Souq.com, the award-winning online auction marketplace, has launched its new vertical Souq.com Motors targeted at motorists and also to help shoppers find their dream cars.

The new website  (www.souq.com/motors) features all things automotive including vintage roadsters, high-value sports cars, RVs, luxury vehicles, family sedans, pick-ups, jet skis, motorcycles and boats.

The vertical also has spare parts and accessories and valuable number plates. The website leads the way and promises to further enrich the online shopping experience of its members, said a company official.

“Souq Motors is a specialty section within Souq.com that brings the automotive marketplace directly to the consumers by offering them the means to confidently research, select and purchase their dream vehicles in a simple yet perfectly secure environment,” said Abbass Safdieh, Souq’s Motors’ category manager.
 
“Our aim in launching this vertical is to serve everybody who is looking out to buy or sell a vehicle. Similarly we believe that Souq Motors will benefit car dealers, allowing them to list their whole range of cars, reaching out to a wider audience through the internet,' noted Souq.com CEO Ronaldo Mouchawar.
 
'Our listings currently vary from luxury sports cars such as a Ferrari F430 with plate number 430 to simple family sedans. This reflects the wide demographic of the members of Souq.com,” he added.

Launched in January 2008, the Motors vertical caters to the unique needs of a potential vehicle buyer or seller.

“The ‘Cars, Motorcycles and Boats’ category on Souq.com was a runaway success from the time of the website’s inception. We continuously updated and upgraded it over the past two years, bringing in better features and safeguards.'

'A keen eye on the market and user preferences led us to provide this category its own site. We also added customized formats and tools that take the sales cycle’s processes for vehicles into consideration, making the overall experience easier on the users” Safdieh pointed out.

“The tremendous increase in listings and trading on Souq Motors even in this short period demonstrates that there is a very real market demand for a comprehensive motors marketplace online” added Safdieh. 

The Motors section currently lists car plate number E 51, which promises to receive a tremendous response after the successful purchase of car plate number E 15 for Dh3,120,000 at an auction conducted by the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority a year ago.

The new vertical also provides members with a variety of new trading formats In addition to the popular auction format.

The Souq Direct format allows sellers to list their vehicles on the website for a period of 30 days and generate potential leads. Best Offer, which is the online version of bargaining, is being introduced for the first time in the Middle East.

Similar to Souq.com, a listing on Souq Motors should include photographs and a description of the vehicle.

A seller has the option to arrange viewing and test driving even before a potential buyer commits to a bid. This demonstrates Souq.com’s commitment to successfully completed transactions support its online community members in every possible way, Mouchawar added.-TradeArabia News Service