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Car Dealer Podcast Live 2025 – with Vicky Hart, Matt Galvin and Alex Bradley
Car Dealer Podcast Live 2025 – with Vicky Hart, Matt Galvin and Alex Bradley
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About this episode
A lively discussion at the Car Dealer Podcast Live 2025 features industry experts Vicky Hart, Matt Galvin, and Alex Bradley, who share insights on the evolving automotive landscape. Topics include the rise of Chinese car brands, the impact of electric vehicle grants, and the challenges of sourcing and marketing used cars. The panelists emphasize the importance of adapting to market changes, building brand loyalty, and understanding consumer behavior in a competitive environment. Engaging anecdotes and audience interactions add to the dynamic atmosphere of the event.
Topics:
chinese car brands
electric vehicle grants
used car sourcing
marketing strategies
consumer behavior
brand loyalty
after sales service
digital marketing
We're joined live on stage (in a hotel in Oxfordshire) to chat to three fantastic guests from all corners of the automotive industry.
Vicky Hart, head of Marketing and Digital for Waylands, Matt Galvin, managing director of Polestar UK & Ireland, and Alex Bradley, founder of Small Cars Direct, chat to the Car Dealer team about all things motor trade.
Podcast Live 2025 is sponsored by Motorway
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Volvo EX90
"...derpinned and shared with the same platform as an EX90 Polestar 2 is underpinned and shares a platform w..."
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Volvo XC40
"...ar 2 is underpinned and shares a platform with an XC40 so those ties are still really really important"
Car
Polestar 2
"with the same platform as an EX90 Polestar 2 is underpinned and shares a platform with an XC40..."
Car
Tesla Model
"... the deals we've been doing recently have been on Tesla Model 3s and the conversation is"
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Tesla Model 3S
"... the deals we've been doing recently have been on Tesla Model 3s and the conversation is"
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This episode of the podcast is brought to you by Motorway.
This is what easy car sourcing from more than 8,000 fresh vehicles every week feels like.
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It's not magic, it's Motorway.
Welcome back to the car dealer podcast live and welcome as well to our live studio audience.
This is where you make some noise.
We are delighted as ever to see you all here today for our second podcast live
sponsored by Motorway, of course. Motorway, make some noise as well, wherever you are.
At what is possibly the second best hotel in the Didcot area, so I hope you're all enjoying it.
I'm John Ray and asking the probing questions today.
We have, of course, James Baggert. James, nice to see you.
Nice to see you, John.
We're also blessed to have Quentin Wilson's stunt double here, James Bachelor.
I don't know what you mean.
That was quite bad.
I'm doing Quentin Wilson.
In the audience as well with a roving mic somewhere we've got Rebecca Chaplin at the back.
Is your mic on, Rebecca?
Okay, Rebecca is at the back with a mic, but hopefully we'll work.
I am in the back corner hiding, but I will be jumping out if anyone has any questions.
Very good. So yes, if you want to put any questions to the panel or us,
pop your hand up and she will sprint over.
Joining us today, we're not very important, but joining us today are three proper guests from across the motor industry.
So in the franchise dealer corner, please welcome Vicki Hart, head of marketing and digital at Waylands.
Thank you for joining us, Vicki.
That's a good welcome. Let's keep that going.
So representing independent dealers, we've got Alex Bradley, founder of Small Cars Direct.
Nice to see you, Alex.
And from the manufacturer world, it's none of the Matt Galvin,
managing director of Polestar UK and Ireland.
Hello, Matt.
So we're going to do things a bit differently this time.
There's no particular stories or voting.
So James can't hold that over my head, which is quite nice.
So we're just going to have a good old chat really, ask lots of questions and then go eat some corn on the cob.
Is there a meat option?
There is. Yes, there is meat.
Our presenters will be having a chat to each of our guests as we go through about their areas of automotive expertise.
But feel free to get involved along the way, as we keep saying.
If you've got a point to make, stick your hand up and James, Rebecca will come over.
So James, let's just get this out of the way first.
Are there any moans you want to have?
You know, if you bought a Ford Monday, if I revealed.
No, but I have just lost out on a Suzuki splash in the motorway auction.
So I'm frustrated.
You know, I'm not going to love a Suzuki splash.
Apparently so. But seriously, seriously, as in my script.
You've been running your tiny, tiny car dealership now for two years, haven't you?
What have you learned?
Actually, I'm going to ask first, knowing now what you do know, what would you have done differently?
Maybe not done it.
No, what would I have done differently?
I would have got help sooner, if I'm honest.
I would have got a couple of my colleagues in the audience today.
And since they've joined, it has been a lot easier because running a small dealership,
like many people in the audience do, well, actually a lot bigger dealerships.
It's stressful. It's incredibly hard work.
And when you're doing that just on your own and dealing with the pressures of buying cars and dealing with customers and warranty claims,
I've had a huge amount of respect for those people who do run a dealership now, having done it myself.
And I just like the fact that I can bounce off other people.
The old saying of problem shared is problem hard.
It really is true.
And just being able to pick up the phone to someone and say,
what should we do about that warranty claim or what should we do about buying that car really does help?
Because you can be isolated in this industry.
And I think what I would have done sooner is expanded a bit quicker with some help.
Yes, Joe and Luke are here in the audience somewhere, aren't they?
Yeah, so thank you.
There we go.
They've been forced to come.
Yeah, pretty much.
They're not washing any voxels and stuff.
Well, these are the chairs from the dealership, so they've got nowhere to sit.
Joe Luke, if you want to ask about your next pay pack here, this is a great time to do it.
Yes.
We'll cut there.
I'm going to batch now because I'm bored of James.
So what about you?
You've been on plenty of car launches, I assume this year.
We haven't seen you on the podcast for a while.
Where have you been?
I've been never relieved to be honest with you, but I've been very, very busy.
I feel like I'm talking about this all the time now.
But the theme of this year really has been Chinese car launches.
And only last week there was a totally new brand that was launched.
I didn't even know what it was.
It appeared at a driving day for journalists.
And on that precise day, the brand launched in the UK.
This is Cherry, is it?
No.
It's Chang'an.
Oh, yeah.
2007.
And we are now in this very strange world where these brands are appearing in the UK
thick and fast.
And I'm really getting an insight into what car buyers are feeling because quite frequently,
I haven't got a clue who these brands are.
And I have to rapidly do some research.
And you kind of realise what consumers go through, particularly those who are not particularly car savvy.
They don't know much about brands.
I think we all assume everybody knows about cars, don't we?
But lots of people don't.
So that's been a real theme for me this year.
It's just getting to grips with all of these brands that seem to be appearing every single week.
Quick question on that.
I haven't driven lots of these different brands, which is the one that really stood out for you.
I think it's Cherry, actually.
And Cherry, they launched last year with the Modron J-Coup.
And now suddenly, Cherry have decided, hey, we want to slide to the action as well.
And it was quite interesting because I was on the launch of the Cherry T-Go 7 the other week.
And the executive was there standing in front of me.
And I said, look, where does Cherry fit amongst the Modron J-Coup brands?
