We launched this title as Autofile in 2006. Back then the aim was simple: give Australia’s automotive retail and aftermarket trade a publication that reported on its own business, wri en for the people who run it.
The editorial website went live in 2010. Since then we have published more than 13,500 stories online.
The busiest year was 2020, when 1,261 stories went up as dealers, manufacturers and suppliers worked through lockdowns, supply shortages and a market that changed week to week.
Those stories cover a lot of ground: the end of local manufacturing, the agency model debate, franchising reform, the arrival of the Chinese brands and the move to electrified vehicles. Through all of it, the people reading AutoTalk have been the ones making those decisions on the showroom floor, in the workshop and in the boardroom.
We have been lucky to report on an industry that is generous with its time. Dealers, association heads, OEM executives and suppliers have picked up the phone, answered the awkward questions and told us when we got something wrong. Our thanks go to every one of them, and to the advertisers who have backed the magazine, the website and the newsletter over the past 20 years.
Now it is time for us to step back.
We have sold AutoTalk Australia to a new publisher, who will announce themselves shortly. We think the title is in good hands, and the new owners share our view that the trade deserves its own independent voice.
We are not disappearing straight away. The Auto Media Group team will stay involved in the background for some time to help with the handover and keep the news flowing while the new publisher se les in.
To our readers, contributors and commercial partners, thank you. It has been a privilege.
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