The Big Fat Car Dealer Christmas Quiz of the Year – Car Dealer Podcast episode 237
Car Dealer Podcast
The Big Fat Car Dealer Christmas Quiz of the Year – Car Dealer Podcast episode 237
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Brand
MG
MG is a car brand that originally came from Britain but is now owned by a Chinese company. They make cars that are often sporty and budget-friendly.
Car
J.Coo 7
The J.Coo 7 is a car from a Chinese manufacturer that people in the U.K. are starting to notice and talk about more seriously.
Car
Land Rover Range Rover
The Timu Range Rover is a new luxury SUV from Land Rover. Range Rovers are known for being very comfortable and capable of driving off-road.
Term
plug-in hybrid
A plug-in hybrid is a car that uses both gas and electricity. You can charge it by plugging it into a power outlet, and it can drive a certain distance using just electricity before it needs to use gas.
Brand
Peugeot
Peugeot is a car brand from France that makes various types of vehicles, including small cars and SUVs. They focus on stylish designs and good fuel economy.
Brand
Audi
Audi is a car brand from Germany that makes luxury cars. They are known for their stylish designs and high-tech features.
Term
charging points
Charging points are places where you can plug in and charge electric cars. They are important for people who drive electric vehicles so they can keep their cars powered up.
Term
electric vehicles (EVs)
Electric vehicles, or EVs, are cars that run on electricity instead of gas. They are better for the environment and are becoming more common as technology improves.
Car
Nissan Leafs
The Nissan Leaf is an electric car that is popular for being affordable and easy to drive. It's known for being eco-friendly and has a decent range for daily use.
Car
Volkswagen Egolfs
The Volkswagen e-Golf is an electric version of the regular Golf car. It looks like a normal Golf but runs on electricity instead of gas, making it a good choice for eco-conscious drivers.
Car
Volkswagen Golf
The Volkswagen Golf is a small car that many people like because it's easy to drive and has a lot of space inside. Recently, they made an electric version that looks just like the regular Golf, which is popular because it helps the environment while still being familiar.
Term
battery packs
Battery packs are like the fuel tanks for electric cars. They store the electricity needed to make the car run, and if they wear out, they can be expensive to replace.
Term
ICE vehicles
ICE vehicles are cars that run on fuel like gasoline or diesel. They need regular maintenance, like oil changes, to keep them running well, and sometimes people might not use the best oil.
Brand
Renault
Renault is a car company from France that makes many different types of vehicles, including electric cars. They are known for their creative designs and technology.
Brand
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a well-known car maker in the United States that makes many types of vehicles, including trucks and cars.
Car
Focus
The Ford Focus is a small car that many people liked for being affordable and easy to drive. Ford has stopped making it after many years.
Concept
commercial vehicles
Commercial vehicles are types of vehicles used mainly for business, like delivery trucks and vans that carry goods or people.
Car
Ford F-150 Lightning
The Ford F-150 Lightning is a new electric truck that is part of the F-150 series. It's designed to be powerful and useful like a regular truck but runs on electricity instead of gasoline.
Car
Ford Escape
The Ford Escape is a small SUV that many people like because it's affordable and useful for everyday driving. It's one of Ford's most popular cars.
Company
Dealerway
Dealerway is a website that helps car dealers sell cars they take as trade-ins. It makes the process easier and cheaper for them.
Car
Kia Picantos
The Kia Picanto is a small car that's easy to drive and park, perfect for city living. It's known for being budget-friendly and efficient.
Car
Nissan e-NV200
The Nissan e-NV200 is an electric version of a van that businesses use for deliveries. It's designed to be environmentally friendly and save on fuel costs.
Car
Subaru Solterra
The Subaru Solterra is an electric SUV made by Subaru. It's built for people who like to drive in nature and need a vehicle that can handle different terrains.
Car
SsangYong Korando
The SsangYong Korando is a smaller SUV made by the company SsangYong. It's a budget-friendly option for people looking for a practical vehicle.
Brand
Jaguar Land Rover
Jaguar Land Rover is a company that makes luxury cars. Jaguar is known for sporty cars, while Land Rover makes vehicles that can handle rough terrain.
Car
Land Rover Freelander
The Land Rover Freelander is a small SUV that can drive well on rough roads and in the city. It's known for being comfortable and is a good choice for people who want a car that can handle different types of driving.
Car
Jaguar Ipace
Term
electric car grant
An electric car grant is money given by the government to help people buy electric cars. It makes the cars cheaper so more people can afford them.
Car
Citroen C3
The Citroen C3 is a small car that is easy to drive and has a comfortable interior. It has been around since 2002 and is known for its unique design.