Because as a journalist, I'm trying to work out where they sit, which customers are going to be buying them.
And basically, the executive said, it doesn't really matter.
Why are you so interested in trying to have this hierarchy of brands?
That's what we used to do in the past, and having this hierarchy of brands.
And that's just not a thing at the moment.
And they think that's not a thing moving forwards.
It's going to be strange, isn't it?
How it's going to change the automotive landscape so quickly, I think.
Well, I mean, interesting as that was, Batch.
Very much.
There are more interesting people up here than us.
So I'm going to start asking some questions.
So Vicky, I'm sorry we're coming to you first.
But tell us a little bit about yourself.
Tell us your automotive journey.
How did you get to where you are now?
My automotive journey, OK.
So as I sit here today, I've been in head of marketing roles
in the number of AM 100 retail groups for 10 years.
So prior to that was in a SaaS company providing software
to the automotive retail industry.
Before that, various marketing agencies outside of automotive.
So within automotive industry for 13 years now.
Fantastic.
So you find yourself at Waylands now, of course.
I do indeed.
Your boss is in the front row.
Absolutely.
On strict instruction.
So how has the year been for Wayland so far from where you're sitting?
I think it's fair to say a really, really strong year for us,
particularly in the use car space.
If we look at year on year performance and some of that
has come through acquisition, but we've moved forward
really quite credibly in terms of use car sales volume.
New car has been perhaps more volatile this year,
but actually we've got really good.
We're very fortunate to have excellent brand partners.
All of whom are doing really great things
and bringing exciting product to market.
So, yeah, Waylands is feeling like a really good place to be.
Fantastic.
I mean, well, since you mentioned brands,
some of which are joining us today.
I mean, we talked about Chinese cars there, haven't we?
You guys have got a couple of Chinese brands.
Yep.
I mean, how are you getting on with them?
Are they a bit of a runaway success?
Not to put words in your mouth.
Not to leave the witness.
So very, very new additions to Waylands.
So we acquired an Amoda Jaku site in Bristol
on the 9th of July, I think it was.
So we are very new to working with the brand.
I think one thing that's really impressed me
is the energy behind the aggression almost
in terms of that pursuit of market share.
They're really willing to kind of stand by that
and are very supportive in terms of helping us
drive that forwards, drive local awareness.
Response to the product has been fantastic.
But I think that the point that you made
that was a really, really interesting one
around this kind of hierarchy of brands
and which customers buy which products
in the marketing space.
Of course, that's a real interest to me
in terms of understanding how do we segment that audience
and which of the brands in the portfolio
are right for which customer.
And I do think that one thing
the Chinese new entrants are doing,
they're really challenging brand loyalties
in terms of consumer.
I think what it also means is fundamentally,
price isn't a point of differentiation anymore.
So in terms of that kind of hierarchy of brands,
actually there's much more choice
than there ever has been before.
So the point around who buys these cars
is a really interesting one.
Some of the early profiling work I've done
suggests we're actually seeing
high levels of affluence amongst that customer base
and people are making decisions based
on perhaps value rather than price.
So I think the point you make there
is a really pertinent one when you start
to look at those new entrants for sure.
When it comes to these consumers
that are buying these new brands,
I find them particularly interesting.
I see lots of them around.
I went to China with them this year
and I was amazed at what they've done there
and what they're going to be bringing here,
obviously I mean it wasn't a surprise
when they launched Cherry.
Do you have to market that differently?
I mean how are you targeting these buyers?
Because it's, like you say,
it's very hard profile who they are.
Absolutely that and I think it's fair to say
that given our relationship
and representation of the brand
is still in its infancy,
one thing we're very mindful of in our targeting
is at the moment we're starting quite broad.
We're learning as we go.
We are very much digital first
because I guess afford us the benefit
of is great data.
So we're scrutinising really heavily
everything that we do for those brands
right now when we're learning.
We're adjusting and we're just having to be
more agile than ever because again
I think that's one thing within the quarter.
I don't think I've ever seen so many overlays
and enhancements to the campaign
as the brand responds to the market
and I think we as a marketing function
need to be equipped to go with them.
So yeah, I think for me
at the moment the targeting is fairly broad.
We're hypothesising, we're testing things
and we're making sure that we
fail fast and learn and move on.
Sorry, John.
Just jumped in.
When it comes to these Chinese manufacturers
as Batch pointed out
there's loads of them coming to the
market now
and we've talked about a lot in the podcast
about when they take over
and whether they have already taken over.
What's your take on
these Chinese brands in total?
Do you think they're going to be dominating
the automotive market in the UK very soon?
No, I don't.
I think that what they're doing
is they're providing customers with more choice
but I think one thing we're seeing is that
actually they tend to sit in a basket
with a lot of the volume brands that
we would know and expect to be on the shopping list
so I don't think we're at a point where
we're going to see domination of those brands
in a very short period of time.
I think what they are doing is perhaps
extending that buying decision, extending that purchase journey
because now more than ever
there is more choice
but I think absolutely
there is still an opportunity for
the mainstay brands that we continue to see
I don't see them dominating
any time soon though.
I mean they really have
particularly Mojo and Jacob, on the way up here
they, you know, starting to sound like Alan
Partridge now, but up on the A34
just as the M4 crosses over
they were, I saw
so we're about genuinely
six car transporters full of JQ7s
no Land Rover
transporters
no Ford Transporters
I know
but
it seems like there is no
shortage of stock
and what is it from a marketing perspective
I mean is there a huge amount of support
from those manufacturers
to dealers to try and get
these cars
to appeal to new customers?
Absolutely, I think
we recognise that in that brand
we have the disadvantage
if you like of no established base
so from an after sales point of view clearly
we have a challenge but from a sales point of view
there's no renewal opportunity there
so in terms of marketing activity
we know it's costly, we are ultimately
looking to conquest customers from other brands
so I would say that
in terms of asset provision
in terms of financial support
to that extent
they absolutely put their money where their mouth is
and are very supportive of the dealer network
Just moving on to marketing a little bit
because we will do another Chinese car podcast
and have to sit here and talk about this for a minute
I'm sure we'll come back to more Chinese cars
in today's subject matter
but in terms of advertising channels
for you guys I mean there will be a lot of people
in the audience and listening
who are constantly scrutinising
where to put their money in terms of marketing activities
and so on
and the biggest channel for you guys
what's performing the best
are the brands are available etc
Yeah so as I alluded to
earlier
our strategy is digital first
so in terms of our marketing spend
digital as a whole probably represents
around 80-85% of our total spend
so it is significant
in that sense
we absolutely recognise
the role of the classified platforms
in terms of driving inquiry
but we are absolutely
focused on driving our paid
and organic presence
Waylands.co.uk is by far our
highest converting enquiry source
so in terms of what I want to do
I want to drive more of that enquiry
I want to get people to Waylands.co.uk
because that's where we'll drive
a higher or customers with a higher
propensity to convert so we've got
customers that are lower funnel
coming to us via our own website
sort of figures right at that point
they're looking at you know actually
what deal can I get
they absolutely are looking for their local dealer
what stock we've got if it's a used car enquiry
or what kind of tactic offers we've got
for a new car enquiry so for us
we've been trialling a lot of different things
with Google in terms of our paid search presence
this year organic has been a real
focus for us
so for me anything that enables us to
drive high quality
lower funnel traffic to Waylands.co.uk
is our focus.
