Bauer Media has confirmed its motoring titles – Wheels, Motor, Street Machine, 4×4 Australia, Australian Motorcycle News and Australasian Dirt Bike – will join the Bauer Trader group.

The mastheads and their teams will relocate to Melbourne from Sydney to work alongside Bauer Trader’s existing motoring, motorcycle, marine and RV titles.

Last month, Bauer Media's CEO Matthew Stanton said the publishing company was considering moving its automotive titles and staff to Melbourne.

New Zealand Motorcycle Trader and Trade-A-Boat will also move to Melbourne from their current base in Auckland.

Bauer said “this single publishing unit will better support the motoring titles’ continued growth across print and digital platforms”.

Following discussion with staff, Auto Action will remain in Sydney “as it is a better fit with Bauer’s sport portfolio”.

The Auto Action sales team will however merge with the broader motoring titles’ sales force under the Bauer Trader banner.

Top Gear Australia – a joint venture published by Park Publishing with BBC Worldwide – is not affected and will remain in Sydney.

Bauer Trader Media chief executive Keith Falconer, said: “As a single publishing group we can align our mastheads to better serve the motoring, motorcycle, marine and RV markets. It also means we can strengthen their brand footprints across all platforms – print, digital and video – while maintaining their high quality content and providing advertisers simple and wide-reaching marketing solutions.”

Meanwhile, Bauer has also announced the appointment of Ged Bulmer to the position of managing editor for motoring.

In his new role Bulmer will have editorial oversight across a range of Bauer Trader Media titles, including magazines currently based in Sydney that are relocating to the company’s head offices in Melbourne.