Automotive Catalogs and Feeds

To promote your automotive inventory on Facebook, you need to share this information with Facebook. You do this by creating an automotive catalog and then filling it with automotive details.

To create a catalog, you should connect a data feed or upload data to Facebook. The data should contain all the required fields for the vehicles that you want advertise, which are listed below.

Step 1: Specify Your Auto Inventory Catalog Feed

Your catalog is a structured data file with a list of cars to showcase. Each line of the file contains all information needed to create a vehicle listing.

To set up a vehicles feed, you need a catalog and a feed of your inventory hosted at a location of your choice.

From your Business Manager/Catalog Manager, create a new vehicles catalog.

Supported fields are available for Vehicle and Dealership and apply to dynamic ads and Marketplace as noted in the Description for each. All enum fields are case-insensitive.

Supported Auto Inventory Catalog Fields - Vehicle

Product Deep Links

Learn more about Product Deep Links.

Step 2: Create Data Feed

You can either have a single auto feed to represent all vehicles in your catalog or multiple auto feeds where each feed represents a single dealership or a specific region's vehicles.

Supported Feed Formats

Provide your feed in the correct format: CSV, TSV, or XML. Once you create the feed file, you should host it at a URL for regular scheduled updates.

Example - TSV file with tab delimiters

vehicle_id title description url make model year mileage.value mileage.unit image[0].url image[0].tag[0] transmission fuel_type body_style drivetrain vin condition price address exterior_color sale_price availability date_first_on_lot state_of_vehicle latitude longitude i2 2017 Ford Fusion SE Ford Certified and 6-Speed Automatic. Turbocharged! Gasoline! http://www.example.com/test Ford Fusion 2017 1500 KM http://www.facebook.com/teapic.jpg Gym AUTOMATIC GASOLINE SEDAN FWD 1FADP5AU6DL536022 EXCELLENT 18000 USD {addr1: '550 Auto Center Dr', city: 'Watsonville', region: 'CA', postal_code: '96075', country: 'US'} white 16000 USD AVAILABLE 2018-02-21  NEW 52.35 42.10

Example — Feed with images as an array

auto_listing_id title description url make model year mileage.value mileage.unit image transmission fuel_type body_style drivetrain vin condition price address exterior_color sale_price availability date_first_on_lot state_of_vehicle latitude longitude
"i2" 2017 Ford Fusion SE Ford Certified and 6-Speed Automatic. Turbocharged! Gasoline! http://www.example.com/test Ford Fusion 2017 1500 KM "[{""url"":""https://images.trvl-media.com/hotels/3000000/2260000/2250400/2250336/2250336_1_y.jpg""}]" AUTOMATIC GASOLINE SEDAN FWD 1FADP5AU6DL536022 EXCELLENT 18000 USD {addr1: '550 Auto Center Dr', city: 'Watsonville', region: 'CA', postal_code: '96075', country: 'US'} white 16000 USD AVAILABLE 2018-09-15 NEW 52.35 42.10

This sample feed is as XML:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<listings>
    <title>Vehicles Feed</title>
    <link rel="self" href="http://www.example.com"/>
    <listing>
      <vehicle_id>SED1234</vehicle_id>
      <title>2017 Ford Fusion SE</title>
      <description>Ford Certified and 6-Speed Automatic. Turbocharged! Gasoline!</description>
      <url>http://www.example.com/test</url>
      <make>Ford</make>
      <image>
        <url>http://example.com/some.image_1.jpg</url>
        <tag>Exterior</tag>
      </image>
      <model>Fusion</model>
      <year>2017</year>
      <mileage>
        <value>10</value>
        <unit>MI</unit>
      </mileage>
      <drivetrain>FWD</drivetrain>
      <vin>1FADP5AU6DL536022</vin>
      <body_style>SEDAN</body_style>
      <fuel_type>GASOLINE</fuel_type>
      <transmission>AUTOMATIC</transmission>
      <condition>EXCELLENT</condition>
      <price>18000 USD</price>
      <address format="simple">
          <component name="addr1">550 Auto Center Dr</component>
          <component name="city">Watsonville</component>
          <component name="region">CA</component>
          <component name="postal_code">95076</component>
          <component name="country">US</component>
      </address>
      <latitude>52.35</latitude>
      <longitude>42.10</longitude>
      <exterior_color>white</exterior_color>
      <sale_price>16000 USD</sale_price>
      <availability>AVAILABLE</availability>
      <date_first_on_lot>2018-02-21</date_first_on_lot>
      <state_of_vehicle>NEW</state_of_vehicle>
      <dealer_id>ABC1234</dealer_id>
    </listing>
</listings>