I'm going to give you a difficult question which is
where do you think dealers should focus their spend
obviously it's very dependent on what kind of dealer they are
the local area etc but let's
actually let's say where do you think James should
focus his spend
I guess for me there are several
elements to that there's one
area that I think we don't talk about
enough but is incredibly important in terms of
longevity and that's building brand
so for me we operate in a space
where I referenced earlier
price is no longer a point of differentiation
product as
a retailer
isn't a point of differentiation in so far
as somebody can buy a new pole staff
from us they can buy a new pole staff
from another retail partner
so actually the Waylands brand needs to carry real weight
why do I choose to buy that
product from you and actually
that's about experience that's about the
trust signals we talk a lot about
the importance of reviews but that really
plays out when you look at customer decision making
so for me building
brand equity should be a real area of focus
for all retailers because
that can be the only point of
differentiation and actually that's where
you start to gain long-term competitive
advantage rather than just
winning the month or the quarter
I think other than that my focus really
is on then looking at quality
of inquiry because
quantity of inquiry can
so easily become a vanity metric
and we
talk often about traffic levels
inquiry levels but for me
absolutely has to be a layer deeper than that
and looking at your inquiry sources and where that
conversion comes from hence our focus
on our own website property
for the quality of inquiry
do you find that you get customers
coming into the show who just
want to buy from Waylands because of who
Waylands is because that's a very
expensive thing to push isn't it pushing
your own brand rather than the one
that goes above the door a mode of
jaking for example it's
hard to do isn't it because
I'm not sure whether customers connect
the fact that these
manufacturer dealerships are owned
by individual dealer groups
oh no absolutely and I think for me
it's about driving
awareness of the Waylands
brand clearly articulating
our value proposition but actually
in synergy with the manufacturer
brand because for us a big part of
the value proposition is that these great
manufacturer partners choose to partner with us
we are you know excellent
ambassadors of their brand as well
so I think for me you're absolutely
right it's an expensive investment
but when you start to move into the
after sales space for example if you move
away just from the sales element again
reputation becomes so important
I think the challenge is
in terms of many of the marketing
conversations that we have it is just
it's much harder to quantify
and that can be when the challenges come
when you're sitting around the table and talking
about allocation of budget you have to
find the compelling reasons to invest in
brand because it is an expensive exercise
I absolutely think that we see
people who choose to buy from Waylands
and we know that because sometimes if
people have decided that the product
there isn't right for them to continue
they will speak to us about is there
anything else you can help me with
so I think absolutely people do choose
to deal with this because we're Waylands
and that's gold dust really isn't it?
I mean if you've got people coming to you
because they want to deal with you
it's worth the time and investment in that marketing
interesting to see that's working
I'm just going to move you some briefly to the
electric car grant
which is a topic
topic
I'm good at this
so I just want to talk about how it's kind of
how you guys have found it
how's it been on the ground
you know because we've talked
about the confusion in implementation
and what does it mean for
people wandering into showrooms are there
I guess I'm asking are there customers wandering
in saying can I have my three and a half grand
off please
and you're having to say I'm afraid not
because there's not a full puma over there
you know is that kind of thing happening
are they aware of the grant
and are they expecting lots of money off cars?
Yes I think it's fair to say that
there is a good level of awareness
around the car grant but I would
say mixed with a healthy dose of skepticism
I think
that the initial announcement
whilst you know considered a very
great exercise from a PR point of view
came with a real lack of clarity
and actually all that served to do was drive confusion
so we had customers
who'd heard about this car grant
but actually what does that mean
and if I am exploring my options
I mean for us the EB car grant
doesn't apply to any of the models that we represent
one thing I think that
our manufacturer partners have been really good
at doing is come into the table
with their own proposition
so that they are still competitive
albeit not necessarily through the EB car grant
so I think yes
absolutely those conversations are taking place
in showrooms today
and for us it's been
about as much about educating
the customers making sure that our colleagues
are fully informed because of course
they walk in and they expect us to be
product experts
they expect us to be able to help them with that
so the pressure has been on us as well
to make sure that the team are on the journey
and understand how to advise customers
I mean I've moaned about the car grant
quite a lot
I think it would affect you James
I know
but I have moaned about it quite a lot
because I just feel that
there was a good idea there
but the execution was awful
and what they were trying to do
is incentivise people into electric cars
when they ended up beating up manufacturers
when they didn't really need to do it
what would you have liked to have seen
as a grant
I mean how would you have liked to have seen something implemented
because you've just said there that
you've got a lot of electric cars
but none of them are eligible for this government grant
what would you have done
I think it's important to address customer concerns
and actually whilst
cost of ownership is a factor
there are lots of other customer concerns
we see playing out as well
whether or not that was support to be used
for home charging installation
whether or not that was support
actually to move people into plug-in hybrid
because we do see a lot of customers
dip their toe in the water with a plug-in hybrid
and then their next vehicle will be
a fully electric vehicle
so I think supporting people on the journey
and acknowledging that that will look different
for lots of different customer groups
rather than being quite as prescriptive as they have been
which actually
the net result is actually
there's almost a disengagement in terms of
the value of that scheme
I think a bit more flexibility
in summary would have been
a really positive thing
Matt's going to hate me for asking this
but
now the grant doesn't apply to you guys at Polestar
because you're kind of priced above it anyway aren't you really
what do you think
looking from the outside at it
would you have liked to have been included in it
do you think the limit is too low for example
I guess that's my first question
and then what do you
that's also one of my questions
I'll hand over to you after this
I just want to claim the glory of that
thank you
of course the limit is too low I would say that wouldn't I
of course we'd love Polestar to be illegible
but
it's a good idea
absolutely it was executed terribly James
I agree with you there was far too much confusion
and could fuffle for almost two months
before it was really clear for consumers as to
which cars it applied to
and which cars it didn't I mean I've probably got a slightly
different perspective as to how they could have approached it
you know for me it's about giving
more people choice in terms
of their transition to an EV
and most of you in here are used car dealers
the used car market
for EVs has been it's fair to say
challenging with residual
values plummeting
first adoption of those cars
and the ownership of those cars has been a really terrible
experience so the Netherlands
recently did something they supported used cars
and actually in terms of adoption of electric cars
which is if we believe in electric cars
being part of a sustainable future really important
that lower price point
that a used car provides
might have been a more interesting way
as well as a new car but might have been more interesting
way to use some of that some of that money
but also of course there's these Zev mandate
fines you know big fines for people that
don't comply with the Zev mandate
that's not taxpayer money they could
reinvest that in some kind of incentive
