Vehicle buying platform Carwow, which compares offers from local and national dealers, has reached 2m subscribers on YouTube – just eight months after hitting 1m subscribers.

The firm’s YouTube channel posted its first video back in September 2015 but started video reviewing cars in April 2016 – following the appointment of Mat Watson as editorial director and presenter.

According to the company, it achieved 40m views in March alone and is now positioned as the world’s number one automotive YouTube channel, with 2bn total minutes of content viewed across its videos. This momentum means it is closing the gap on Top Gear in terms of subscriber numbers but remains a long way behind the BBC show’s almost 6.5m subscribers.

“Whilst we are growing rapidly, were working incredibly hard to ensure a consistent level of quality that not only brings car lovers to the channel but has them hitting subscribe,” said Watson. “Were really happy that the numbers support that were achieving our mission, creating content that no only entertains, but also informs the viewers and car buyers without drowning them in jargon. The fact that 40m on our 500m total video views across the platform were racked up in the last month shows were on the right track and we have some really exciting plans to appeal to even more viewers.”