Example - Feed CSV/TSV

"vehicle_id","vehicle_registration_plate","vin","make","model","year","transmission","body_style","fuel_type","drivetrain","description","image[0].url", "image[1].url","image[2].url","mileage.value","mileage.unit","url","title","price","state_of_vehicle","exterior_color","address","latitude","longitude","trim","interior_colour","dealer_id","dealer_name","postal_code","dealer_phone","fb_page_id","dealer_communication_channel","dealer_privacy_policy_url"
"56345636","AB12CDE","YV1DZ8256F2693747","Volvo","XC60","2014","AUTOMATIC","OTHER","DIESEL","OTHER","Volvo XC60 2.4 TD D5 R-Design Lux Geartronic 5dr (Nav)","http://website.com/images/stock/car1.jpg","http://website.com/images/stock/car2.jpg","http://website.com/images/stock/car3.jpg","12950","MI","http://www.dealership.co.uk","Volvo XC60 2.4 TD D5 R-Design Lux Geartronic 5dr (Nav)","22495.00 GBP","Used","White","{""addr1"":""Sample Road"",""city"":""London"",""region"":""Greater London"",""postal_code"":""SW31 3EW"",""country"":""United Kingdom""}","52.7445867","-2.7337375","2.4 TD D5 R-Design Lux Geartronic 5dr (Nav)","Black","436456435347346","Dealer Group","SSW31 3EW","","3562564376375","CHAT","https://www.dealership.co.uk/site/privacy-and-legal/"

Example - Address CSV/TSV

"{addr1: '1 Hacker Way', city: 'Menlo Park', region: 'CA', postal_code: '94025', country: 'US'}"

Example - Feed XML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<listings>
  <title>Sample Vehicles Feed</title>
  <link rel="self" href="https://www.example.com/dealers/cars/1234/?r=vddn" />
  <listing>
    <vehicle_id>3456553</vehicle_id>
    <title>Ford B-MAX ZETEC</title>
    <description>Adjustable Steering Column, Adjustable Steering Wheel, Air Bags, Air Conditioning, Alloy Wheels, Anti Lock Brakes, Bluetooth Preparation (Phone), CD Player, CD Radio, Driver Airbag, Electric & Heated Door Mirrors, Electric Windows, Electronic Stability Programme (ESP), Front Electric Windows, Front Fog Lights, Height Adjustable Drivers Seat, Passenger Airbag, Power Assisted Steering (PAS), Power Fold &amp; Heated DoorMirrors, Rear Parking Sensor, Remote Boot Release, Remote Central Locking, Solid Paint,LOW MILEAGE WITH A FULL FORD HISTORY, SUPPLIED FROM US,</description>
    <url>https://www.example.com/car-1234>
    <make>Ford</make>
    <image>
      <url>https://www.example.com/1234/image_1.jpg</url>
    </image>
    <image>
      <url>https://www.example.com/1234/image_2.jpg</url>
    </image>
    <image>
      <url>https://www.example.com/1234/image_3.jpg</url>
    </image>
    <model>B-MAX</model>
    <year>2015</year>
    <mileage>
      <value>15617</value>
      <unit>MI</unit>
    </mileage>
    <drivetrain>Other</drivetrain>
    <vin>1A2BCDEF3GH456789</vin>
    <body_style>OTHER</body_style>
    <fuel_type>Gasoline</fuel_type>
    <transmission>Manual</transmission>
    <price>9490 GBP</price>
    <address format="simple">
      <component name="addr1">Sample Road</component>
      <component name="city">Carland</component>
      <component name="region">North Test</component>
      <component name="country">United States of America</component>
      <component name="postal_code">12345</component>
    </address>
    <latitude>37.484419</latitude>
    <longitude>-122.148406</longitude>
    <exterior_color>White</exterior_color>
    <state_of_vehicle>Used</state_of_vehicle>
    <dealer_id>453356</dealer_id>
    <vehicle_registration_plate>AB12CD</vehicle_registration_plate>
    <fb_page_id>5636367576574</fb_page_id>
    <dealer_communication_channel>LEAD_FORM</dealer_communication_channel>
    <dealer_privacy_policy_url>https://www.example.com/privacy/</dealer_privacy_policy_url>
  </listing>
</listings>

Step 3: Schedule Uploads

For details on how to schedule feed uploads, see Catalog - Schedule Product Feed Fetches.

