The publisher announced a £50M expansion by creating a new division.

Haymarket Automotive has been launched to capitalise on the success of titles such as AutoCar, PistonHeads, and What Car?

The consumer automotive operations division will create over one hundred new jobs in the retail marketplace which is worth over £85bn per year.

Chief executive of Haymarket Media Group, Kevin Costello, said: “This new division represents the single largest organic investment in our company’s history, reflecting the exciting growth prospects for media-content and services for new and used cars.

“Since the launch of What Car? in 1974, Haymarket has built some of the most authoritative titles in the industry. We will offer even more valuable content, price-comparison and dealer information in an automotive media segment that Haymarket helped create.”

The publisher has estimated that revenues within the new division could increase fourfold in the coming years.

Automotive Group brand director at Haymarket, Rachael Prasher, said: “This funding gives us the opportunity to fulfil the untapped potential of the What Car?, PistonHeads and Autocar brands, and sets us free to invest and innovate at a faster rate than ever. We have been working on this plan for more than a year, and Haymarket Group’s decision to meet our ambition with the funding required kick-starts the transformation of our business on every level. I’m incredibly excited to be leading this new Automotive division and working with our teams to deliver this plan.”