Autonomy See it on your stock

Case study · Used car dealer

From 1906 coal merchant to national used car retailer.

Hippo Motor Group is a family business that has sold cars since the 1960s, from showrooms in Blackburn and Peterborough. Their Autonomy site turns a fast-moving used stock into reservations and finance enquiries.

Visit hippomotorgroup.co.uk (opens in a new tab) Book a demo

Stock at 13 October 2026

Used cars live
1,100+
Showrooms
2
Family-owned since
1906
The Hippo Motor Group homepage, with a make, model and budget search and the Used Car Promise below
A used Land Rover Range Rover vehicle page on a phone, with the photo gallery, the model details and the Blackburn location

In their words

Any ideas or issues we raised were met with solutions, clear communication, and a genuine willingness to help.

Alistair Eddleston, Digital Project Manager, Hippo Motor Group
Read the full testimonial

Autonomy have now built two websites for us, and both experiences have been excellent from start to finish. Each project was managed seamlessly: one by Dylan and the other by Alex, and both project teams were equally brilliant to work with. Everyone involved was supportive, knowledgeable, and proactive throughout the process.

Nothing was ever too much trouble. Any ideas or issues we raised were met with solutions, clear communication, and a genuine willingness to help. Both projects were handled professionally, and the aftercare we've received since going live has been good.

We're really pleased with the results and would highly recommend Autonomy to anyone looking for a new website or a reliable digital partner.

The client

Family-owned since 1906.

A large used stock that changes every day, sold to buyers across the UK, with finance on every car and the rules of a credit broker on every page.

Hippo Motor Group is a family-owned used car retailer with showrooms in Blackburn and Peterborough. The Preston family started as coal merchants in 1906, moved into cars in 1962 and ran BMW, Land Rover and MINI franchises before founding Hippo in 2007. Today Hippo sells everything from superminis to supercars, with nationwide delivery, and acts as a credit broker. They wanted one fast site where a buyer could find a car, work out finance and reserve it, with every lead landing in their Fuse CRM: the first Autonomy site to integrate Fuse.

Locations

Blackburn, Peterborough

Integrations
  • CodeWeavers
  • Stripe
  • Fuse
  • BCA
  • AutoTrader
  • CAP
  • Autos On Show
  • Seezar AI
  • Calltracks
  • Trustpilot
  • Segment
  • OneTrust

What we built

Volume stock, sold one car at a time.

One Autonomy site for both showrooms. Stock arrives from AutoTrader with Autos On Show imagery, every car carries a CodeWeavers quote and a refundable reservation, and every lead, reservation and valuation lands in Fuse.

From a monthly budget to a reserved car.

Buyers can start with a monthly or cash budget, and every step after the search stays on the same site, from the finance quote to the reservation and the part-exchange valuation.

  1. Used cars under a monthly budget on a phone
    01Shop by budgetMonthly and cash budget searches
  2. A vehicle page gallery on a phone
    02See the carAutos On Show photos and video
  3. The finance calculator with its representative example on a phone
    03Work out financeCodeWeavers HP and PCP quotes
  4. The first step of the eligibility check on a phone
    04Check eligibilityPre-filled with the chosen car
  5. The reservation form on a phone
    05Reserve for £99Fully refundable, through Stripe
  6. The car valuation form on a phone
    06Value your carBCA part-exchange valuations

Old addresses, new home.

Hippo's old domains, hippoapproved.co.uk and hippomotorgroup.com, now forward to hippomotorgroup.co.uk, and old stock and content URLs map to their new pages, so links and search listings still land in the right place.

  • Old domains forward to one
  • Stock pages mapped make by model
  • Content pages mapped one to one

Live 301 redirects

  1. Old URL: /cars/audi/a3, now: /used-cars/audi/a3
    301
  2. Old URL: /cars, now: /used-cars
    301
  3. Old URL: /frequently-asked-questions, now: /faqs
    301
  4. Old URL: /contact, now: /contact-us
    301

Every car, shown properly.

Vehicle pages open on an Autos On Show gallery of photos and video, and electric cars show their battery health alongside the spec, so buyers across the UK can judge a car before they travel.

  • Autos On Show photos and video
  • Battery health on electric cars
  • Spec and history on one page
A used Porsche Macan Electric vehicle page on desktop, with the photo and video gallery and the battery health figure

How we delivered it

Built around the rules of a credit broker.

Finance runs through every page of Hippo's site, so compliance was a phase of its own.

  1. ConfigurationKick-off
  2. Design and front endHippo's brand, Autonomy base
  3. FeedsAutoTrader stock in
  4. IntegrationsCodeWeavers, Stripe, Fuse, BCA
  5. ComplianceCredit broker checks
  6. SEO migrationOld domains redirected
  7. Livehippomotorgroup.co.uk launched

Since launch

The results.

+982%

Page views

+130%

Active users

+1,129%

Engagement time

Hippo Motor Group: Google Analytics, six months after launch compared with the six months before.

Set a monthly budget and see what Hippo has in stock today.

hippomotorgroup.co.uk (opens in a new tab)

More work

Groups and dealers on Autonomy.

All work

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