You can download a sample feed (CSV, TSV, XML format) if you try to create an auto catalog via Catalog Manager.

See also Direct Upload Feed Reference and Catalog Feed Debugger.

Debug Your Automotive Feed (Optional)

Using the Product Feed Debug Tool, you can paste in a product feed, and validate the feed for errors and warnings.

To debug your automotive feed, in the catalog selection drop-down menu, select Vehicles.

This is helpful in the early stages of integrating automotive inventory ads to discover whether the current feeds you may already have are supported by Facebook.

Step 4: Create Vehicle Sets

After the catalog upload is set up and working properly, you can create vehicle sets.

A vehicle set is a subset of your catalog. Vehicle sets are defined by filters that are applied to the Vehicle catalog. For example, you can create a vehicle set with all vehicles with a year later than 2015. Note: A vehicle set with all vehicles in your catalog is pre-created for you.

Example - Create a vehicle set containing all the vehicles that manufactured in 2016

use FacebookAds\Object\ProductSet;
use FacebookAds\Object\Fields\ProductSetFields;

$vehicle_set = new ProductSet(null, <PRODUCT_CATALOG_ID>);

$vehicle_set->setData(array(
  ProductSetFields::NAME => 'Test Vehicle Set',
  ProductSetFields::FILTER => array(
    'year' => array(
      'eq' => 2016,
    ),
  ),
));

$ vehicle_set->create();

The filter parameter is made up of the following operators and data:

Marketplace Best Practices

Currently, Marketplace only supports used and certified pre-owned Vehicles. All vehicle mileage must be over 500 miles. Listings with less than 500 miles (or equivalent in km) will be rejected, unless they have a registration plate.

Images

• Provide as many high quality photos as possible. Posts with at least 15–20 photos tend to perform the best.
• Photos should be at 960x720 resolution or better.
• Provide the following images:
  • 1 - Front 3/4 angle
  • 2 - Cockpit,
  • 3 - Side, back
  • 4 - Interior
  • 5 - Dents, dings & excessive wear
  • 6 - Engine
  • 7 - Wheels
• Clearly show any damage or excessive wear.
• Only include images of the vehicle itself. Don't add any brand or dealership overlays or graphics.
• Listings with less than 2 images will be rejected.

Learn more about Marketplace Vehicles best practices.

Upload Your Listings

1. Select one listing partner. Listing inventory through multiple partners will yield suboptimal results. Selecting one provider enables you to attribute Marketplace to the correct provider and measure performance accordingly.
2. Upload your full inventory of pre-owned vehicles. To maximize your dealership’s presence on Marketplace, send 100% of your available used vehicle inventory across all price points.
3. Provide a complete vehicle description. Provide as much information as you have available about each vehicle, including notation of any damages.
4. Provide proper contact information. Always include a dealership phone number.

Scheduled Vehicles Feed Fetches

Facebook fetches vehicles feeds from your system on a schedule you define. There are two types of schedule you can define:

• Update Schedule — The uploads would either create new items or update existing ones with the information provided in the feed file.
• Replace Schedule — The uploads would result in a complete refresh operation on your feed - we delete vehicles not present in the file, update existing ones, and create new ones.

Full Error Reporting / Catalog Debugging

This functionality is in beta.

For more details, see "How can I see the full error list of my catalog?" in the Marketplace FAQ list.

Learn More

• Methods to Add Catalog Items
• Add and Update Catalog Items with a Pixel
• Business Help Center: About Dynamic Ads with an On-Facebook Destination
• Business Help Center: Set Up a Dynamic Ads Campaign with an On-Facebook Destination
• Campaign, Objective Validation