New managing director put in driving seat at Used Cars NI to accelerate growth

Changes at the top for Used Cars NI come as the online platform reports a 20% increase in site visits and lead generation year-on-year and sees long-term employee Stephen Kelly take on the role of Managing Director, following a decade of service in sales and business development positions.

With a career spanning almost 20 years in the automotive industry, Mr Kelly will now be responsible for strategic planning and development to reinforce the company’s position as Northern Ireland’s number one website to advertise, browse and purchase vehicles.

Having vacated the role of Managing Director, Dr Cecil Hetherington will remain as part of the leadership team, assuming the role of Chairman; bringing invaluable experience to help formulate strategy and identify opportunities in new markets.

Colin Quigg has also been promoted to the role of Business Development Manager and will play a pivotal role in evolving digital media partnerships across the dealer network, while responding efficiently to the changing motoring and technology preferences.

Used Cars NI was founded in 2006 by Cecil Hetherington and Anthony Kieran, and employs 16 people at its South Belfast premises, with a further 16 full time programmers who work remotely overseas. It attracts 1.75 million visits to the site per month.

Commenting on the company’s plan for 2021, Stephen Kelly, managing director, said: “We have big ambitions for 2021 – all roads lead to us retaining our position as Northern Ireland’s number one online marketplace for used vehicles. This past year has seen a huge growth in the number of people browsing for a car online.

“The customer journey is at the heart of our strategy – we want to make it as streamlined as possible and we’re continuously developing the site to ensure it evolves to meet the demands of the online audience. We are constantly working to improve the information available to users, for example with our recent addition of optional extras data to the vehicle specifications on the site. Visitors to the site are now using more ways than ever to contact dealers, such as via WhatsApp and SMS.

“The market environment has brought – and continues to bring – challenges for the automotive sector, with both the pandemic and Brexit having an impact on the market. Through the expansion of our dealer website portfolio, we’re committed to cultivating the relationships with key dealer partners.

“It’s an exciting time to be taking the helm of such a successful online platform.”

For more information, visit www.usedcarsni.com. Connect with Used Cars NI on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @UsedCarsNI.

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