Car
Citroen Ds3
The Citroen DS 3 is a small car that stands out because of its cool design and the many ways you can customize it. It's a fun car to drive and is popular with people who want something different from regular cars.
Concept
supercar dealer
A supercar dealer is a car seller that focuses on very fast and expensive cars, like Ferraris and Lamborghinis. They sell cars that are often seen as luxury items.
Company
Harrods
Harrods is a famous store in London that sells very expensive and luxury items, including cars. It's known for attracting wealthy shoppers.
Brand
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a well-known car brand from Germany that makes luxury cars. They are famous for their quality and advanced technology.
Company
Ineos
Ineos is a company that makes chemicals but has also started making cars, like the Grenadier, which is designed for tough off-road driving.
LIVE
The car dealer podcast is sponsored by Autotrader.
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Welcome back to the car dealer podcast, where we usually pick our favourite stories of the
week and ask an industry guest to choose which were the best.
I'm James Bagger, and you may have noticed I've swapped my usual role for this special
big fact Christmas car dealer quiz of the year edition of the podcast.
That's a bit of a mouthful.
Now, joining me as ever is the Blonde Bombshell, a man who got an amazing
Make America Great Again hat for Secret Santa and refuses to wear it.
It's John Ray.
John, how are you?
Well, I can see why you don't do this normally, James.
Why?
Because, I mean, Blonde Bombshell is not a difficult phrase to say.
But somehow you've messed it up in the first one minute of this podcast.
But it's a pleasure to be here, James.
It's a real honour.
You can see I've got my Christmas jumper on.
Very nice it is, too.
I mean, some would say this isn't a Christmas jumper.
But as you know, James, you Christmas in Chamonix.
So to you, this is a Christmas jumper.
I'm just giving a bit of.
It's more of a skiing jumper, isn't it, John?
Yeah.
Well, it's nice to see you nonetheless, John.
Thank you.
I'm glad the tables have turned slightly this week for this special podcast.
I'm looking I'm looking forward to it.
Anyway, also joining me for this week is the Waterlooville based
amateur dramatics enthusiast and caravan scourer.
It's James Baxter.
James, how are you?
Can I just take issue there or what?
I could take issue on all of those points, but particularly where I'm based.
I mean, I'm nowhere near where you said and also caravan botherer.
What does that mean?
I don't think I said caravan.
I said caravan scourer, scourer.
You love caravan anyway, you're a big fan of scourer and.
And you don't ever got a bit of delay here with you.
You are you are definitely in the Waterlooville postcode, I'm sure.
Well, my my no, there were the Royal Mail sorting offices in Waterlooville.
So yes, that's yes.
Well, anyway, nice to see you.
Yeah, lovely to be back.
Really lovely to be back.
Lovely to be back.
Rebecca is also here.
That's because Grandma is looking after our children.
Very nice to see you. How are you?
I like like blonde bombshell, batches of caravan,
scourer or whatever that means.
And then I'm allowed to be here because our children aren't.
Otherwise, Thomas would be on podcast.
Now, I did have I did have a little bit more of an introduction written for you,
which was avocado and chai latte lover Rebecca Chaplin.
But I forgot to say it.
Oh, OK. Sorry.
So there was something there.
Anyway, finally, join us for this festive podcast is my real boss
and the man who actually runs the Clever Car Collection.
It's Joe Wellington. Joe, how are you?
I'm well, thank you.
Although, slightly why you said before we recorded,
you'd had all weekend planning this script.
So far, it's horrendous.
All weekend.
Thank you. I'm looking forward to the next hour or so.
I'm very, I'm very, very pleased that you all I appreciate my hard work
that I've gone into this weekend.
Anyway, this week's podcast is going to be slightly different.
So first up, we're each going to pick one story from the car dealer website
after a bumper year of news, which we think is the best stroke,
most important of the year.
We're each going to run through the details and explain why we think it's
the most important and at the end, we'll vote collectively
for the one we think is the best and that post that person will get
10 points and a head start going into the big fat Christmas quiz.
So those of you listening, yes, John, no, no, carry on.
No, I thought you were raising your hand.
Oh, that was the rules.
If you're raising your hand, you wanted to say something.
Certainly look like you're raising my apologies. Carry on.
Thank you. So those of you listening or watching along on YouTube,
you'd be able to play along with this quiz at home.
I will be the quiz master, but I won't be taking part in round two.
But I will be picking the story.
I was going to put our names into a random AI generator,
but as I'm the quiz master, I'm going to go first.
