The Google Shopping feed car parts retailers need, plus eBay, Amazon, Auto Trader and Motors feeds

A feed is a contract between your catalogue and a channel. Google Merchant Center wants a GTIN, a title that names the part and its fitment, a Google product category, price with VAT, availability and an image that meets its minimums. eBay wants the same product plus a K-Type compatibility list. Amazon wants GTIN-keyed listings with ACES fitment. Each channel disapproves silently when a field drifts, and a disapproved product is invisible until someone notices. Feed management is the discipline of noticing before the customer does.

Dealers have their own feed stack. Auto Trader Connect is a JSON API for real-time stock, images, pricing and valuations, with a taxonomy that resolves derivatives by VRM or OEM model code; Auto Trader's integration fundamentals require OAuth and proper error handling and partners are certified. Legacy CSV/XML FTP feeds still serve Motors.co.uk, which syndicates to eBay and Gumtree. Google Vehicle Ads is in open beta in the UK and needs a Merchant Center account allow-listed by Google, a dedicated vehicle feed (VIN or VRM, make, model, trim, price, mileage, images, dealer location) and Performance Max campaigns; that Merchant Center account must not also run Shopping ads. Meta ended partner-catalogue vehicle listings in the UK in 2021 and Business Page listings in 2023, so Facebook now means paid Automotive Inventory Ads from a catalogue feed.

Every vehicle feed, whatever the channel, needs the same core: a unique stock ID, VRM, VIN, make, model and derivative (cap ID or Auto Trader taxonomy ID), price with VAT status, mileage, colour, fuel, transmission, body, doors, ordered images at minimum resolution, description, dealer or location ID and attention-grabber or finance data. We build one canonical record and map outward, using Channable, GoDataFeed, Linnworks or ChannelAdvisor where a tool fits and custom code where it does not.