Deactivating the mobile.de price rating: what's possible in 2026

How does mobile.de calculate the price rating?

mobile.de uses AI to compare your vehicle with similar listings on mobile.de and ranks the price on that basis. The AI version has been in use since June 30, 2025 according to kfz-betrieb, and according to a mobile.de spokesperson the rating is updated weekly.

mobile.de does not state an exact formula in the sources evaluated. Only the basics from before the AI version are documented: in 2017, then-CEO Malte Krüger said the price rating was "a complex algorithm built on more than 70 rating factors."

In December 2017, mobile.de explained that the dealer could "feed the algorithm with more than 70 attributes." This was meant to "ensure an objective classification." According to the ZDK press release from April 2018, the rating was determined at that time from 70 attributes; the number was to be "roughly doubled by around another 70." How many features the AI model has used since 2025 is not evident from the sources.

For you, this means: the comparison relies on the information in your listing. Complete data is therefore the precondition for an accurate classification.

The weekly recalculation has another consequence: because your vehicle is compared against the respective current listings, your level can change even though you haven't touched the listing. mobile.de describes the AI version as "significantly more precise than before"; it reflects "the realities of the market."

In addition to the rating, mobile.de displays the mobile.de market price. How exactly it is calculated is not explained in the sources evaluated.

Who does the price rating apply to, and can it be deactivated?

The price rating applies to all dealers on mobile.de. mobile.de does not mention any way to deactivate, delete, or hide it in any of the statements evaluated. The ZDK press release of April 19, 2018 states that "all transparency initiatives, such as the dealer rating and price rating, would apply to all mobile.de dealers, regardless of the service package booked."

The rating was controversial from the start. According to AUTOHAUS, April 19, 2018, mobile.de and dealers continued to disagree about the purpose and necessity of a price rating. At the time, mobile.de only announced improvements to the existing system.

The rating is not tied to a specific package. In December 2017, mobile.de explained that no package was needed for the price rating. The goal was "not to tie initiatives aimed at transparency to packages."

The rating is aimed at 2 groups. Buyers see it on listings, after mobile.de initially introduced it for dealers starting in Q4 2017. Dealers use it for pricing, today in the "Price rating" tab of the listing analysis.

The statements that the rating applies to all dealers date from 2017 and 2018. We did not have access to a current mobile.de help page that explicitly confirms the price rating cannot be deactivated. What exactly applies to your contract should be clarified in your dealer area or with mobile.de support.

What does the price rating change for your sales?

Buyers see at a glance how your price compares. In the listing analysis, mobile.de links the rating with search position, market situation, and a standing-time forecast, so you can test price changes in advance.

mobile.de itself sees the rating as a sales aid. The AI price rating "clearly positions the offer price within the competitive environment, supports data-based price setting, and thus increases the attractiveness of the listings," according to an advertorial dated September 12, 2025. This is the provider's view; the sources do not mention an independent study on this.

Dealers experienced the launch of the AI version differently. After the switchover as of June 30, 2025, kfz-betrieb wrote: "Dealers' price ratings are sometimes dropping massively." mobile.de countered, according to kfz-betrieb, July 23, 2025, that worse ratings only occurred for "individual dealers."

The listing analysis is available for your pricing work. mobile.de announced it for the fall 2025 update in order to use AI "to optimize reach and pricing." According to AUTOHAUS, July 15, 2026, the revised version combines "market, price, and performance data." A mobile.de advertorial from September 21, 2026 describes it as redesigned and with 4 tabs: Performance, Price rating, Search position, and Market situation.

Feature	What you see	As of
"Price rating" tab	Classification from "Very good price" to "High price," supplemented by the mobile.de market price	September 2026
"Market situation" tab	Notes such as "better market" or "weaker market" compared with the previous year, plus a probability of sale	September 2026
Price planner	Slider for the offer price with standing-time forecast, preview price rating, and preview search position	October 2026

On the price planner, mobile.de CSO Florian Baur says: "Pricing decisions are among the most important levers in the vehicle business. We make them as simple as possible."

