mobile.de API: what the interface does and how to connect it to WordPress
Through the mobile.de API a website pulls the vehicle inventory straight from the dealer account. This page explains what the interface delivers, how you get access, what it costs and how the connection to WordPress works with BasisCars.
What the mobile.de API is
The mobile.de API is the interface of the mobile.de dealer area; it is provided by mobile.de GmbH. Programs such as BasisCars use it to retrieve the vehicle data of a dealer account: prices, technical data, equipment lists, descriptions and images.
BasisCars reads the inventory from mobile.de. The plugin cannot create or edit listings or publish them on other marketplaces; that stays with mobile.de.
mobile.de publishes the technical documentation at services.mobile.de. If you use BasisCars you do not need to read it: the plugin handles the requests.
mobile.de is a registered trademark of mobile.de GmbH. BasisCars is an independent product and has no business relationship with mobile.de GmbH.
mobile.de API access: customer number and API password
You need a dealer account with mobile.de. Access takes two details: customer number and API password.
You generate the API password in the mobile.de dealer area under Schnittstellen (interfaces); it is not your normal customer password. You enter both details in BasisCars, and the plugin automatically detects the dealer ID.
If the interface returns a 401 error, generate the API password again and check that the customer password has not been entered instead. More in the troubleshooting section of the documentation.
Several dealer accounts (customer numbers), for example for several locations, can be connected together depending on your plan: up to ten in the Profi plan, unlimited in the Enterprise plan.
What the mobile.de API costs
Whether mobile.de charges for access to the interface depends on your dealer contract; BasisCars has no influence on that. If in doubt, ask your contact at mobile.de.
BasisCars costs 10, 30, 50 or 100 euros per month plus VAT, depending on the size of your inventory; if you pay annually, you pay for ten months: 100, 300, 500 or 1,000 euros per year. The plans differ in the number of vehicles (up to 50, 100, 250, unlimited), dealer accounts and domains. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.
Which data comes through the interface
For every vehicle BasisCars transfers around forty fields from mobile.de: make, model and variant, price, power, fuel, gearbox, mileage, first registration, inspection date, previous owners, colours, consumption, CO₂ value and emission class, plus the equipment list, the description and all images.
The plugin shows the consumption and emission values on the vehicle page in line with EnVKV and WLTP, including for electric and hybrid vehicles. The values themselves come from your mobile.de listing; as the dealer you are responsible for their accuracy. Which figures the regulation requires is covered in the guide to the Pkw-EnVKV.
All fields are stored as custom fields in WordPress and can be reused in templates, Elementor or meta descriptions; the full list is in the field overview of the documentation.
Automatic updates
BasisCars syncs the inventory at an adjustable interval, for example hourly or daily, via the WordPress cron or, more reliable for large inventories, a cron job on your server. A manual sync publishes changes immediately.
Vehicles that are sold or removed from mobile.de disappear from the website at the next sync. So that an outage of the interface does not lead to an empty vehicle list, the plugin by default deletes at most 30 per cent of the inventory at once.
Details: automatic sync and safety limit in the documentation.
Integrating the mobile.de API into WordPress
With BasisCars this takes no programming. The connection consists of three steps:
1. Upload the plugin
Install the ZIP archive under Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin and activate it.
2. Activate the licence
Enter the licence key and registration email under BasisCars → Settings → Account.
3. Enter your credentials
Store your customer number and API password under Inventory → mobile.de → API connection and start the first sync.
The vehicle list sits on a normal WordPress page: via shortcode, as a block in Gutenberg, as a widget in Elementor or as a module in Divi. Every vehicle gets its own subpage with its own address.
For images you have a choice: loaded directly from mobile.de (saves storage space, but transmits your visitors’ IP addresses to mobile.de) or copied into your media library, in which case everything sits on your server.
Requirements are WordPress 5.8 or later and PHP 7.4 or later. The installation guide shows the steps in detail.
Without the API: CSV import, and why an iFrame is no solution
If you cannot use the interface or have vehicles from other sources, you upload the inventory as a CSV table. CSV import is included in all plans and is currently in beta.
A mobile.de iFrame, on the other hand, is no alternative: the vehicles are merely displayed in a frame and are not on your website. Google does not index them under your domain, and your visitors’ IP addresses go to mobile.de on every page view.
Frequently asked questions about the mobile.de API
Do I need programming skills?
No. You upload the plugin, activate the licence and enter your customer number and API password. You place the vehicle list on a page like any other content, via shortcode, block or Elementor widget.
Can I connect several dealer accounts or locations?
Yes, depending on your plan: Beginner and Händler are designed for one dealer account, Profi allows up to ten, Enterprise an unlimited number. You enter the numbers separated by commas and the inventories merge into one shared vehicle list.
Are the images loaded from mobile.de or stored on my site?
Both are possible. By default the images are loaded directly from mobile.de; this transmits your visitors’ IP address to mobile.de, which belongs in your privacy policy. If you switch to media library download under Inventory → mobile.de → Media and images, all images are stored on your own server.
Where do I get help if the connection does not work?
The most common causes are listed in the troubleshooting section of the documentation: a 401 error with a wrong password, an auto sync that does not run regularly without a server cron, an image import that aborts because of a tight PHP memory limit. If that does not help, write to info@basiscars.com.
Is there a sandbox for the mobile.de API?
You do not need one for BasisCars. The plugin works with your dealer account and only reads the inventory; it cannot create or change anything. Whether mobile.de provides a test environment for your own development is something you clarify through the interface section of your dealer account.
How often is the interface queried?
As often as you set it, hourly or daily for example, plus at the touch of a button whenever you want. That is enough for a dealer inventory. The query limits mobile.de applies are stated in its interface documentation.
Where do I find the technical documentation for the mobile.de API?
mobile.de publishes it at services.mobile.de, in English. You do not need it to set up BasisCars: the steps are in our documentation.