that does do new and used cars or maybe
it levels the VAT on charging
for example domestic to
20% it's quite a big gap
so there's lots of different things they could have done
but I am an advocate of it
I think it's a good thing you know we do need to
we need to get on this journey of EV
adoption it's not not changing it's coming
for all of us so
anyway we can smooth the transition is a good thing
I mean from a PR perspective
it was a disaster wasn't it
I mean to launch the scheme
with four citrons
each of which
are average at best
anyway
we're sorry
sorry
oh citron's calling me
it's happened before
but to launch it in that way
I mean I know you're not
covered by the graph but from a manufacturer
perspective that must be
you must be thinking why isn't the
government actually having a serious
dialogue with us
and you would have thought the obvious thing to do
would be to do the preparation and the homework first
and say the grants here these are the cars it applies to
from day one you know that had far more traction
because what the industry saw
was a stalling of consumers wanting to make that
choice you know because quite obviously
they're going to wait to see what the full list of cars is
before they make their decision on that purchase
so it was definitely a big sort of dip
I'm sure in showing traffic
in consumers making that decision
to make that purchase
so yeah it was a bit of a farce
could have been done a lot better
we are where we are
Matt, if you were in
number 10 and you never know there might be a vacancy
soon
what would you do
what would you put in place
to make this work
I think it's a recipe of lots of different
things you know and it's
100 things done 1% better not one thing done
100% better you know so
people don't know this but the congestion charge
is going to be levied
electric cars from December
you know there's a disincentive straight away
and that's not just London that's congestion charge zones
in the UK
there's a disincentive not to buy an electric car
the expensive car supplement
still set at £40,000 not adjusted
for inflation since 2017
which when you do adjust it for inflation is about
£56,000
why are we not doing that you know because again
a disincentive for buying an electric car is that
most electric cars accepting some of the Chinese
entrance are over £40,000
that's I think you had one
over £40,000
so I'd be looking at the smaller
things which disincentivise customers
to go for an EV rather than saying
here's six cars and you have three grand often
can I just ask Alex
we talked there about
used EV
used car dealer we were talking before
we started recording about the success
you're having with the 500E
what used car buyers say
do you think there needs to be
in place for the used car market when it comes to EVs
I think
a lot of the people that are coming to us interested
in our electric used
cars are people that have
already done a lot of their research online so
it's very rare that we're having the
opportunity to actually educate these people
which is a shame because
I think it's quite an easy
piece to kind of get over
the message and the benefits of having a used EV
and whenever people
come to you and they'll say
what cars have you got
typically what cars have you got
small automatic under 2000
don't exist
but if you're looking at a 5-10 grand budget
you're looking at around and you think
actually I've got a couple automatic EVs
you can't
even start a conversation
with these people because
I wouldn't have an EV
so you can't really get going
which is really frustrating but
there are people that are already coming to you
with a decent amount of knowledge that
we can
I've certainly found that people do turn up at
our dealership looking at the small EVs
that we've sold
they know everything about it
they don't need to sell it to them
they know that they want that
I'll tell somebody does James
hopefully someone will buy the 10 year old
new assembly for them
did they say has it got an SD card in it
and you have to say
no that hasn't
we'll add that to your batch
shall I move on to Matt
even though half of my questions have been asked
that's part of your section
it is
I'm going to start things off
very very simply Matt
so
you've been in the top job
just over a year now
nearly 18 months
so I mean you've come into the brand
when the brand
sort of
survived with just one car
now you're developing a range of cars
I mean just give us an idea of what your 18 months
have been like
chaotic
chaotic
it's been a real
meeting
maybe I can have one
it's been a really interesting
journey actually
and I'm not saying that because I'm trying to be
politically correct it genuinely has been fascinating
actually and you're right a lot's happened
in that time
we've transitioned the business model away from
a service operator
lead agency style relationship with our investor
partners to a non-genuine agency
or active selling model as I prefer to call it
which was a big step
we've launched two new cars
we've expanded our retailer footprint by nearly 100%
nearly doubled sales
a lot's happened in that time
so from my perspective
the EV market is
alive and kicking
you just need to know how to go after it
and yes there's more competition for sure
absolutely and we'll talk about Chinese entrance
a lot I'm sure but the fact is
the market's 2 million cars
as being for a few years will be for a few years more
you know so all these
new entrants coming in and wanting a piece
of that market is doing one thing and one thing only
and that's just creating more competition
and more choice for customers and that's a good thing
because competition keeps us honest
hmm
just describe a little bit more
about the way you sell cars
because you've sort of said
there a little bit how you've transitioned
but just for clarity
Polestar has made a change hasn't it
with how it starts up in 2020 to where we are now
yeah correct so when Polestar
started they were
the brand that didn't sell cars that was their strap line
actually we don't sell cars
so you can come and have a look
and we'll give you a test drive but we're not going to sell anyone
by wanting to go away and transact on the internet
that's how it was
and I kind of arrived and looked at it and thought
well we've got these dealer partners
whose day job is to sell cars
why are we not leveraging
their expertise
how to sell cars
there's quite a quick decision and an easy thing for me to make
was how do we bring the retailers
more into
the selling space for Polestar
and how do we take the handcuffs
often which actually
I had were please just let us go on and sell cars
how do we allow them to do that
so of course it all comes back to a contract doesn't it
and we had to change the contract agreement
to allow them to sell cars
change the margin model and all the things that go on behind it
and actually I think it's been quite successful
you know it's definitely
unlocked more of a retail
focus for us being an EV brand
80% fleet
80% fleet is salary sacrificed which presents itself
in a retail as a retail buyer
9 times out of 10
that changing in our stance in terms of sales
was really important
and we're a year in
it's almost a year to the day
we started in September we're a year on
I'm sure John would comment it's still not perfect
but we're better
than we were before
so are those retail
spaces I mean you started like Battersea
centre the Trafford centre
which are very different
various manufacturers have flirted with that idea
over the years
you know having a sort of
a different kind of dealership within a retail
space are those kinds of sites
still important to you
less so if I'm honest
Vicky you talked about building a brand
you know so in the early days getting pulsed
around in front of as many eyeballs as you could
shopping malls did that job so
you know for sure that was the right thing then
it's not the right thing now
in my opinion and we've been public about it
you know we are going to transition away from the shopping mall
concept and move into more traditional
stock type of real estate
but with the Polestar branding and the Polestar experience
and the Polestar journey
so it's definitely done a job for us but
particularly as we're now into the realm of
the second and third ownership cycles for
Polestar customers we need to go deal with use cars
you know and use cars
are very hard to transact from a shopping mall
space
I'm a huge fan and passionate
of mine it is about use cars and you do need
some real estate
and some four court space because
most of the journeys start online
yes they do
a lot of the journeys end in the dealership in terms of
transacting a used car
I flirted with the idea when I was at Volvo we launched a
D2C used car platform
and actually it was a great experiment we didn't sell loads
