Ten years after Motors.co.uk first entered the UK market the online car trading platform has taken time to reflect on the changing nature of the automotive industry.

The business noted that while new car CO2 emissions have decreased by 27% and the total number of cars on British roads has increased by around 2.5 million, five cars have remained in the top 10 best sellers list (Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus, Vauxhall Corsa, Vauxhall Astra and VW Golf) and the Ford Fiesta has been crowned the biggest selling car in eight of the past 10 years.

When the first Motors.co.uk website was live, there were no production electric cars on sale but, since 2007 around 90,000 plug-in cars have been registered in the UK, the majority in the past two years.

Reflecting on a decade of Motors.co.uk, managing director Phill Jones said: “The business has seen an incredible amount of change over the last 10 years, but the one thing that has never altered is the team’s desire to innovate and deliver great service and value. 

“We are incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved but go into 2017 more excited than ever about what we can achieve.

“Together with our parent company, Cox Automotive, our experience and commitment to the industry provides a unique trusted partner for car dealers. We look forward to supporting the evolution of the market in the future.”

Over the past decade, the Motors.co.uk has grown considerably and the recent launch of a new website has boosted online views by 12.5% and dealer leads from visitors by 14.5%, according to the online retail platform.

The new website makes use of React technology – also used by Facebook and Netflix – to provide a 44% improvement in speed over the previous version and has been optimised for mobiles devices to help visitors contact dealers on-the-go, the online listings specialist claims.