Lippincott rebrands car marketplace Autotrader

Autotrader.com is an American online automotive marketplace. It was formed in 1999 when AutoConnect.com merged with Auto Trader Online. The dot-com era logo had been left virtually unchanged until yesterday, March 16, when a new visual identity, created by Lippincott, was launched.

The name has been shortened to simply Autotrader, dropping the dot-com. The new logo can be interpreted as a "road ahead", a forward-pointing arrow or an 'AT' monogram. The colour orange is retained, having been a part of AutoTrader's header for several years.

Previous logo.

"Autotrader’s new logo and brand identity were developed in partnership with Lippincott, one of the leading brand consulting and design firms. The logo is a dynamic icon that can be interpreted in many different ways: the road ahead, an arrow pointing forward and a subtle “AT”. The design draws inspiration from vehicle badges and intentionally translates well to mobile, web and print applications to reflect the growth of multi-device usage in car shopping. Autotrader’s signature orange is still present to reflect optimism in the car buying process.

In written communications, Autotrader will now be treated as a single name with a lower-case “t” for “trader”, rather than looking like two individual words combined. This change is a reinforcement of the brand’s existing position in the minds of consumers, as Autotrader is commonly used and recognized as a single term.

“This new logo visually represents our role in the car shopping process – Autotrader is the guiding force that leads consumers to the vehicle that’s a perfect match through an experience that’s personal, immersive and surprisingly enjoyable,” said John Kovac, senior vice president of marketing for Cox Automotive, the parent company of Autotrader. “We’ve come a long way since our brand was born 16 years ago, and this new identity perfectly captures that journey by giving a subtle nod to our history while literally pointing forward toward our future.”" - Press release from Lippincott

Autotrader (archive)