So yes, Rebecca.
It's the reason that you're going first,
because we've already worked out we have both chosen the same story.
Yes, Rebecca, that's exactly the reason.
So good luck with yours.
Hopefully, Nigel will cut you swearing out from the video.
Thank you very much.
Right, so I am going to pick my first story, a story, not the first story,
my story that I think is the most important.
And it is the news that auto trader made deal builder.
Who's laughing at this, John?
It's the news that auto trader made deal builder mandatory
and rolled it out across the industry this year.
So for those of you don't know, we've been hiding under a rock deal builder.
It's what auto trader calls a digital retailing tool
that lets consumers start their purchase journey online,
including part exchange valuations, finance choices, how they weren't handed over.
And importantly, the option to reserve.
I mean, I should just say, James, as well,
a digital retailing tool is what some of your detractors call you as well.
I don't know if you're aware of that.
John, let's interrupt in and start being nice to me.
It's Christmas.
So this is the completely throw me off my off my off my plan now.
So this is that was the idea.
This is auto traders deal builder, which is a refundable £99 fee.
So consumers can basically go online, put down £99
which is refundable to reserve the car dealers weren't particularly happy about this.
Now, we we rolled out that news in early November,
where we revealed that deal builder was going to become mandatory for all dealers in the near future.
And then a few days later, there was quite the protest among the dealer community.
Hundreds of car dealers organised a mass protest action
via a number of different Facebook groups.
And they called for coordinated cancellations of their auto trader contracts.
So this was obviously in the response to that mandatory roll out.
They were asking for dealers on the 12th of November
to simultaneously cancel their contracts at 11.59 a.m.
And after that, there were reports that hundreds of dealers had taken part.
In the end, auto traders told us that one just under 100 dealers had cancelled their contracts,
but many others had downgraded their packages.
A week or so later, we spoke to CEO Nathan Coe on this podcast
who told us that he was unhappy with the the feedback they'd had from deal builder.
He was he said sorry.
He apologised for the way it had been rolled out and he pledged to make some tweaks.
The first thing they did is they changed the way that the buttons worked on on the platforms
of the way that consumers could contact dealers was changed again.
So they didn't have to reserve.
They could go back to call and messaging and it made it a little bit easier.
And then off the back of that, auto trader was slightly on the back foot.
To be honest with you, they launched some customer advisory groups
where they invited dealers in to talk about what they think could repair these these frayed relationships.
But it wasn't just deal builder that was the problem.
There was a couple of other things that the the industry were pretty cheesed off about.
One of those was the fact that auto trader was now making consumers sign up to the website
and fill in their details before they could send an inquiry to dealers.
This didn't go down too well.
Dealers said it led to a drop off in in leads.
And they were also unhappy with with just the annual price rises.
So it's just it was a it was a groundswell of opinion, really.
And I mean, the reason I picked this story is it's it absolutely dominated
the news agendas towards the latter end of our year
because there was some there was some real genuine ill feeling amongst those dealers.
I mean, they felt they weren't being listened to and the process
I mean, really fundamentally changed the way many dealers did business.
And they didn't like they didn't like being told how to how to sell their cars
and doing it via a via a different platform.
It also sort of came at a quarter time for dealers.
Few as I say, a few weeks after those consumers had to sign up to
auto trader, which compounded things.
And I think the industry reacted the way it did because it was a quiet time
and they weren't happy with being told how they had to do things.
So we've seen a lot of anger aimed at auto trader off the back of this.
Those customer advisory groups, those first meetings have been held.
I mean, I've had feedback off the back of those that dealers felt like
they weren't particularly listened to in those meetings.
And they're basically all waiting to see what happens next.
I think really dealers want some big action and they want it to to happen soon.
So, yeah, I think we've seen anger at auto trader before in the past,
but this one felt a little bit different.
I just think it'll be interesting to see if it settles down completely in in 2026.
So that's my first story.
Anybody got anything they want to add on it?
No, the class, the class, we've all fallen asleep.
How dare you? Well, John, in that case, I'll let you go next.
James Batchelor has something to say.
Oh, he's got his hand risen.
Yes, he's jumping up and down.
Yes. Well, to listeners who can't see this, we're using a hand raising function,
which does not actually involve me physically raising my hand.
So that's that's that's the reason for the confusion there.
But but anyway, no, I just wanted to say how
I'm not taking anything away from the
you know, the the anger and what happened on that on that fateful day.
But the real test is going to be next year, isn't it?
And all of this has happened during a quiet part of the year.
And it's very easy.