of cars from it
doing it direct online it serves
some people but most people still want to come and touch
feel sniff drive check for rattles
has a dog been in it has it been smoked in
and have a deal
that's what use cars are all about so
we want to move away from the shopping centres but also
I just believe that
it's more accessible to come to a car dealership
than it is a shopping centre you know that the experience
that we deliver through our shopping malls are
the best that we can with the tools
that are in front of us but test drive experience in particular
is quite complicated
particularly in some way that Battersea where you're going to go out and sit in traffic
for an hour and a half that's not really much of a test drive
experience and even in some of the bigger ones
like Trafford or even Cribs
you've got to go out to the car park
you've got to get onto the roads and then you can have your drive
out or how do I get it back with or leave it
so there's lots of reasons I think why we want to move
move away and we'll do that over the course of the next three or four years
sorry can I just ask a quick question about the agency
you know having gone
into that business and changed that
away from an agency model
we've seen lots of manufacturers say they're going to go
agency drift away from it
cancel it sweep it under the carpet
do you think agency
is as an idea
is going to die of death
I think it depends on your channel mix for sales
you know frankly speaking because we're so heavily
fleet bias
being able to
directly issue
terms to those leasing companies and
control the market is important
so from a fleet perspective I think agency is absolutely right
from a retail perspective
it's got its pros and it's got its cons
but again because
small percentage of our business
20% is retail
at the moment it works for us
new products coming for Polestar
which have been talked about Polestar 7
is coming to the market soon
that will be a great retail car for us
that will certainly unlock the opportunity to sell more retail
cars to more retail customers
maybe then we have a look at how we deal
with the business model
but today right now it's fit for purpose I think
that ability for you
to be able to shift your retail
stance and your focus
is that one of the advantages
of being part of Geely
Polestar is a start-up brand
but you look at the number of start-up brands
particularly from China and some from America
which have started
I mean even Neo, I know you were
which had these grand plans
and then all of a sudden
you realise that the UK
market is a difficult place to crack
it's very difficult to sell cars to people
very brand aware
very snobby you could say to a certain extent
but you've been able to switch your retail
stance because
you've got some support behind you
from a larger conglomerate
if you take the challenges of a start-up
which I am very familiar with
some of the challenges you have
when you're trying to persuade people to trust in a new brand
is what happens if it goes wrong
being part of Geely means
we're very close to Volvo
being close to Volvo means we have the benefit of
97 authorised repair points
so if your Polestar goes wrong
don't worry it's not a problem
take it to a Volvo dealership
in the way that they're really good at doing so
so that's one of the big stepping stones
and big challenges I think
these new brands will have
and especially in the premium car space
is how do I know
that you're going to be there if something happens
and something goes wrong
what are you going to do if the worst does happen
and that's a really key point for being part of Geely
and being part of that family
it gives us that scale
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I think we have a question
we're going to have to run very quickly so
Play some background music while it's happening
Hi, I'm Martin from EV Experts
we sell electric cars
I was interested to hear about
the retail partner
relationship between Volvo and Polestar
we're real big fans of Polestar
we sell a lot of those units
and we're finding
an inconsistency, and this is really
that and Vicky
from some of the Volvo service centres
we have some locally that are refusing
to deal with Polestar
we have some that are definitely pushing
Polestar further down
because they're not my customer
and I think it's a
challenge because
the one thing that's brilliant is
I've not heard of Polestar
you can get it serviced at a Volvo dealer
and that relationship between the two
is absolute
it's really close to sale
on a lot of the vehicles that we sell
so just want to sort of key to hear from both sides
how you view the relationship between
Volvo and Polestar and how linked
or unlinked are they
Do you want me to go first?
Yes, sure
Thank you for the question
and we are aware
that that's happening
I think all I would say is that
because we're on our infancy as a brand
and our retailer partnerships are growing
the position now where the retailer
relationships we have with our investors
represent around 40% of the after sales
points in the UK
so our Polestar partners who also represent
Volvo I would like to think
are not guilty of that and if they are
then we'll have a chat later
maybe you can tell me some specific names
and I'll deal with it
but how do we overcome it
and this is why our network expansion
is quite so important
because everyone's got some skin in the game
and if you're not
part of the Polestar family
you're probably not going to be that
predisposed to prioritising them
when it comes to fixing the problems
and we've had our fair share
like lots of brands have
so long way of saying we're working on it
and we're aware of it and I think there's some other things
I can do working more closely with the Volvo UK team
to make sure that
that de-prioritisation doesn't happen
From my perspective to Matt's point
we're very fortunate that we are a Polestar partner as well
so in effect
our Volvo centres are in similar
areas of operation
and so our Polestar customers
are as much a priority
as our other brands
I think it's really fair to say that
I certainly don't believe that happens in our centres
they are valued customers
to us too
Just a question
on that front
are customers still connecting the two
do they still connect Volvo and Polestar
because for a long time
Polestar was a
speedy version of Volvo
but now they've obviously been separated
are they still making that connection
is that connection even important?
I believe it is
when you look at the technology platforms that our cars share
it's Volvo
Polestar 3 is underpinned and shared
with the same platform as an EX90
Polestar 2 is underpinned and shares a platform with an XC40
so those ties are still really really important
and actually the businesses
are still linked despite what you might read in the press
Volvo is still a 20% shareholder of Polestar
so that relationship
is still very much there and cemented
From my perspective
I think what we see a lot of Polestar customers
are really into the tech
so actually they've done their research
and I think on the whole are very aware of the relationship
Are you finding
customers are coming into your
Polestar showrooms
and knowing about the brand
or does it take
a bit of convincing a bit of selling
a bit of education to customers
What I'm trying to sort of
find out really whether Polestar's got the brand recognition
which you may
you want
I think absolutely and I think
increasingly so over the last sort of 18
to 24 months we've seen a real growth
in Polestar brand awareness
and I'm sure your brand
or I'll recall brand awareness
and the surveys at Polestar nationally
will support that
we are seeing a massive increase in awareness
and people are talking to us about
I'm always amazed at the amount of people
that are talking to us about
when can we see Polestar 5
there's an awareness that it's coming
and I think that absolutely
people know about the brand
by the time they arrive with us
Part of the strategy has been since I've arrived
is let's just get as many cars on the roads as we can
that is your biggest way
to improve sales and now being the fastest growing
premium car brand in the UK
was a really important milestone to hit
because that does service
more brand awareness
without a shadow of a doubt, more than you can do
by throwing money at TV or any other metric
Just a slightly wider
industry question really
Matt, what are you seeing in the
new car market? What are your predictions
for the rest of this year and next?
The dealers I'm talking to are saying
it's quite tough out there
we've got a budget coming up
which is going to be absolutely critical
to the economy
What are your predictions leading a manufacturer
going forward?
