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Dealership Deep Dive - Jonathan Meade from Hutton & Meade
Dealership Deep Dive - Jonathan Meade from Hutton & Meade
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About this episode
Jonathan Meade of Hutton & Meade shares his journey from early automotive roles to co-founding a successful dealership. The conversation covers the challenges of operating in a city center, strategic moves to larger premises, and adapting through economic downturns. Jonathan highlights the rise of electric vehicles, particularly Hyundai's growing EV lineup, and the importance of educating customers and staff on EVs. He also discusses the significance of apprenticeships, aftersales service, and the evolving commercial van market with electric options. The episode offers insight into dealership operations, market shifts, and future growth plans.
Topics:
dealership history
business growth
electric vehicles
hyundai brand
used ev market
apprenticeships
aftersales service
commercial electric vans
market challenges
customer education
Cars:
BMW i3
Dodge Charger
Hyundai Ioniq
Hyundai Ioniq 6
Kia EV3
Nissan Leaf
Porsche Boxster
Renault Master
Welcome back to the Nevo EV News Podcast. If it's Tuesday it must be Nevo EV News Day. My name is Derek Reilly and on this podcast we chat all about EV. Nevo is Ireland's only dedicated EV platform and we'll be covering where we were this week, what we've been driving and what we've been doing between podcasts. If you haven't already subscribed or followed us wherever you are listening please do so and if you enjoyed the episode, please leave a rating and comment, it really helps us out and it doesn't cost you anything. Let's get stuck in.
In this episode of the Nevo EV news Podcast we sit down with Jonathan Meade from Hutton & Meade in Ballycoolin, a well respected Hyundai Dealership and now also a new MAZUS Dealership.
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Filter:
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Technical
Too Afraid to Ask
Car
Hyundai Ioniq
"...sly the history with Leaf, and then with Original Ioniq as well with Hyundai, you've really built the bra..."
Car
Hyundai Ioniq 6
"...buy an Instra for 21-22,000 euros, you can buy an Ioniq 6 for 40-2,000 euros, stunning cars, and price, the..."
Car
Dodge Charger
"... So, temperate climate and 85% of homes can put a charger in. There's a lot of, there's no reason there sho..."
Car
Porsche Boxster
"This is absolutely true. We traded in a Porsche Boxster. We traded in some BMWs, some Mercedes."
Car
Master Techs
"so some of our guys are level six as master techs. So you're starting a career as an apprentice."
Car
Nissan Nissa Leaf
"How are you finding that? So with Nissa Leaf in 2012, we were planting seeds at that stage."
Select text to request an explanation
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Bienvenido al podcast.
Estamos aquí en Hutton & Mead, en un hueso sábado, Jonathan.
Pero la flora está arrasada ahí.
Sí, hay gente ahí.
Es un día para ir y tener un local de motocuera si no puedes salir y hacer el jardín.
Bienvenido.
Jonathan Mead, gracias por acompañarnos en la Trabaja de la Trabaja de la Trabaja.
Una serie que tenemos en el podcast donde hablamos de los de los de los de los de los de los de los respectivos.
Y gracias mucho por tu tiempo.
¿Puedes empezar con tu propia historia primero?
Como en donde has venido geográficamente y trabajosamente.
Y luego hablamos de Hutton & Mead también.
Ok, gracias por preguntar.
Es una buena cosa para hacer en un sábado.
He vivido en Krummel, una escuela en la que Christian se abrió en Arma Road.
Y coincidentalmente, me hicieron un par de escuelos.
Y después de 40 años, me volví a la escuela y dije,
¿Qué tal, chicos?
Y me dijeron que era un par de escuelos.
Y era una buena forma de hablar de una par de escuelos por el motor.
Entonces, un par de escuelos por el motor.
Entonces, hay dos de nuestros staff que han ido a la escuelo por el motor.
Y obviamente, para los technicians y las personas.
Entonces, eso es lo que me ha terminado.
Empecé ahí en 1980.
Así que, obviamente, he tenido mucho tiempo.
Muy bien.
Entonces, a la izquierda de Krummel, la segunda escuela,
¿qué fue la próxima para Jonathan?
He trabajado en la estación de Filling Station,
en E.P. Mooney, en Arma Road.
Muy bien.
Hace unos 6 meses he trabajado ahí.
En vez de que tú să me dieras el motor,
he trabajado en en Arma Road.
En el sector de Filling,
he trabajado en en Mordoma,
en Arma Road a la Tierra.
Y en el sector de Filling Station,
he trabajado en el sector de en Arma Road.
Me ha trabajado en en Arma Road.
