Auto Trader is aiming to help dealers attract a bigger finance audience with the introduction of trade adverts featuring an offer-driven finance calculator.

The service, which is free to existing customers until early 2018, gives dealers the option to show a monthly price and finance calculator in their adverts, powered by their own choice of lenders and interest rates.

Auto Trader said that the new service aims to help dealers “better compete with specialist finance providers, banks and price comparison sites” by offering consumers greater convenience and transparency.

It also gives dealers the opportunity to embed discussions on finance earlier in the car buying process.

Paul Harrison, head of motor finance at Auto Trader, said: “Finance has become one of our industry’s biggest performance drivers, however all too many dealers are missing out on the opportunity to promote their available offers early in the buying process when consumers are making their key decisions.

“That’s why we created this new functionality as a priority, which we feel gives our customers a competitive advantage.

“Importantly, it also creates greater transparency for car buyers, helping them to understand their different product options online to help them make a more informed decision in the showroom.

“This is the first step in creating a complete finance solution. In the summer, we’ll also be introducing the ability for consumers to search by monthly price, which will put finance at the heart of car buying on Auto Trader and help give transparency to millions of car buyers.”

Auto Trader’s new features were developed in partnership with Codeweavers and follow extensive testing, during which 850 customers trialled the service, creating 50,000 adverts with finance, resulting in 37 million advert views and two million calculator interactions.

Shaun Harris, sales director, Codeweavers, said: “Our flexible technology means dealers can specify the lenders and interest rates used to power their finance offers displayed in their Auto Trader adverts.

“These offers can be customised based on make, model, value and age of the vehicle – giving dealers complete control.”