Solving 3%

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Market Exposure

Share of Clicks for top 10 UK Automotive Online Car Retailers brands

Here are the Top 10 competitors in the industry by Share of Clicks for the last month.

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Share of Clicks - Last month
Share of Clicks - Last month
Domain Share of clicks
carwow.co.uk 24.62
webuyanycar.com 22.58
cargurus.co.uk 10.06
pistonheads.com 8.42
motorway.co.uk 6.64
autotrader.co.uk 4.25
cinch.co.uk 2.08
arnoldclark.com 1.44
motorpoint.co.uk 1.17
carsupermarket.com 1.12
others 17.62
  • carwow.co.uk - 24.62%
  • webuyanycar.com - 22.58%
  • cargurus.co.uk - 10.06%
  • pistonheads.com - 8.42%
  • motorway.co.uk - 6.64%
  • autotrader.co.uk - 4.25%
  • cinch.co.uk - 2.08%
  • arnoldclark.com - 1.44%
  • motorpoint.co.uk - 1.17%
  • carsupermarket.com - 1.12%
  • others - 17.62%

Copyright © Adthena. All rights reserved.

In the PPC landscape, carwow.co.uk leads with 24.62% click share, closely followed by webuyanycar.com at 22.58%. Others collectively hold 17.62%, highlighting diverse competition.

Market Exposure

Share of Spend for the top 10 UK Automotive Online Car Retailers brands

Curious about your market position? Here you can see the Top 10 competitors in the industry by Share of Spend for the last month. 

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Share of Spend - Last Month
Share of Spend - Last Month
Date carwow.co.uk motorway.co.uk webuyanycar.com cargurus.co.uk motorpoint.co.uk arnoldclark.com bmw.co.uk cinch.co.uk bestcarbuyer.co.uk cardaddys.co.uk
2026/03/01 25.97% 15.8% 28.74% 4.97% 2.13% 1.79% 0.84% 1.29% 0.25% 0.82%
2026/03/02 27.39% 15.77% 19.37% 13.34% 1.53% 1.42% 0.78% 1.84% 0.9% 0.67%
2026/03/03 23.65% 15.06% 20.48% 9.67% 1.87% 2.18% 1.62% 2.03% 0.44% 1.22%
2026/03/04 25.75% 14.14% 19.74% 11.52% 2.43% 1.03% 2.05% 1.81% 0.85% 1.18%
2026/03/05 25.21% 17.1% 18.85% 10.58% 1.74% 1.37% 0.97% 1.61% 1.94% 2.03%
2026/03/06 26.04% 15.63% 20.9% 7.21% 2.38% 1.15% 1.8% 2.66% 0.47% 0.93%
2026/03/07 25.45% 18.88% 23.92% 4.62% 1.75% 1.37% 1.4% 1.21% 0% 0.88%
2026/03/08 27.13% 16.27% 21.34% 9.61% 1.33% 1.61% 0.82% 0.82% 1.83% 1.08%
2026/03/09 26.07% 16.23% 22.28% 5.06% 1.71% 1.66% 1.08% 1.92% 1.81% 1.79%
2026/03/10 24.06% 17.37% 21.87% 8.15% 1.98% 1.65% 2.11% 2.44% 0.38% 0.5%
2026/03/11 28.62% 14.34% 15.45% 8.06% 3.51% 2.41% 1.85% 2.99% 1.16% 0.56%
2026/03/12 23.96% 16.6% 20.79% 7.92% 2.39% 0.97% 1.37% 1.9% 1.45% 2.1%
2026/03/13 29.22% 16.54% 15.03% 8.58% 2.81% 1.73% 1.46% 1.38% 0.6% 1.33%
2026/03/14 26.36% 19.23% 19.84% 7.12% 2.49% 1.1% 1.13% 1.02% 0% 0.71%
2026/03/15 25.26% 14.4% 16.31% 9.03% 3.84% 1.78% 1.6% 1.19% 0.6% 1.31%
2026/03/16 26.73% 15.15% 21.35% 6.72% 2.77% 2.06% 0.96% 1.35% 1.55% 1.04%
2026/03/17 25.49% 13.2% 15.14% 11.28% 3.38% 1.75% 1.83% 2.58% 2.12% 0.97%
2026/03/18 25.99% 15.81% 18.34% 6.28% 3.25% 1.03% 2.14% 1.82% 1.63% 1.64%
2026/03/19 29.25% 16.15% 16.07% 7.35% 3.23% 1.42% 1.24% 1.01% 2.16% 2.22%
2026/03/20 25.6% 17.91% 25.84% 2.03% 1.55% 1.26% 0.84% 1.2% 0.43% 4.58%
2026/03/21 29.04% 20.82% 24.55% 2.1% 3.07% 1.38% 0.39% 0.52% 0% 1.44%
2026/03/22 27.06% 17.87% 24.56% 4.42% 2.47% 1.44% 0.65% 0.65% 2.67% 0.5%
2026/03/23 27.06% 17.97% 22.47% 7.56% 2.45% 2.34% 0.41% 0.67% 1.85% 0.41%
2026/03/24 25.39% 13.14% 15.07% 11.23% 3.38% 1.74% 1.83% 2.56% 2.11% 0.97%
2026/03/25 31.14% 23.36% 21.33% 1.6% 2.01% 1.52% 0.3% 0.44% 0.38% 1.86%
2026/03/26 33.79% 21.94% 17.61% 3.94% 1.48% 0.69% 0.31% 0.49% 1.55% 0.62%
2026/03/27 27.93% 21.58% 24.54% 2.48% 2.55% 0.82% 0.55% 0.53% 0.19% 0.51%
2026/03/28 24.76% 20.53% 28.54% 2.93% 3% 1.28% 0.37% 0.7% 0% 0.98%
2026/03/29 24.41% 21.24% 27.9% 2.41% 2.25% 0.84% 0.4% 0.3% 0.92% 0.34%
2026/03/30 30.5% 18.67% 22.19% 4.29% 2.16% 0.82% 0.33% 0.55% 2.77% 0.68%
2026/03/31 36.43% 21.12% 11.08% 4.18% 2.14% 1.34% 0.67% 0.62% 0.45% 0.15%
  • carwow.co.uk
  • motorway.co.uk
  • webuyanycar.com
  • cargurus.co.uk
  • motorpoint.co.uk
  • arnoldclark.com
  • bmw.co.uk
  • cinch.co.uk
  • bestcarbuyer.co.uk
  • cardaddys.co.uk