Y he trabajado en en Arma Road.
Y he trabajado en en Arma Road.
En todo el mundo,
¿Quién fue el que Eungar de Shaykhona usó también?
¿Está bien?
Sí.
Muy bien.
Entonces, Datsun, ¿qué sucedió después de eso?
Yo trabajé por Parc por 13 años.
He sido el manejo de sales, creo que por los últimos 4 o 5 años.
Llevo ahí y fui a trabajar en un banco de financiamiento para 12 meses.
¿Por qué?
El Banco de Angloí.
Muy bien.
Algunas personas saben la historia de el Banco de Angloí.
Estamos trabajando en este podcast.
Fue un buen lugar para trabajar.
Fue un pequeño banco.
El Banco de Angloí fue una gran parte de lo que hicieron.
Fue un buen tiempo.
¿Tiene un montón de motos?
¿Estás en el carro cuando estabas joven o joven?
No, no.
Empecé a hacer dinero.
Muy bien.
Estaba en la edad.
En 1980, fue el mejor tiempo para el empleo.
Y yo lo subí.
Tengo otras ideas, pero eso es lo que fui a hacer.
Pero me gustó la vendida.
Creo que era la cosa de las personas.
Todo lo que pudiera hacer sería de las personas.
Fue muy bueno.
Los carcales eran fantásticos.
¿Munes, el Banco de 12 meses?
Y luego...
Y luego un tap en el suelo.
John Fogarty de Nissan.
Dice a mí que estaba buscando para hacer un negocio.
HBDennis se dio la franquiza en Richmond Road.
Y yo he trabajado con Joe Hutton por años.
Y le dije a Joe que fue el 4 de febrero de 1994.
¿Tienes los días recuerdos?
Absolutamente.
Y entonces, empezamos a descansar.
Hacemos la noche en el teléfono.
Hacemos el día de la próxima.
Llegamos, mirando a los sitios.
Y nos vieron.
En el norte de la red.
Hay un par de fotos.
Entonces, estamos en una deliria de la ciudad interna.
Así que estamos basados en la corrupción de Crow Park.
Entonces, una gran foto aquí.
Y entonces, estamos en...
Entonces, me quedé a Anglo en junio.
Joe me quedó a Moody's en julio.
Y nosotros abrimos la deliria.
Justo antes de Christmas en 1994.
North Circle Road.
North Circle Road.
Yo used a vivir en North Circle Road.
Y yo estaba en la colegio.
¿Cuál parte?
Right up the park gate.
Número 9, North Circle Road.
Ok.
He trabajado en Stony Batter.
Y también used to drink in Hannah's Corner.
Oh, muy bien.
Es genial.
Es una parte del mundo.
Entonces, nosotros estamos en la gente.
Entonces, hay muchos negros.
Y muy buenos negros.
Entonces, nosotros vivimos en la colegio.
Estuvimos 30 años.
Pero fue un lugar fantástico para operar.
Pero una localización central de la ciudad
es limitada en su el volumen.
Tienes espacio.
O en ese momento,
en la localización,
cuando llegamos a eso,
¿puedes poner el sitio que estás?
¿Habéis suficiente espacio para expandir?
No hay oportunidad.
Théod weight is a personal lasting of attention.
Levels of attention,
that is independent of mind.
Not everyone is leaving.
We had a basement that held with seven-eight cars.
So we were restricted.
So a really good process.
So, having come from the bank,
I spent 12 months looking at all the dealers
and how things were done.
So it was a really good way to see
how different scales of business worked.
And one of the things we didn't have was space.
Right.
And we didn't have cash.
Retail.
It's gone.
It's underwritten and out the door before the end of that day or the following day.
You're not looking at it.
It's not taking up space.
It's not what we do.
We retail.
So, you know, we get to talk about what we do here, but five-year-old cars are newer
at what we sell.
If it doesn't fit into that, it's underwritten and gone, and that was a very good discipline
from the start, but it was a necessary discipline because we didn't have the cash.
And you didn't have the space, and so you were trained into being lean.
Yeah, absolutely.
And you also had the experience of being from that finance side of things and from Moon News
as well.
Yeah, so we knew the process.
But what we did, obviously, we had to, like you say, not an available room.
We bought what was the old Lucas factory across the road from us, and we had two of the buildings
that we were operating from.
So we had a showroom just across the road, which was to start it out as a valet base
so we could valet cars indoors, and then we bought our rented place down on Jones's
Road, up to Crow Park, and we turned that into a used car centre.
So we grew piece by piece, and we ended up at about an acre and a half of buildings.
Spread out.
Spread out.
