Case studyAutomotive marketplace
More confidence in the search for a car.
Connecting automotive discovery with the practical details that help people move from browsing to a decision.
- Client
- car&bike, Mahindra Group
- Industry
- Automotive marketplace and media
- Region
- India
- What we did
- Web experience, search and discovery
About the client
car&bike is one of India’s leading online automotive portals, pairing reviews, news, and comparisons with a marketplace for used cars. It began as part of NDTV and joined the Mahindra Group in 2020, when Mahindra First Choice took over the business.
Mahindra described it at the time as one of the top three online auto portals in India.
Source: Mahindra, January 2020Overview
Buying a car is one of the largest purchases most people make, and the research is scattered: a review here, a specification sheet there, a price on another site, a listing somewhere else. Our work focused on connecting those pieces so people can move from browsing to a decision.
Business requirement
Join automotive content and marketplace listings into one experience: let people discover cars through reviews and comparisons, check the details that matter, and see real cars for sale, without losing their place as they go.
Solution
We shaped clear discovery paths that start wherever people do, from a review, a body type, a budget, or a brand, and lead to the specifications and listings that match. Vehicle details were reorganised so the facts people compare most are easy to scan side by side.
Decision cues such as price ranges, key specifications, and similar options appear at the right moments, so comparing real choices feels like progress rather than starting over.
HighlightsWhat the product gets right
What the experience is built around
Start anywhere
Discovery paths that begin from a review, a budget, a body type, or a brand, and lead to matching cars.
Specs you can scan
Vehicle details laid out around the comparisons people actually make, not around a database schema.
From story to listing
Reviews and news connected to real cars for sale, so reading about a model leads naturally to options.
Never lose your place
Shortlists and comparisons that keep their state as people move between content and listings.
ChallengesWhat made it hard
Challenges we worked through
- 01
Two products in one
A media site and a marketplace have different rhythms. The experience had to serve both without feeling stitched together.
- 02
Dense information
Cars come with hundreds of attributes. Choosing what to show first, and what to hide until asked, shaped every page.
- 03
Search that understands intent
People search by budget, use, and feeling as much as by model name. Filters and entry points were built around that.
- 04
Fast on every connection
Much of India browses on mobile data. Pages had to stay light and quick on modest phones and networks.
ApproachHow the work ran
Our approach
We worked from the buyer’s journey outwards, mapping how people research a car and then shaping the pages and paths around those steps.
- Step 1
Map the journey
Trace how people move from first interest to a shortlist, and where they drop off or leave for another site.
- Step 2
Organise the information
Decide which details matter at each step and structure vehicle pages around them.
- Step 3
Connect the paths
Link content, specifications, and listings so every page has a sensible next step.
- Step 4
Ship and tune
Release improvements in steps and refine them against how people actually browse.
Where it landed
A more connected route from automotive research to marketplace discovery, built for people comparing real options.
Page patterns and paths the team can extend as new content and listing types are added.