The market's definitely hardened
it's fair to say Q1 was quite a honeymoon
period I think for everybody, Q2 got harder
Q3 got even harder
What are we seeing? Well at the market
it's 2% up year to date isn't it
F sales up 30%
P have sales up 34%
so you can see where the drop-off is
and a lot of that growth
is being fuelled through high discount business
the statistic from last year
£4.5 billion was poured into the industry
through OEM and dealer discounts
to drive the adoption of electric cars
I put a sizable bet on that being bigger
this year because everyone's
fighting for that market share
and in the market there's not getting any bigger
and there are more entrants
and there is more choice
but the budget I think is a really crucial thing
because there's only one or two levers
that the government can pull in terms of getting more revenue in
and that's tax raises
generally speaking, it can be a raid
on national insurance and or income tax
and that with
uncertainty around inflation
which is still rising interest rates
not coming down as quickly as people wanted to
or thought they might, there is still a cost of living crisis
we don't hear so much of that term
in the press today
but there is still very much cost of living crisis
I see the market is going to be stagnant
this year and probably stagnant
next year, I don't see the growth
but of course we've got the Zevman date targets
haven't we, which say 33% of sales
next year have got to be EVs
so that's okay for me because I sell EVs
that's cool
but the rest of the brands that are struggling to do that
again there's only one lever
and it's more discount
so I think it's going to be really challenging both at the manufacturer level
but I think also for the dealers in the room
because they are going to have to trade harder and harder
to hit these targets
and I know OEM has put in place
one of those horrible people that have set targets based on
government based incentives
and there must be in most car brands
I'm assuming a Zevman
date related mixed target which unlocks some of your margin
and if you're not hitting that
you're going to lose half a percent
one percent whatever the number is
and that's a big chunk of cash
Vicki, similar question
what are you predicting going forward
do you agree with Matt
or do you see the market slightly differently
I think I do agree with Matt
I think the interesting thing
clearly yes we see the decline in petrol and diesel vehicle
but you have to ask yourself how much of that
is pushing in terms of
when you look at what the manufacturers are being forced
to produce in order to meet
those ambitious targets
in terms of EB mix
then absolutely it's about us then trying to get
those products to the right customers
so I think in terms of
what Matt's suggesting
I think we see exactly the same
but we have seen this year
get much harder
so the incentives keep coming
and I think I referenced earlier
Emo de Jaco and the number of overlays
and enhancements but actually they're not alone
and what we are seeing consistently
quarter after quarter now is
increased number of enhancements
increased number of almost testing the water
how do we move more of that
product so I think we're going to continue
to see that real
reactiveness to the market
until they can get that right
in terms of the number of new
EB products coming through
and you see the push don't you in the stats
30% of the business at the end of June
was done in the last two days
it'll be the same as September
sure it's just a coincidence
actually I think you've got time for one more question
if you've got one left
you touched upon it earlier on Matt
this question was rudely taken away from me
by John
but it was about sort of
ZEV mandates and the fines
which the government is taking
I mean is there a better way
the government could be using these fines
money actually putting it to some good use
yes absolutely I mean
I've spoken again in public
forums about this I do believe those
fines those that funds should be
reinvested to support
the transition to electric cars
I work for a car electric car brand
because I do believe that electric cars are the future
I'm also a petrol hood just to get it out there
but if we believe in a sustainable future
electric cars do play a part in that
so we have to go ahead to rounds
driving, using, owning
selling electric cars
and people need
a gentle nudge in that direction
and that is going to be a financial incentive
for some description and the fines to me
seem like a really really great way
to reinvest that money
to achieve what the government is setting out
as really really high objectives for OEMs
and for dealers
to target without some stick and carrot
approach and if the stick's there
the carrot needs to come
a bit more now and they'll say they've done it
in terms of the electric car brand
and yeah okay you could say they have
done it but there are more things
they could and should be doing and those those fines
are a great example of
how that money should be reinvested
is it my go?
it is
Alex let's talk used cars
my favourite subject
as you know
firstly for the people
in the room and those listed
explain a little bit about your business
we can get an idea of what you do
yeah so we
try and specialise in small cars
it doesn't always happen
so yeah we carry probably about
anything between sort of 45 and 60 cars
any one time
average price probably
10 to 12,000 pounds
and yeah we've got quite a broad mix
really petrol diesel and electric
and yeah just a few big ones
chucked in for good measure
but we try and limit those as much as post really
and we're based down in Hampshire
it's sounding very familiar James isn't it
it is yeah that's why I'm doing this one
so I can get some more tips
obviously down in the New Forest
John and I came to see you didn't we
did a video
what I loved about your story is just the way
you've built this business
you started from home didn't you
up to I mean I looked on the website
you got a lot of cars advertising
yeah yeah yeah
auto trade I think they've
allowed you to add a load of cars under
7,000 pounds a little bit cheaper than normal
so we're utilising that as much
as possible at the moment just to get them all online
because
well you've been doing it a little while but we found
over the years that end of September
things do then tell
off probably right the way through until January
so we're just trying to make the most of now really
but yeah started out at my parents
place
and got to about 15 cars
and no one could move for cars
it's the time I got kicked out
and I met my wife
to be anyways then I relocated
and then just actually got a little unit
not too dissimilar to what you're running with at the
moment and then after a couple years there
we outgrew that and then got a slightly
bigger space in the same town so
it's been
fairly slow because we first kicked off in
2016
so yeah 9 years now
but yeah
it's great love it
you mentioned AutoTrader
we've talked a lot about marketing channels
what really
works for you
it is AutoTrader
probably mainly for the selling
but
like I try to explain to people
if you're
you need to kind of take another example
so let's say we're based in
Derby
if you draw 40 mile radius around Derby as a customer
you got a lot of cars to choose from
if you're in Barton on sea
which by the sea
you've got the Isle of Wight over there
half it's a channel so we're struggling
in terms of like our actual catchment
for who we can appeal to
so
yeah it's AutoTrader
that's pretty much the main one
we've been through them all
we've been through eBay motors
car gurus
I'm not going to say too much
more about that
I think everyone's got their own views
on that or did have at least
so yeah there's a few out there
but ultimately AutoTrader seems to be one
that's willing for us
a fair bit of local advertising as well
in terms of sourcing because as everyone knows
sourcing is a big problem and has been for a while
so we try and go direct
and source from private customers
for us as well
so it was just trying to tailor everything to our local market
which is typically
older folk retired
and they've got a lot of cars
under 40,000 miles
and we're just trying to tap into that as much as possible
holy grail aren't they
they're very well looked after
should we just leave
yeah
so when it comes to sourcing
that sourced stock
and what other channels do you use
do you use the likes of
motorway, car, wow, etc
do I have to say yes
ideally
so yeah we do use car, wow
and motorway
but we've managed to
we've got a really good source at the moment
so like Xfleet, high purchase
PCP, stuff like that
so we're buying a lot from them at the moment
so yeah I'll probably say like
I don't know 60, 70%
is coming from them
and they're working well so
just having to adjust margins down a little bit
just to do more numbers
but ultimately it's working well
the bottom line is going up each month
so that's good
and yeah we're just advertising locally
and not any of the free magazines that you just like maybe read
and throw away
they actually work well for us in our local area
so yeah
and a lot of park exchanges but we're trying to keep hold
of a lot of our park exchanges as well
because it saves on travel time
and inspection costs
Did you buy from traditional auctions?
I can't remember the last time we did actually buy
from traditional auction route
six months ago
so it kind of scares me a little
but I need to probably still keep my hand in there
should our feed
kind of get turned off at some point
but yeah
that's how we built the business to where we are today
but not at the moment
I don't miss it to be honest
I don't miss it at all
a small use card business
I mean there are a lot of stresses
as I said in the beginning
how do you cope with that?
