Auto123.com
Auto123.com is a Canadian bilingual automotive information portal founded in 1996, providing road tests, vehicle specifications, dealer listings, recall lookups, and buying guides to Canadian car shoppers, monetized through advertising and dealer referrals under Dealer Corporation ownership.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersLaval, Canada
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Auto123.com does
Auto123.com is a Canadian consumer automotive information portal founded in 1996, operating as the country's largest automotive destination site under private ownership by Dealer Corporation since the 2017 acquisition. The platform provides Canadian car shoppers with editorial road tests, automotive news, technical specifications, new and used vehicle listings, a dealer locator, vehicle recall lookup, and buying guides, produced by a team of independent automotive journalists who test vehicles prior to dealer arrival. The site operates in both French and English, having launched as Canada's first bilingual automotive internet portal in 1999, and distributes content through syndication partnerships with MSN, radio stations, and newspapers across Canada.
The underlying technology is a web-based digital media platform with an integrated content management system, online automotive shopping tools, and dealer marketing capabilities. The platform is part of a broader network that includes Auto123.ca, Autoexpert.ca, Autoexpert.com, and 46 used car-specific websites, with a dedicated video section added in 2006 and a recall notification service delivering email and SMS alerts to registered users.
Auto123.com generates revenue through three streams: display and banner advertising sold through Fuel Digital Media as its agency, dealer listings and referral traffic connecting consumers with automotive dealerships across Canada, and content distribution partnerships. The platform is free to consumers with no subscription or pricing tier, monetizing exclusively through advertising-side and dealer-side economics. The annual Prix Auto123 awards program, operating since 2010 across more than 20 categories, extends the brand into editorial authority and dealer marketing positioning within the Canadian automotive market.
Auto123.com firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Auto123.com
- Legal name
- Auto123.com
- Website
- https://auto123.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Auto123.com is a Canadian bilingual automotive information portal founded in 1996, providing road tests, vehicle specifications, dealer listings, recall lookups, and buying guides to Canadian car shoppers, monetized through advertising and dealer referrals under Dealer Corporation ownership.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Auto123.com industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Automotive Media Portal
- NAICS
- Automobile Dealers (4411)
- SIC
- Retail-Auto Dealers & Gasoline Stations (5500)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Automotive Vehicles & Parts C2C (CRAFAKAE)
Keywords
Where Auto123.com is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Laval
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Auto123.com business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Advertising: Banner advertising through Fuel Digital Media agency. The platform generates revenue from display advertising on its website pages.
- Dealer Listings and Referrals: Dealer locator services and vehicle listings that drive referral traffic to automotive dealers
- Content Partnerships: Content distribution partnerships with MSN, radio stations, and newspapers across Canada
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Auto123.com product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Auto123.com operates a bilingual (French/English) Canadian automotive portal that publishes editorial content such as road tests, automotive news, buying guides, and technical specifications. The platform also surfaces new and used vehicle listings, a dealer locator directory, and a Transport Canada recall lookup tool, monetizing primarily through display advertising and dealer referrals.
Product overview
Auto123.com is a Canadian automotive media platform that provides comprehensive vehicle information services including road tests, new and used vehicle listings, technical specifications database, dealer locator, vehicle recalls, and automotive guides. The platform operates across both French (auto123.com/fr) and English (auto123.com/en) versions. The flagship product is the Auto123.com website, supplemented by the annual Prix Auto123.com Awards program (operating since 2010) that recognizes excellence in the automotive industry. The network includes Auto123.com, Auto123.ca, Autoexpert.ca, Autoexpert.com, and 46 used car-specific websites. The platform distributes content through partnerships with MSN, radio stations, and newspapers across Canada.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Autoexpert: Automotive expert platform operating as Autoexpert.ca and Autoexpert.com, part of the Auto123 network
- Prix Auto123
Products and services
- Auto123.com Automotive Portal Bilingual web portal providing Canadian consumers with automotive news, road tests, technical specifications, vehicle listings, dealer locator, recall alerts, and buying guides. Audience is general consumers researching vehicle purchases in Canada.
