More than a third of the UK’s 153 BMW and Mini dealerships have signed up to a scheme which publicises their approved used stock on the Auto Trader website.

It follows a three-month pilot by BMW (GB) earlier this year in which around 2,000 used cars were uploaded daily on autotrader.co.uk, and which generated more than 1,200 telephone enquiries and 100 emails. The site records more than 2m searches for BMWs each month.

“Our objectives were to increase and improve visibility of our used car stock, and Auto Trader constantly delivers that,” says BMW (GB) used car marketing manager Amanda Jones.

Approved used stock is distinguished from other private and trade BMWs or Minis by use of small logos, linked to a pop-up page that promotes the approved scheme’s many benefits, such as comprehensive vehicle checks and mileage verification. The logos are also linkable back to the dealer’s website or the national stock locator.

BMW charges a fee to dealers included in the service, depending on the number of cars they require listing.

Auto Trader’s Ben McDowell says: “Our research shows that cars accompanied by photographs generally generate greater interest from buyers. This was backed up by BMW over the pilot period – it was also found that the average price tag for the cars sold was about £15,000. We believe this is an indication of how successful the scheme will be for both BMW and Mini.”

More than 300,000 advertisements are carried on autotrader. co.uk at any one time.