Hi people
so if John's watching this
you can't leave
you're not leaving
so yeah just trying to get people around you
to kind of shoulder the burden
and you know like you said
or alluded to at the start
if you've got people around you just bounce ideas off
whether it's like virtual
minded dealers
if you haven't got
the pleasure of having people around you
then just make use of it
because it can get on top of you
and yeah
a lot of you guys out there that do the job
you'll know that sometimes it all comes at once
so get a few customers
maybe complain in a short space of time
and maybe it's a week
where you're not selling too much
and then yeah it can get a bit much
so you need to really like lean on whoever you can really
because it can be tough
and when it comes to reviews
you've got some fantastic reviews
I've checked them out in Australia the other day
how important are they to you as a business?
they're really important
you know
you kind of get used to forgetting about it
you keep building the reviews
and you start to realise I need to ask these people
are you actually like reading our reviews
and they do
pretty much every single person that comes on
you talk to them about it
it's kind of like
a hygiene fact to like
you have to have good reviews to do good business
so yeah it's vital
and when it comes to
like the opportunities
in the used car market
what do you think is next
for dealers like us
I mean is it
how do we maximise the opportunity
I mean you've mentioned you're doing EVs
but there'll be a lot of people in the audience
and a lot of people watching this
don't do it what would you say to them
I think like Matt said I think it's coming
yes the market
for new ones is two million
it's probably going to be like that for a while
but two million
plus two million plus two million from the last
few years we're going to have a bigger
used vehicle park to go at
so if you're not doing it now
it's going to come because the used vehicle park
is growing
and we'll probably continue to grow
a much bigger rate over the next three
years so if you're not doing it now
then you've got to
because it's an EV as well really
so maybe just
start small maybe go with stuff that's still under
manufacturer's warranty try and play it safe
whether that's battery or complete
vehicle if you can or see
budgets might not work for everyone
if you're trying to stick to five ten
ground worth of stock but yeah
just give it a go
in CA get on I think you might be pleasantly
surprised now I spoke to a dealer I think
last week and he said he was loving the job
and the reason he was loving the job was because
he's literally just been selling Tesla after Tesla
after Tesla and
he's not getting any complaints
and that helps obviously
if it's just you or someone else
stress levels you actually need to keep him
nice and low to be able to
operate efficiently
and make the most of your day
do you find you get less warranty claims on
electric cars? Yeah yeah I think we've had
it
you've got to temper it with
how many cars have we actually sold our electric
sure we've probably got
I don't know
15 Teslas out there that we've sold
maybe seven or eight, five hundred
E's we had one called
on a Tesla but then they called
us a few days ago to say it's cured itself
so it's like
best follow up call ever
software defined car for you
it takes it for itself
is it okay that's great
I'll keep buying more of that case
um
yeah so we've
I can't even think of any other
I think we might have a question
oh okay
sounds cool
I was just curious if you think
that there should be a grant for used
car or used electric cars as well
or if you think there's enough appetite for the number that are out there at the moment
good question
I think naturally I should say yes
in case anybody that influences
watching this
but I think touching on Matt's point earlier
what you were saying about trying to get as many cars
out there as possible that's actually
coming into some of the conversations that we're having with people
people are coming to us inquiring on used
cars saying yeah Dave's just got
one and oh my god it's amazing isn't it
so it is literally just all about
awareness I think the more people driving them
sharing those experiences
um yeah grants going to help for sure
um yeah and maybe
is the best way to do it because
if you're putting grants out there on 10 grand
cars rather than say 50-60 grand ones
then yeah the words are going to get out there more
experiences so yeah
well the used car market is what 7-8 million transactions a year
which is four times as big
as a new one isn't it
so I think it's an obvious place to start
yeah
it's not just money off though it's things like
batteries though isn't it and I know
you've been doing some work for this
battery and some dealers in this room have
with battery health checks so it's not
just a grant for money off the
purchase price it's a bit of certainty that
the battery's actually got some life
in it yeah and this comes back to education
doesn't it because I think there's still lots of people
out there that think a car battery is like a phone
battery that is built in obsolescence
after two years it starts to tail off and
you know what we see in terms of the state of health
test that we've done is that cars
are 100,000 miles it's
still got a state of health of well in excess of 90%
you know so the myth that
car batteries are going to die after eight years and it's going to cost you a fortune
that's not
certainly what I'm seeing
or experiencing
Vicky do you use any
battery health tested
when you sell an electric car
do you show those certificates to customers
we do absolutely so
an important part of our used
merchandising is our battery state of health checks
so we present that to any
used vehicle that we present
that's available for customers to view online
as well as when they visit the showroom
but it's actually also an important tool for us
when we're appraising car exchanges coming in
as well so absolutely
battery state of health check is an important part
of the process for us
the one thing I found with the electric cars we have bought
in
service history is very very hard
to come by I don't know whether you've found the same thing out
it's pretty much non-existent
Zoe I bought
the other day hadn't been serviced since
2019 and the guy who chops it in said
boy it doesn't need servicing does it
it does
but yeah I mean
how do you
it's all very well because they do
have less moving parts etc
but the next customer wants
some proof that it's been looked at don't they
yeah they do
or some of them do but the ones that we've dealt with
it's not been
it's not been a topic of conversation
I think a lot of the deals we've been doing recently
have been on Tesla Model 3s
and the conversation is
really around what's it like to drive
they come back off the test drive you show them
what they need to be shown
what they want to be shown
which could run into hours on end
I'm sure you guys know that for well
you just take the lead
by the customer really
and it's just usually it's just wow
this car's amazing
they have no experience and they're just itching to get in it
and buy it and they can't believe
them out that they've dropped in value
and these people are openly sharing this
not trying to drive a deal with you
so service history doesn't really
form part of the conversation at all
we're finding
I was just going to ask so would you switch your business over
tomorrow to EV only
some of our audience
maybe not tomorrow it's definitely something I've been thinking about
this last couple weeks like for sure
but
I don't think I'd switch off
Small Cast Direct
if I was to do that
it's a whole another
conversation thought
to think how do you do that
can you manage that
something for the future
especially if it's going to be the way things are going to go
in the next 5-10 years
just a wider question for the panel
I'll start with you on service history
have you found that
with the cost of living crisis
people are just not doing it now
when John and I have been searching
motorway cars
it's very
unusual to see a full service history car
isn't it
is it just something people have forgotten
or just don't do anymore to save money
yeah I think I'm probably not the best person to ask
on this because the business has been going like 9 years
but people have been doing it
for say 15-20 years
would probably be a better point to say
but I think you're right
I think when we do get a car in
which has literally been serviced annually for the last 10 years
at the same dealer
it's really rare now
and I'm not actually sure that people are appreciating it
because you've got the price markers
people are so driven by price
that actually people aren't
necessarily seeing the value in it
so now I don't think people are servicing them as much
and also I don't think people are actually that
of the buy either
which is right or wrong
we've got a question
for an answer to that
question as to whether it's got worse
EV experts
just want to get back on stage
I think it has to use a change as well post-COVID
people are using their cars less
so they think they need to service them less
do you see it as a manual?
well less takes off to your EVs
but certainly when I talk to our investor partners
to represent other brands and do sell used cars
that's definitely a factor
it's not religious every year anymore
if you're only doing 5,000 miles a year
you can skip a year right
what do you see in your dealerships?