Copyright © Adthena. All rights reserved.

Carwow.co.uk led March with a peak spend share of 36.43% on the 31st. Motorway.co.uk and webuyanycar.com followed, showing fluctuations but ending strong. Cargurus.co.uk and others had varied performances, closing the month with lower shares.

Market Exposure

Competitor Count for UK Automotive Online Car Retailers

Ever wondered how many competitors you’re up against in your industry? Well look no further, here we can see the number of advertisers bidding over the last month. 

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Competitor Count - Last month
Competitor Count - Last month
Date Competitor Count
2026/03/01 259
2026/03/02 277
2026/03/03 286
2026/03/04 283
2026/03/05 294
2026/03/06 296
2026/03/07 277
2026/03/08 286
2026/03/09 286
2026/03/10 271
2026/03/11 267
2026/03/12 291
2026/03/13 284
2026/03/14 268
2026/03/15 279
2026/03/16 288
2026/03/17 286
2026/03/18 280
2026/03/19 287
2026/03/20 262
2026/03/21 263
2026/03/22 268
2026/03/23 267
2026/03/24 286
2026/03/25 239
2026/03/26 237
2026/03/27 238
2026/03/28 249
2026/03/29 255
2026/03/30 257
2026/03/31 254

Copyright © Adthena. All rights reserved.

March began with 259 advertisers, peaking at 296 mid-month. A decline followed, ending at 254. The month saw fluctuations, reflecting dynamic competition.

Campaign Efficiency

Market Loss & Market Gains for UK Automotive Online Car Retailers

Here we’re looking at the Top 10 biggest industry movers by market share gains and losses for the last 30 days.