And so our workshop was across the road from us, where it was at the back of the old
building.
But we outgrew it in time, but the city got busier and busier.
So 95 was the start of the scrappage game.
When nobody was dealing with scrappage, we dealt with loads of it because we were
taking in older cars, we had the space to hold them, and we got paid very quickly from
revenue with the grants and from the manufacturers.
So it was quite an easy thing to do, slowly but surely the city got busy.
Tough to operate in the city centre with cars going and going, but as in trucks and
lorries and used cars, new cars, NVD or whoever is disciplining the Nissan's at
the time.
It was difficult.
So Joe and I were in the garage from 7am to 7pm, and part of the 7am was getting
car spaces on the road.
So we ended up getting the council to put some loading bays around the place, so our
customers could pull into the loading bay, and then we could drive the car to the workshop
across the way.
But we were becoming constricted.
So I remember Joe and I were chatting, the pinch point really came when somebody
rang and said, look, I'm on the way down to you.
And then they rang and said, look, I'm going to turn around, traffic's
too bad.
And you might see them a week later in a different car.
So that was the decision really.
We had to get out.
So we went investigating sites.
So North Circle Road, as lovely as it was, we used to be able to walk into
Crow Park for games.
We used to be able to walk into town in the Friday Night for a few points.
It was really good, but we needed to grow up or grow out.
So we came out to Blanchestown, and we looked at various other places.
So we came out to Blanchestown area.
We found this site in Balli Culin.
So there were a couple of motor dealers looking at this area.
OK.
So we came out and we bought, so it's based on about two and a half acres.
So we hold about four or five hundred cars.
And the parts department is right beside the workshop, is right in front of the showroom.
So it's all together.
It's all together.
Everybody lives in the same space, which wasn't the case, obviously, in North Circle Road.
No loading base required.
No, it's great.
What year was that, Jonathan?
So we looked here in 2006.
And we were here by the end of September.
OK.
And we put a big sign out on the, sorry, I'm pointing here as a chat, we put a big sign
out the front and it says, you know, coming September 2006.
And somebody said to me, that's great to tell people to be here.
I said, no, we're telling the builders.
We're going to be here.
Oh, so that was a note to say, get your finger out.
That's exactly what it was.
So we moved in the third week in September in 2006.
Nisan, at the time.
So we had Nisan, and we were solely Nisan for about two years.
And then we looked at extending the space beside us.
So there's a couple of acres here, and we went on this real nice DL07 that we would
build 36,000 square feet beside us with three franchises.
At that time, between 2007 and 2008, it was perfect, Jonathan.
Your head is not, because I know exactly what you've got to hear from me.
So we had spoken with Hyundai and Citroën and Fiat, and we were going to do a combined
three showroom space with 80,000 square feet of showroom, and then two workshops
at the back.
And then we got the realization that this wasn't going to happen.
So we spoke to everybody involved, and to be fair, Citroën and Hyundai were happy
to stay within the picture, but very quickly, the Citroën, we moved away from that, and we
just decided that we would keep Hyundai, or we would stay with Hyundai.
So we shared the showroom with Hyundai and Nisan for the years, and what was really
interesting about that time, so as I said, we're very processed, and we're actually,
we were quite good at being disciplined.
So we never spent money, belong to the garage, in any other sphere, so we didn't go off
buying sites.
So when the downturn came, we had lots of resources, which we very quickly sweated and
they were gone.
But we had...
You had a bank there.
We had a bank.
So if I go back to 1993, was when we took the figures for our financials, we thought it
was a really good idea to build a garage on a market of 63,000 cars.
So when it hit 50,000, 60,000 in...
08, 09, 010.
Yeah, we were back where we started, but we had a lot more borrowings, we had a lot
more commitment.
So we doubled the staff that we had on North Turk Road.
So very quickly, we had to kind of readjust that old saying of the pessimist and the
optimist, and the realist adjust the sales, so that's what we had to do.
So, thank God, financially, we had a good bit of resources to be able to sweat, and it was
very scary times.
I don't think we were ever.
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Going to Nosedive, but we got close, we got close a lot.
If you had done the Citroen Hyundai Nissan, big showroom, 12 months earlier.
We were done.
Isn't it?
Just show you what's for you, won't pass you by.
I'm a big believer in...
I love that phrase, the harder work to look at, you know, and I think there's
a little bit of that for most of us in our industry, because it's a lot of very hard
working people in this business.
So we got to the downturn, we had to adjust, so stock levels, we had very little used cars,
we had 50 used cars.
I mean, on any given day, we have 140, 50 used cars here, so we were down to 50,
and that's probably all we could afford, to be honest.