A price that's too high shows up in your standing days. How to work back from your target price to your maximum purchase price is explained in our article Determining used-car prices as a dealer.

How to use the price rating on your lot

Check the price rating every week using the same routine: first the vehicle data, then the price. You can tackle the following 5 steps as early as this week.

1. Review your inventory. Open the listing analysis and go through all vehicles in the "Price rating" tab (according to mobile.de, one of 4 tabs, as of September 2026). Note every vehicle at the upper end of the scale and start with those that have been sitting the longest.
2. Complete the vehicle data. For these vehicles, check the equipment and all listing details before adjusting the price. mobile.de already explained in 2017 that the dealer could feed the algorithm with more than 70 attributes. For the order in which to improve data, photos, and description, see our article on the mobile.de quality check.
3. Test the price in the price planner. Move the slider and read off the standing-time forecast, preview price rating, and preview search position before actually changing the price (price planner, October 2026). This way you see in advance whether a price change even shifts the level.
4. Keep an eye on the market situation. If the "Market situation" tab shows a "weaker market," demand has fallen compared with the previous year. Factor this note and the sale probability into your decision whether to lower the price or improve the presentation first.
5. Schedule a fixed weekly appointment. Because mobile.de recalculates the rating weekly, checking once a month is not enough. Set a day on which one person reviews all ratings and notes any changes.

Common mistakes with the mobile.de price rating

Most mistakes cost time or margin without improving the rating. These 5 are the ones we encounter most often.

• Waiting for an off switch. You lose weeks on inquiries while the rating stays on the listing. Work with data and price instead, since according to the ZDK the rating applies to all dealers, regardless of package.
• Incomplete equipment information. If features are missing from the listing, the comparison with similar offers lacks a basis, and your price may be ranked worse. Maintain all details before every price change.
• Checking once and ticking it off. With weekly recalculation, a good level from the start of the month can tip later. Check on a fixed day every week.
• Blindly lowering the price. You give up margin without knowing whether it will even change the level. Test every reduction first in the price planner with the preview price rating and standing-time forecast.
• Confusing the price rating with the dealer rating. Guides on deleting customer reviews won't help with the price rating, since it classifies your price and says nothing about your business. Treat both topics separately and assign a dedicated person for each within your team.

Next steps: check the price weekly, show off your vehicles

This week, decide who will check the price rating, and make sure your vehicles show what the buyer is paying for. Pricing work stays with you; the presentation can be outsourced.

One person from sales or dispatch is enough for the pricing work. They check the listing analysis once a week, test changes in the price planner, and note which vehicles have changed level. A fixed process for vehicles that have been sitting too long can be found in our article Reducing standing days.

If a vehicle is at the upper end of the scale, the buyer needs to recognize what they're paying more for, such as condition and equipment. We recommend A21 Social for this. The software takes over your listings from mobile.de, uses AI to create short vertical videos from photos and vehicle data, and automatically publishes them on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. You don't need to film or edit, and you don't need an agency.

Each video can additionally appear on your YouTube channel and can then be linked in the mobile.de listing. How this works is shown in our article Uploading a mobile.de video. Important for your planning: A21 Social only takes over listings from mobile.de, not from AutoScout24 or Kleinanzeigen, and does not publish to the Facebook Marketplace. The monthly plans cost €29 (Starter), €79 (Pro), and €149 (Enterprise), each plus VAT.

How we reviewed this guide

For this guide, in October 2026 we evaluated advertorials by mobile.de at AUTOHAUS, as well as reports from kfz-betrieb and AUTOHAUS containing statements from mobile.de, and a press release from the ZDK. mobile.de's own pages (Help, Newsroom, and dealer pages) were not reachable at the time of retrieval. Because of this, we could not verify whether a current help page explicitly confirms that the rating cannot be switched off, or whether the exceptions from 2017-cases in which mobile.de does not show a price rating-still apply today. Every figure in this article is linked to its source.

You can influence the price rating yourself, via vehicle data and the price planner. For the vehicle videos, we recommend you try A21 Social; you'll find all plans on the A21 Social pricing page.