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Market Loss & Market Gains - Last month
Market Loss & Market Gains - Last month
Name Market Trend
webuyanycar.com 3.76%
carwow.co.uk 2.62%
pistonheads.com 1.63%
motorway.co.uk 1.32%
copart.co.uk 0.28%
carsupermarket.com -0.31%
bmw.co.uk -0.5%
cinch.co.uk -1.11%
autotrader.co.uk -2.88%
cargurus.co.uk -4.56%

Copyright © Adthena. All rights reserved.

Webuyanycar.com surged with a 3.76% click share increase, while cargurus.co.uk dropped by 4.56%.

Campaign Efficiency

UK Automotive Online Car Retailers Share of Impressions

Take a look at the Top 10 competitors in the industry by Share of Impressions over the last month.

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Date carwow.co.uk motorway.co.uk cargurus.co.uk webuyanycar.com bmw.co.uk pistonheads.com motorpoint.co.uk carsupermarket.com arnoldclark.com cinch.co.uk
2026/03/01 25.36% 15.27% 12.23% 10.78% 1.45% 1.45% 1.24% 2.75% 1.88% 3.16%
2026/03/02 25.52% 12.62% 23.21% 6.41% 1.13% 2.7% 0.84% 2.46% 1.55% 3.53%
2026/03/03 19.9% 11.12% 20.26% 6.33% 2.11% 4.04% 1.24% 2.15% 1.82% 3.91%
2026/03/04 22.98% 11.01% 22.46% 6.12% 2.85% 3.57% 1.46% 1.39% 1.13% 3.23%
2026/03/05 21.97% 15.13% 20.78% 5.94% 1.37% 2.17% 1.65% 2.54% 1.68% 3.04%
2026/03/06 23.8% 11.95% 16.92% 6.45% 2.29% 2.28% 1.65% 1.6% 1.5% 5.32%
2026/03/07 22.49% 17.54% 11.26% 9.02% 2.5% 2.65% 1.28% 1.54% 2.01% 2.76%
2026/03/08 24.42% 14.48% 20.47% 7.1% 1.31% 2.12% 0.86% 1.29% 2.34% 1.73%
2026/03/09 24.27% 14.91% 11.83% 7.38% 1.52% 2.25% 1.18% 1.46% 1.9% 4.37%
2026/03/10 22.22% 13.59% 17.73% 6.77% 3.49% 2.7% 1.33% 1.36% 1.34% 5.01%
2026/03/11 25.45% 10.35% 16.55% 4.77% 3.91% 3.27% 1.98% 2.68% 1.85% 5.38%
2026/03/12 22.71% 13.55% 15.87% 6% 1.82% 3.76% 1.57% 2.02% 1.18% 3.74%
2026/03/13 25.74% 12.89% 16.08% 4.61% 3.03% 2.53% 1.7% 1.15% 1.76% 2.4%
2026/03/14 23.06% 17.02% 15.81% 6.44% 1.8% 2.43% 1.72% 2.97% 1.47% 2.16%
2026/03/15 19.18% 11.05% 18.57% 5.48% 2.27% 2.52% 2.35% 3.19% 2.23% 2.31%
2026/03/16 23.52% 12.89% 13.06% 7.43% 1.29% 3.36% 2.12% 1.71% 2.39% 2.8%
2026/03/17 20.98% 8.91% 20.62% 4% 3.46% 2.83% 2.15% 1.91% 1.84% 4.43%
2026/03/18 21.72% 13.02% 14.18% 6.21% 4.39% 3.82% 1.97% 1.2% 1.35% 3.75%
2026/03/19 25.08% 13.84% 15.56% 5.29% 2.28% 3.45% 1.59% 0.99% 1.64% 1.85%
2026/03/20 22.77% 17.74% 5.52% 9.04% 1.38% 2.48% 0.92% 0.81% 1.81% 2.85%
2026/03/21 26.64% 20.16% 5.78% 9.22% 0.66% 3.24% 2.05% 1.26% 2.24% 1.33%
2026/03/22 24.34% 15.24% 10.17% 8.06% 1.07% 2.78% 1.66% 2.95% 2.11% 1.37%
2026/03/23 24.83% 16.35% 17.42% 7.76% 0.72% 2.82% 1.49% 1.05% 2.11% 1.45%
2026/03/24 20.98% 8.91% 20.62% 4% 3.46% 2.83% 2.15% 1.91% 1.84% 4.43%
2026/03/25 29.39% 26.33% 4.44% 8.67% 0.41% 3.7% 1.07% 0.83% 1.33% 0.94%
2026/03/26 29.84% 20.34% 9.12% 6.36% 0.43% 3.17% 1.73% 2.6% 1.17% 1.09%
2026/03/27 25.33% 23.48% 7.26% 10.16% 1.37% 3.31% 1.68% 0.71% 1.51% 1.27%
2026/03/28 22.4% 21.45% 8.09% 11.46% 2.89% 3.46% 2.1% 1.66% 1.5% 1.65%
2026/03/29 22.29% 22.1% 7.72% 10.83% 0.62% 3.1% 1.76% 1.83% 1.16% 0.74%
2026/03/30 27.34% 18% 10.08% 7.11% 0.53% 2.97% 1.03% 0.92% 1.13% 1.12%
2026/03/31 29.35% 19.98% 9% 3.93% 3.65% 3.39% 1.84% 1.83% 1.49% 1.28%
  • carwow.co.uk
  • motorway.co.uk
  • cargurus.co.uk
  • webuyanycar.com
  • bmw.co.uk
  • pistonheads.com
  • motorpoint.co.uk
  • carsupermarket.com
  • arnoldclark.com
  • cinch.co.uk