We lost half the staff at that stage, and there were quite a few guys stuck with
us, and we went to three-day weeks and salesmen and technicians, so that we could keep
staff employed, but obviously we couldn't have the whole cost, and staff worked with us.
We also had Hyundai now at this stage, which had a 3.5% market share, and I remember
talking to Eugene O'Reilly and Stephen Glees at the time, and they were saying the other
3.5%, but they're going to grow, and we obviously know where that has gone into
the future.
It meant that when we lost some of our Nissan sales, we were gaining some new Hyundai cars,
so it was a combined, so again, it was a lucky decision that we made, that we had two franchises
at that stage, and it developed in numbers.
So you're here today with Hyundai, and we're going to talk about your newest brand in
the minute, but Nissan, when did that partnership end?
So we got to a stage where we were selling Nissan's, there was a change in the market,
so we handed in our termination notice in 2016, and said to Nissan, we were out, we were
contracted for another 18 months to stay on, so we did that, and we finished that.
So it finished in 2018, but we got to the stage where we walked from the franchise
and put Nissan, put Hyundai in, and the showroom here.
So we built the showroom with the idea that we might have more than one brand, but it'll
hold about 20, 25 cars, and it's a really nice space to walk into with one franchise,
where people can see every car, and if you look today, there's six insters, all of
different colors, so you can do displays like that with a big showroom, and on a wet
day like this, the aircon is on, it's nice and warm.
Teeing coffee as long.
Teeing coffee as long, and you can come in a one and showroom, so it's a nice space to be in.
Lovely.
And because it's three sided, you can see all the used cars from inside or outside.
When I was talking to Nigel a while back with regards to Nigel about used EVs, and how
you saw that opportunity, and obviously the history with Leaf, and then with
Original Ioniq as well with Hyundai, you've really built the brand of that
electrics, used side of the house and business as well.
The first bit is we trade in and out of used EVs, so we sell new EVs, so last
year, sorry, this year, 27% of what we sold were EVs, 51% had a plug, so there's
a sign, the numbers have changed, there are people walking in saying it wasn't
forming the last time I'm coming in now, so if we were selling 18% two
years ago, they're coming in as trade ins today, so we know we're going to be
seeing them, we actually go and buy some, and we, like everybody else, got caught
up in the EV bubble in 2021-22, supplies went short, there was a pent up
demand, and obviously we either overreached or we couldn't get the
right product, but whatever that brought in used EVs, the price has settled,
like if you look at, today you can buy an Instra for 21-22,000 euros, you can
buy an Ioniq 6 for 40-2,000 euros, stunning cars, and price, the bit for EVs as
we progressed over the last number of years, we want more range, we want
more range, and we bring out the Instra, which yesterday was one Irish car,
Irish small car of the year, so we bring out the Instra with 350
kilometres, where people are buying them, and now that education piece and
whether that's your sales team on the floor, you've got your high voltage
technicians, that the consumer is getting an understanding as to,
you know what, I don't need 700 km range, I don't need a huge car, my
2nd car could be an Instra, or the starter car for my kids could be an
Instra, and people that, their blinkers are starting to be removed as to the
possibility.
There's an acceptance, I think we've got over the hump and paper saying,
I can live with 300 km, I drove to Kenny the other day, no need to charge
because the car I had had 600 km, but it had a 400 km range, it still
would have done the journey, do you know what I mean?
Yeah, stop the spare.
Yeah, so like I think we're gone a little bit beyond the charging anxiety
is still an issue that has been matched, I mean, you know, there's petrol
retailers who are putting charging points in all sorts of places, we will
start to see them in the city in the next short while, where not just
the ESP or the charging companies, but the fuel manufacturers have a big vested
interest in this, they have four court space and they want to sell suites
and lollipops and yeah, and breakfast rolls, so, you know, they will do that
and the funding for that, so that's going to happen and 98% of our
charging will be done at home anyway, but there's, you know, there is always
the what if, the other stat that's like Ireland is well set for driving
EVs. Not too big. 200 km east to west and 600 km north to south.
And if you, if you were driving a truck, you wouldn't be allowed
to drive 600 km a day. So, temperate climate and 85% of homes can put a charger in.
There's a lot of, there's no reason there shouldn't be.
That's it all. We're not trying to reinvent the wheel.
This is happening in three and four and 5% increments.
I think if you've already said, if we've got 40%, that might be the tipping point.
And for us, that's 27% today, but the market is just 90, I think it's 80.8%.
You know, and I think it's good that we can start saying, you know,
it's not 90, it's 80.8%.
But we're nearly there.