I think we tend to see that
in that segment one
one to three year old
retention into the after sale space
is still quite good
there's a cognizance around
preserving the manufacturer warranty
and I think that as a main dealer
we do a good job of retaining customers
into the after sale space
I think as you start to move into segment two
three vehicles
we are finding it more challenging
to keep those customers coming back
but I think that's really for us
at the point absolutely
I think since Covid there is
we've got more people working remotely
more people doing lower mileage
so it's about us adjusting our proposition
to the customer and whether that's
low mileage servicing options
or whatever it might be
it's about looking at different ways
of offering the service to retained customers
so I was just going to make a comment
about EV servicing because
we set up our EV business in 2017
and so we do have some history
with people who have cars that are
five, six, seven years old
and what we are seeing
is that manufacturers are turning away
claims on
HV batteries
because the service history isn't
complete
which I don't
criticize manufacturers for doing that
I think it's absolutely actually the right thing
because I do think it's quite helpful
for people to have their cars looked at
most EVs it's every other year
it's expensive actually
and also it's a point
for people to understand
whether other things in their car
are also still up to scratch
whether that's tyres
or brake pipes etc
so good health check
so yeah I think
as we go forward
whether EV has been serviced or not
is going to become more relevant
but of course at the moment most people have quite new EVs
where battery module failures
are a feature
but they certainly are of older ones
but I also wanted to ask
can I ask another question is that okay James sorry
not EV related at all
you'll be pleased to hear
I just wanted to ask
you were talking about
advertising locally
I just wondered how you were finding
or what you were thinking about
market extension
because we're taught to trade our offer
because
we really want to do
because I don't know used cars
I think it's really important to develop our relationship
and for people to understand
it's a good idea to buy a used car
particularly the older it gets
perhaps near the dealership where you bought it from
because there might be a problem
or if it's an EV or a new technology
you might actually need some support
in accessing and getting the most of that car
so we
we're not that keen on distance selling
and also I don't know what it is about used cars
but you know the one that goes the furthest
will be the only one
that has a problem
or you know you've got a really trusted
delivery partner who's delivered like
100 cars for you no problem
but the one that's going to Peebles
is the one that they snag the alloy on
and apparently nobody in Peebles
actually repairs alloys
so yeah we're not
sounds like a therapy session
yeah so we're not
we're not that keen on market extension
I don't see it really
working for consumers I've even had consumers
on the on the forecourt saying that
they've given up
with auto trade searches for example
because it keeps giving them cars that are not
within their
not within their remit they've asked for
and
yeah I'm not convinced it's right for the consumer
I'm not convinced it's right for the trader
but be really interested
to hear other people's thoughts on it
we've not tried market extension
we thought it was quite expensive
of course we would
solve the dream if we have it you're going to sell
40% more cars if you try it
I don't know
it's probably just a bit stubborn on my part maybe
just to be annoyed at our location
it's my fault we shouldn't be based in
Barton on Sea on New Milton
but
yeah it would be nice to try it
maybe obviously free trials they're not a thing
with auto trade anymore it seems
but maybe we try it if it was a reduced rate
expensive but we're good up for it
our name is small cars direct
we will deliver direct we've been doing it
pretty much since we started
we've got transport and we can do it so it's something
that I'd probably quite enjoy to do
I think if you just get as many cars out the door
as possible great I think
we prep them correct I've got no problems
in sending cars to Newcastle, Scotland
if you're a member of the IMDA
there's a
there's like a map where you've got
trusted repairers
but then even then like if there is no one
like that nearby like we just
usually call on a trusted mobile mechanic
so it's literally just google
mobile mechanic probably like four or five
in that customers area we'll look at the highest reviews
4.8, 4.9
give them a call let me know exactly what's going on
be transparent with them and we can get
things resolved like pretty much no matter where
the car is so we've got no mission doing that
so yeah maybe it's worth trying
market extension I don't know how else you can
have you tried boosting any
cars in Australia yeah had any success?
mixed
if stuff's over age
or getting to be over age
we are boosting cars
and sometimes we'll actually get hits
on cars after the boost
send it so it might be that someone saved it
to their garage and then we change the
price by five or a tenner and then they
find a notification and then they inquire
so it's always hard to know
as a result of that that may well be
because we just don't get any leads on cars
we'll have to ask your trader people
after the podcast and I'll
connect you two together and you can
you can berate them
let them have a drink first
right we go
I think we're sort of running out of time now
any final questions?
I did have a final question written here but you both
have edited to the Google Doc and now I can't see it
I'll have to try to remember what it is
so I mean I'm going to start with Vicky
see if I can remember what it was
what do you love about
being in motor trade?
gosh
I said gosh because
I could talk about this all day
it's an incredibly dynamic place to be
it's a fast-paced place to be
I love the fact that no two days
are the same in my job so I'm a huge
advocate for working this industry
and I think the retail side of it
particularly with the amount of change
that we're going through is hugely exciting
place to be so that's what I love about it
it's a very good and concise answer
thank you
Matt, what about you?
all of what Vicky just said but it's the people
for me
the motor trade is full of fantastically
interesting characters
and I never get bored of meeting
new people in the automotive industry
and it's fantastic as well I love it
very good, Alex?
I guess this is the buzz, the obvious answer
the buzz of getting a deal done
it's pretty exciting
and getting a positive review and actually seeing
people genuinely loving their new car
and the experience that they've had
knowing that we've given them that experience
is pretty cool
fantastic, I can see James
is going to be left out for that
James, what do you love about it?
I agree with the set
I find it incredibly addictive
people often ask me why on earth
are you running a small used car dealership
when you should be writing stories
and it's because I absolutely love it
I like meeting
the people
and the general public are a unique breed
aren't they?
it's very diverse
you meet some brilliant people
and what I love about it is
people look at the automotive
sorry, the used car trade
and they end up
turn up in your dealership
and they're normally a bit fighting
I really enjoy
I really enjoy winning them over
and I think
when it goes from somebody who's really
got real skepticism about
buying a used car from a used car dealer
to the point where you've sold them the car
and you get a positive review
there's no better feeling
I really enjoy it
Batch, what do you have about the Rover 75 now?
please
it's a free barbecue
we can hurry up
well, all that's left for me to say
thank you to our panel
you've been fantastic, round of applause for our panel please
round of applause
very good round of applause
thank you as well to Motoway
for making this event possible
and feeding us all afterwards
so round of applause for Motoway
and thank you as well to these two
for saying some words
you're very welcome
well thanks to everyone for coming along
and thank you if you're listening
we will be back
in a few days whenever we publish this
probably the next day
with the regular Friday podcast as well
we talk about news etc
but that's all from me
bye everyone
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