Copyright © Adthena. All rights reserved.

In March 2026, carwow.co.uk led with fluctuating impressions, peaking at 29.84%. Motorway.co.uk surged mid-month, reaching 26.33%. Cargurus.co.uk saw a decline, while webuyanycar.com had a steady presence. The month ended with carwow.co.uk maintaining dominance.

Campaign Efficiency

Google Text Ad Copy Insights & Creative Trends for UK Automotive Online Car Retailers

Ever wondered how your rivals’ ads are doing? Here we can see the top-performing ads in the industry over the last month.

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Google Text Ad Copy Insights & Creative Trends for UK Automotive Online Car Retailers - Last month
  1. 1
    We Will Buy Your Car https://www.bestcarbuyer.co.uk › online-quote

    The UK's Favourite Car Buyers — Will Buy All Cars Under 7 Years Old. Enter Your Reg Online Today With Us! Selling Your Car Has Never...

  2. 2
    Enter Reg for free valuation https://www.carwow.co.uk

    We collect & pay quickly — Put your car in front of 5,500+ dealers today | Fast, simple, fair, Carwow. Fast. Easy. Great prices. This is how selling your car should feel. Sell Your Car Fast.

  3. 3
    Free Valuation - Enter Reg https://www.motorway.co.uk

    Get Your Highest Offer — Simply Enter Your Reg To Get A Free Valuation. Find Your Highest Offer On Motorway. Get Your Free...

  4. 4
    We Buy Any Premium Car | Top Prices for High Spec Cars https://www.premiumcarbuyingservice.com

    We Are the Best Buyers of Quality Low-Mileage Luxury, Sports and 4WD Vehicles from £5000+.

  5. 5
    We Buy Any Car https://www.webuyanycar.com

    Sell Your Car In Under An Hour — Selling your car made simple – enter your reg and get a free 30 second valuation now. Get started by...

Copyright © Adthena. All rights reserved.

In the competitive world of online car sales, five advertisers stand out with compelling PPC text ads. Bestcarbuyer.co.uk emphasizes trust, targeting cars under seven years old. Carwow.co.uk highlights speed and simplicity, connecting sellers with over 5,500 dealers. Motorway.co.uk focuses on maximizing offers with free valuations. Premiumcarbuyingservice.com targets luxury car owners, promising top prices. Webuyanycar.com offers quick, hassle-free sales, valuing cars in just 30 seconds. Each ad uniquely appeals to sellers, showcasing diverse selling propositions.

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Get the full picture

See this data specific to your brand performance

The data on this page is just a sample of the billions of data points we hold at Adthena. The insights generated by Ask Arlo, leverage real-time GenAI to answer questions about your search data.

Our search consultants can introduce you to Whole Market View data that is specific to your organization, based on the size of the relevant search term and competitor universe, and the locations that you need monitoring.

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