That's a big change in the last three months.
Going back to Hyundai, when you met Eugene and Steven from Hyundai
and there were 3.5%, that brand has come on, something else.
And I know every brand says that they're going to grow and put the change
in the models and the perception in the awareness.
And I've heard stories about how it was initially the Japanese
carrots and people didn't want them because they were Japanese
and they didn't understand the reliability.
And then it was the Korean carrots, and now we're in the Chinese space.
But the model line up, the range, the quality, it's something else.
Well, back when we took on Hyundai, it had Tucson and Santa Fe and the Coupe.
So you had the smaller car as well.
And the guys showed us this grid and it was sort of an axis.
And this is where they are.
And they're going to jump over two axes into the first side, into the premium.
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Excited, the range, but economy.
And the Ix35 was the car they showed us.
And this was coming in about a year.
Just lived it.
And then we got the I40.
And the I40 came just as the downturn came.
So we were trade.
We trade.
This is absolutely true.
We traded in a Porsche Boxster.
We traded in some BMWs, some Mercedes.
So there were people who had money, wanted to drive a car,
wanted a smart, elegant, comfortable car.
That wasn't a big badge.
But they felt it was premium.
And that really was a game changer for us.
And then obviously we got all the I range and the Ix35
went back to being Tucson.
Santa Fe came through and there's been two or three iterations
of Santa Fe and each one was just better and better and better.
And then the electric stuff we've alluded to
with Insta, with Ioniq back in the day
and still a great car, a used car,
a phenomenal efficiency.
Smaller range but very practical.
5, 6, 9.
As you're well aware of.
And then Insta.
And I saw Concept 3 in Munich Motor Show.
And so the portfolio of cars.
And it's not just electric as much as Nevo.
It's all about electric.
There is multiple fuel sources for people
that might not want to go electric yet.
So they're catering to a lot of the market.
All of the market.
Well, back to what I said.
If 27% of what we sold is electric,
every other vehicle has a diesel or petrol engine.
So that's going to continue on for a while.
And there's two and a half million cars on the road.
There's 200,000 cars with a plug.
So we've a bit to go.
But all of the focus is on EVs
because that's where we're heading.
Unless something changes with hydrogen.
For the moment, that's where we're heading.
And there's no stopping with the technology.
Everybody who sits into an EV is driving an automatic.
66% of the car so last year were automatic
by virtue of the fact that they had a battery or a motor.
So that's the change.
And let's reach mindset.
My daughter usually got her license in an EV.
Oh, very good.
No reason.
No manual.
No, no.
And there's petrol hybrids and diesel hybrids
all over the place.
So people will start driving more EVs
or more automatics.
Can imagine the technology that we have today.
So GSR2.
So GSR2 for general safety regulation.
Forward facing cameras.
All the safety changes.
So you can put on your cruise control.
Adaptive.
Drive from here to Cork.
Or drive from here as it did the other day,
the midlands.
And the car slows down and speeds up.
Put on the indicator.
It'll take you into the outside lane when it's clear.
You're not tired anymore.
No, it's brilliant.
Long drive.
Yeah.
Switching over.
And you kind of alluded to it at the very start,
Jonathan, with regards to going in,
giving that talk with your school that you were educated in.
And the apprenticeships.
You're as much as you're heavily involved,
obviously, in Mead.
And you're on the floor this morning
in chatting to customers.
Syma is a huge part of your life
in your president last year.
And you can see how a strong association
for the industry will benefit the industry.
And so you volunteered your time.
You're on the board as a president,
but also the importance of apprenticeships.
So one of the really good things,
I suppose, from the SMI is that we're one voice,
so we speak.
So the fuel retailers are part of that conversation,
as are the independence, the aftermarket,
the franchise dealers, and obviously manufacturers.
So we go talk to the government,
and we want to talk about apprenticeships.
It's the industry talk.
We go talk about, you know,
trying to get VRT changes or taxation.
We talk with one voice.
So it's really important.
So when we speak to the apprenticeship side of the house,
it's for all the other phases.
So back to the conversation that I had in the school,
I was able to talk about our accountant trained
on the job here,
and got our qualifications,
I lessons with us 20 years now.
Our technicians do the same thing
as I said.
There's a sales training program.
There's two of the guys,
one's just coming off,
and so he's just going on to it.
Parts of people are trained all through skillsnet
or apprenticeship programs.
So this is an industry.
You can come in and work and start on the ground,
and you'll end up being the CEO
or the sales manager from starting point.
From floor up.
Yeah.
And there's lots of people in our industry,
both in manufacturers and in dealers.
So the business started as either a technician
or a young salesman.