- Prix Auto123.com Awards Annual editorial awards program recognizing the best vehicles of the year across more than 20 categories, with winners selected by the Auto123.com editorial team based on road tests and technical evaluations. Audience is consumers and the Canadian automotive industry.
- Vehicle Listings Marketplace Online marketplace aggregating new and used vehicle inventory from Canadian dealers, searchable by brand, model, year, body type, and location. Includes 46 specialized used car market websites under the Auto123 network. Audience is Canadian consumers shopping for vehicles and dealers seeking exposure.
- Dealer Locator Directory Directory service enabling Canadian consumers to find new car dealers by make and province/city across Canada, with contact information and location details. Target audience is car shoppers searching for local dealerships.
Companies that use Auto123.com
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Auto123.com technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Auto123.com partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Automobile en DirectminorAffiliate partnership driving used car inventory listings and financing referrals. Auto123 displays Automobile en Direct advertising for best prices on used vehicles.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Auto123.com competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- CarGurus: Global automotive marketplace with strong Canadian presence, using transparency tools (deal ratings, price analysis) that increasingly set the product standard Auto123.com must match to retain dealer spend.
- Kijiji Autos: eBay-owned Canadian classifieds platform with a large automotive vertical, competing with Auto123.com for used-vehicle listing inventory and consumer mind share in Canada.
- AutoTrader.ca: Canada's largest new- and used-car listings marketplace and Auto123.com's most direct domestic competitor, serving the same Canadian car-buyer and dealer audiences with vehicle search, dealer reviews, and lead generation.
- Cars.com: US-focused automotive marketplace combining listings, editorial reviews, and dealer leads; comparable in business model (advertising + dealer referrals + content) to Auto123.com.
Broad incumbents
- MotorTrend: Long-running automotive media brand spanning editorial reviews, video, and (via MotorTrend Group) commerce; competes for the same automotive enthusiast and new-car-buyer audience as Auto123.com's editorial content.
- Edmunds: Established US automotive content and comparison platform; comparable as a content-led vehicle research destination though it operates as part of a broader CarShop platform.
Emerging players
- Driveway: Canadian online car retailer (part of the AutoCanada dealer group) offering end-to-end vehicle purchase; adjacent to Auto123.com's marketplace and dealer-locator business but more transactional.
- The Car Connection: Editorial-led vehicle comparison and review platform; comparable in content depth and consumer-research use case, though US-focused and smaller in audience than Auto123.com's Canadian footprint.
- AutoGuide: Canadian-origin automotive review and news site with similar editorial-led GTM to Auto123.com's essais routiers and news content, though smaller in scale and without Auto123's network of 46 used-car sites.
Regional players
- CarPages.ca: Canadian automotive classifieds site historically focused on dealer listings; competes with Auto123.com primarily in the used-vehicle listings category within the Canadian market.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Auto123.com social profiles
Digital presenceAuto123.com financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Auto123.com leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Auto123.com subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
Auto123.com funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Auto123.com M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Auto123.com
What does Auto123.com do?
Auto123.com operates a bilingual (French/English) Canadian automotive portal that publishes editorial content such as road tests, automotive news, buying guides, and technical specifications. The platform also surfaces new and used vehicle listings, a dealer locator directory, and a Transport Canada recall lookup tool, monetizing primarily through display advertising and dealer referrals.
Is Auto123.com a public or private company?
Auto123.com is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Auto123.com founded?
Auto123.com was founded in 1996. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Auto123.com based?
Auto123.com is headquartered in Laval, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Auto123.com make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Advertising is the primary driver. The others are dealer Listings and Referrals and content Partnerships.
Who are Auto123.com's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are CarGurus, Kijiji Autos, AutoTrader.ca and Cars.com. Broad incumbents are MotorTrend and Edmunds. Emerging players are Driveway, The Car Connection and AutoGuide. CarPages.ca is listed as a regional player.
Does Auto123.com have an API?
No public API is recorded for Auto123.com.
What industry is Auto123.com in?
Auto123.com's product category is Automotive Media Portal. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAFAKAE, Automotive Vehicles & Parts C2C. Its NAICS code is 4411 and its SIC code is 5500.