I was selling fuel and ended up with the dealership.
So like anything is possible.
It is fantastic.
Anybody can do it.
But a lot of people look at the mechanic
and think, you know,
it's a dirty, greasy job and all the rest.
Like some of these mechanics,
working bays I've seen at the moment,
and they're like surgeries
because they're so clean.
They're warm.
It's the day of that job being, you know,
a grimy, dirty, cold job.
It's totally changed now because the quality of work
has to be of a standard
because mechanics are hard to get
and hard to hold on to.
So you have to look after the pain needs to be good.
And so a really good quality
and skill that you can take with you.
Well, when I started,
you could lift up the ball of a Datsun cherry,
slide out the gearbox at the side.
You didn't take it out and replace the clutch.
You know, that doesn't happen anymore.
You could lift the engine out.
Some of the engines out.
You know, there was some more space to work on.
Every square inch of a car is important now
and it's filled with some part of technology.
The level six.
So if you go through degrees,
so some of our guys are level six
as master techs.
So you're starting a career as an apprentice.
You know,
people will have had all sorts of derogatory names
for guys who started as an apprentice
up to level six.
Like that's highly educated and well paid.
You know,
they weren't always well paid.
The level of a bit I did,
I was at a conversation with an AI the other night.
AI currently won't service your car.
Won't fix your washing machine either.
But the technology that's in the car,
we are going to start using AI
for problem solving and assessing.
Because, you know,
we look at a car and there's an issue in the car.
It may be somewhere else in the world.
So we'll be able to scrape systems
within manufacturers
to be able to call information much more quickly.
So the people that we're talking about
who service cars
have a huge role in keeping dealerships.
Like we have a great phrase in this business.
The salesman sells the first car
and our after sales sells every other car.
Because that repeat customer,
they're hard to get initially
if you can hold onto them.
And the guys at the back end
who are fixing the cars,
they're part of that process.
So they're instrumental in any business.
I mean, you know, we know how difficult.
We've two guys come up from South Africa recently.
We're working with us.
They're living in around the corner.
They are sorry.
They've come from South Africa on visa.
They work with us for a year.
They can bring their family up in year two
and in year five they can apply for citizenship.
So we're bringing people from all sorts of places.
That's a really good thing,
but we still need to develop
our own apprentices
coming through the system.
And the SkillsNet show this year
had 19,000 or 20,000 visitors
over three days.
Looking to find it about our industry
and obviously other industries as well.
Speaking of big shows,
you were at the Nevo show last weekend
on the Friday,
Good Network and Good Industry.
That's fantastic.
What a show.
Am I correct on things about 130 EVs
on the Irish?
Yes, we had 120 on the Friday
and then we swapped out another 20 that night
from commercial to passenger vehicle
and then 120 on the Saturday.
So we think about 140 different vehicles
predominantly electric,
a couple of hybrids in there as well.
Available for sale.
Available for sale.
And that wasn't everybody.
Already this can only take so much
and nearly 20,000 people on the Saturday
and over 20,000 over the weekend.
So a big show and you can see that shift.
How do you think when you see people
coming into the show
in regards to their education,
the sales team with regards to that
people who are maybe first time EV
or may have gone hybrid
and then going into EV,
the evolution of that customer.
How are you finding that?
So with Nissa Leaf in 2012,
we were planting seeds at that stage.
The seeds have taken a long time to germinate
but we can see it now.
So you're talking about the original Ioniq.
Small range, 220 or 40 kilometers.
And then we started to get into pre
and post COVID
and that brought about a big change
in the number of cars.
So we were banging the drum.
I think the BMW i3
was not long after the leaf.
So there were only two or three manufacturers
talking about electric
and for most people,
that sits over there in the corner
with Grand.
We still have petrol and diesel
and we still love petrol and diesel
so we're not going there.
But slowly but surely
you can see the change.
So much so that somebody recently
came into the show
and said, yeah, I wasn't ready for an EV
the last time to live on
the outer regions of the country.
And if the power goes,
there'll have to be connected.
They bought an EV
because they have faith
and they have confidence.
They have comfort.
They can see what's happened with pricing
and every EV we sell
there's a trading coming off it
and quite a few of them are EVs.
Some people are happy
with the cost of change.
People are happy with the standard.
They're happy with the range.
Some people are moving up.
Some people with somebody
who bought an instra
and decided after three months
they wanted a bigger car.
Okay.
So they got the instra.
Oh, wow.
They got rid of a second car at home.
And they got a bigger EV then.
Yeah, a bigger EV.
Yeah.
So people are moving through the range.
And the other bit is
we have instra, cola.
Five.
Six.
Sorry, five.
Six and nine.
So we can have 27%
because we have cars represented
in all the ranges.
Yeah.
And a bit like for Hyundai
they have petrol and diesel cars
throughout the range.
So that's where the growth will come.
And we have more on the way
as do other manufacturers.
So that's going to be the change
and the choice there is fantastic.
Commercial vehicles,
you would have had that
with your previous brands,
but you also have a new commercial brand
that has an electric slice
to their business as well.
So we have.
We've been looking for a van range.
So the press allowance
with what they did the other day
that we've taken on Maxis.
So Carl and Keith
have been looking after us.
So we've made the decision.
So we've been chasing this
for a while.
We made a decision with Maxis
that we would take on the range.
So we have diesel offerings
and we have EV offerings.
There is a change within cities now.
So low emission zones
between, you know,
you see them in Glasgow
and Edinburgh, London.
Dublin may well look at this shortly.
Small vans,
we have Amazon just beside us.
They run a lot of EVs for deliveries
and we can see that
that's going to be the way.
So the EV3 small van,
18 grand plus va,
like phenomenal value.
Depending on the load you have in it,
you'll get somewhere between 220
and 320 kilometers.
Most delivery vans are not doing more
than 50 kilometers a day.
And they know A to B.
They know the route.
They're tracking everything telematics
and Maxis has telematics built in.
So very quickly a business can see
and even if they're driving,
they get a new Maxis diesel van.
They can start working out.
Oh, do you know what,
that van could go electric.
Yes.
And there are options to the range for EVs.
So that makes a big difference.
I think you drove one recently.
Yes.
Was it EV?
Oh, yeah.
No, I get that.
Yeah, so EV.
Yeah, very good.
What size van was it?
I moved house,
so they give me an E deliver 5
or an E deliver 7
long wheelbase high roof.
So that was great.
Up and down the M50.
Surprisingly enough,
my partner,
she didn't take the week off
work that week.
So I don't know how I got caught
with that.
Yeah, very clever.
So you could fit a lot of stuff
in the van.
And a lot of stuff in the van
and it's very capable.
And I know what the vans,
the range that they coach
is with a 50% maximum payload.
So it's not just
that's a big range
with nothing in the back of it.
We've given you the range figure.
But as you said,
depending on your payload,
depending on your driving style,
but a lot of businesses
will understand.
And what I like about
the commercial EV offering
is it's a business decision.
Let's crunch the numbers.
What's the total cost
of ownership?
And we can see,
yes, it's maybe a bit
more expensive at the start
because of that size van
in electric,
but there are grants
available as well from SEI.
And so an electric van,
if it works,
if it's business viable,
you can see it's
a no-brainer.
So as a brand,
as you said,
you were excited to talk
to Carl and Keith
and they have a current offering,
but also they have a future
line up coming down the line
and exciting times.
No, absolutely.
And we need,
we live in an area here
where there's a lot of vans passing by.
As I said,
there's three vans passing
as I'm speaking to you
outside the window.
They're all Amazon Prime vans,
by the way.
But as I said,
they run their charging system
based on tomorrow's deliveries.
They know how many,
much they need.
Yeah, so they won't charge it
to 100%
because they know 75 km
of what they need.
They'll put 100 in
and that's sorted.
Wow.
We have other
businesses around us
who are in Bali Kulin,
Northwest Business Park.
There's four business parks
in the area.
There's lots of vehicles around.
So that's why
we have been chasing this
for a while.
It also means we can talk
to our own customers
about supplying Hyundai's.
We can talk to
any van customers
about supplying Hyundai.
So we reckon
it's going to go both ways.
It'll introduce us
to new customers
and we can introduce
new products
to our own customers.
Very good.
So we've already
made market for WeHo.
What's the future
for Hot in the Meade
looking like in the next
five years, ten years?
Really good.
We are working
on the van range
for the moment.
We're looking at,
do we increase
more volume
for workshop here
because the workshop volume,
we started with five rounds
up here.
We have 11 at the moment.
And we think
we probably will
in the next couple of years
for future proofing need
maybe six or eight more rounds.
The difficulty again
is trying to get staff for those.
So we just,
we need to play that game
a little bit carefully.
Do we open a bit longer
in the day?
Do we, you know,
we've decisions to make
but we've no rash decisions.
We are based on one site.
We have,
we're always looking
for other opportunities
but we have a very good
business.
We've a very good team
and we do it very well.
Nigel runs a great show.
We,
Joe and I,
when we were moving up here,
went over to the UK
to have a look at
a workshop system
and we came back realizing
this is probably a bit bigger
than we can chew.
So we brought Nigel in
as an accountant
to run the business.
So as I said,
we're process driven.
So any decision we make
is slow and careful.
We don't jump at it.
No,
we would have taken
Max's last year ahead.
We got it.
But we would be
very considerate
about how we do things.
It sounds like you're
looking at best practices
whether it's going to the UK
and I know in our work
we go to the
different conferences
around Europe
and in ADA
and North American
market to see what they're doing
because different markets
have different ways of doing things
and you'll pick
what you think will work best
for the Irish market
but it doesn't sound
like you're rushing in
doing anything
and trialing it before
you're not reinventing
the wheel here.
No,
like,
back to the AI conversation,
people buy from people.
You know,
we will use AI
as the smartest tool
we can find
to do things.
But there's people there
on their shaking hands.
That's the good bit.
And as I said,
we have a great team
of people around us.
We have a great customer base.
We work with our customers.
Joe and I spend a good bit of time
sitting down on the floor
making coffee,
sitting down,
sorry, standing on the floor
making coffee for people
because there's a bit of chit chat.
You know,
you get a great feel
for how your business is
by talking to people
who deal with you.
And it's not like,
you know, we get criticism.
You know,
we don't always get
five star reviews
but that's what keeps us going.
You have to be there
and as you said,
with AI or online,
it's buying a vehicle.
It's probably the second
biggest purchase
you're ever going to buy
after your house.
Although some kitchens out there,
I think when I did the interview
with Brendan Keary,
I was alluding to the fact
that, but anyway,
the,
and people want to know
who they're buying from
and are you going to be there
in the year times,
three years times,
five years time
because they want to be able
to deal.
People don't want the hassle
of having to go to
different dealers all the time.
They'd like to build a
relationship with whatever
brand it is.
Well, there's probably
a little bit less
because there's so much choice out there.
And if you're going to change
from a petrol or diesel,
you might change to an EV.
Why not have a look
at other EVs?
So,
mining the customer
and mining the customer
is really important.
But back to what I said,
our after sales business
is so important for that.
Very good.
John, thank you so much for your time.
You're very good
and thanks to your board.
Welcome.
Cheers.
Los cupones digitales
en la app de Fred Meyer
y gana puntos en combustible
para ahorrar hasta un dólar por galón.
Es fácil ahorrar.
Fred Meyer.
Fresh para todos.
Los ahorros pueden variar por estado.
Aplican resecciones de combustible.
Ve los detalles en el sitio.
Ahorra aún más
en tus favoritos.
Combina cinco o más
artículos participantes
y llévatelos hoy por noventa
y nueve centavos cada uno
en nuestra venta
de los noventa y nueve centavos.
Lunch was great,
but this traffic is awful.
Can we stop at a bathroom?
Are you alright?
And keep having stomach issues after eating
like diarrhea,
gas and bloating,
abdominal pain
and sometimes oily stools.
Sound familiar?
Those stomach issues
may actually be a pancreas issue
called exocrine pancreatic insufficiency
or EPI.
Creon pancreolipase
may help manage EPI.
Creon is a prescription medicine
used to treat people
who can't digest food normally
because their pancreas
doesn't make enough enzymes.
Creon may increase your chance
of fibrosin colonopathy
or rare bowel disorder.
Tell your doctor
if you have a history
of gastrointestinal
or thickening of your bowel wall.
If you are allergic to pork
or if you have gout, kidney problems
or worsening of painful swollen joints.
Call your doctor
if you have any unusual
or severe gastrointestinal symptoms
or allergic reactions.
Take Creon as directed
by your doctor and always with food.
Do not chew capsules
as this may cause mouth irritation.
Other side effects may include
blood sugar changes,
gastitis, and a sore throat and cough.
These are not all the side effects
of Creon.
Call 800-639-110
or visit creoninfo.com
to learn more.
That's C-R-E-O-N-INFO.com
I'm asking my doctor
about EPI
and if Creon could help.
There's a reason Chevy trucks
are known for their dependability
that's because they show up
no matter the weather,
push forward no matter the terrain
and deliver.
That's why Chevrolet has earned
more dependability awards
for trucks than any other brand
in 2025
according to JD Power.
Because in every Chevy truck
like every Chevy driver,
dependability comes standard.
Visit chevy.com
to learn more.
Chevrolet received
the highest total number of awards
among all trucks
in the JD Power 2025
US Vehicle Dependability Study.
Awards based on 2022 models,
newer models may be shown,
visit JDpower.com
slash awards for more details.
Chevrolet, together,
let's drive.
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