I say this and I'm not a car dealer, but it's quite easy to sort of get very angry
at auto trader and cancel your contracts when when business is a little bit slow.
Come, you know, in a few weeks time when when you need to kickstart your business,
you know, walking away from from the biggest used car advertising platform
is quite a is quite a thing, really, isn't it?
And let's not forget, there's potentially going to be a lot more anger
when if auto traders do raise their prices in April, which, you know,
some say that they might do that this this this whole issue could could explode again.
Couldn't it? So auto traders certainly isn't this story is not going to go away.
Is it? Let's put it that way.
No, I agree with you on that front.
I think they they always do their annual price rises in April.
It never really goes down well, but it just feels like this time it might
flare things up, flare things up again.
Johnny Ray.
Yeah, I think it's it's a difficult one.
I think when this first sort of came out the draw around this,
I was a little bit dismissive of
sort of the attitude towards it, because we've spent the last two years
or perhaps longer here in kind of you know,
general disquiet about auto traders pricing, I think, particularly,
et cetera, et cetera, and you perhaps kind of just go, OK, well,
it's perhaps just people having a bit of a pop at the price of this product,
which does work. It's just expensive.
That's the way that it is.
But I think it became clear as time went on that actually it probably wasn't
necessarily perfect for all of the dealers that were on auto traders,
was it likely? So I think it's it's good that they've listened.
And I think it's good that they've tweaked it.
And I mean, to me, that's probably enough to
well, silence some of the disquiet about this.
I suppose only time will tell.
No, I agree with you.
I think the fact that they've now made it optional and you can you can request
a reservation, consumers can request a reservation, means that dealers can
bring it into their own sales journey and decide what to do with it
when it comes into them. Joe, what do you think?
Well, yeah, similarly, I mean, obviously, we didn't have the greatest
success when the changes happened.
But I sort of quite like it away, because it does add a bit of a disrupter.
And I think car dealers, you get a very mixed view on auto trader,
whether you know, some people love them, some people hate them, but still use them.
And some people will will not touch them.
Because again, like you said, the pricing is is ridiculously high.
People believe compared to other products.
So I think it's interesting.
I think it is nice that in a way that it has added a little bit of disruption
and people have kind of spread their wings into some of the other platforms,
which do work, maybe not quite as well.
But it will be interesting to see how that kind of plays out.
Yeah, Becca, anything to add?
Yeah, just well, I mean, echoing basically what everyone else has said.
But I do agree that at the end of the day, it's quite good to kind of force
people out of that auto trader bubble in some ways, because it doesn't
necessarily work for everyone.
I've talked to so many dealers about this and so many of them feel like
they're not being listened to.
People who were on deal builder on the trial feel like they gave a load of
feedback and then it's come out exactly the same.
So you've got this kind of faction of people who were annoyed.
They weren't listened to to start with people who have been then put on to it,
who are annoyed that it's not working for them.
And then this growing bubble of people who are like, we're still being
forced down this path and no one's listening to us and it costs too much money.
And I think at the end of the day, it's like any product.
If you can't afford it, then don't be on it.
If you can't, if you're on it and you're not selling enough cars, don't be on it.
And if you're on it and you can't sell cars, unless you're on it, then you've
probably got another problem in your business there.
Like Cardi is in today, need to be able to sell cars without all these other things.
But it's been really interesting seeing people who've gone into things like car
gurus, ebay motors that they weren't on before and have found that actually.
This does work for some of the cars that we sell or it might not work for everything,
but we got this kind of balance now of different things.
It's been interesting, I think with the Google ads coming into it as well,
people are dipping their toes into Google ads, Facebook marketplace where they might
not have before because they thought it wasn't worth the time or the hassle.
So, yeah, it's just interesting, I think, to see people changing and a bit of a
shift in the industry.
Yeah. Right.
We should probably move on to somebody else.
So anybody want to go first?
I mean, you can raise your hand if you do.
No, well, John, I'll let you go next.
OK, well, I've got a list of two.
I mean, I did have that AutoTrader one on, but I just knew you would talk about it
sometime, so I won't deprive you from your log about that.
You've inevitably written, but I'm going to talk about sort of I'm going to
round up a few stories in the same subject because none of them are as big as
the deal builder story, for example.
But I think collectively they speak to a big movement that's happening.
And I just have to put a prop on for this.
What I'm going to talk about is China, China, China, China.
That's the last time I'm wearing that hat.
Thank you.
The only time it's ever going to be put on my head and I'm now going to.
Burn it.
No, no, I'm going to the US, so I have to be very polite about it.
So I'm going to put it away in the cupboard for safekeeping.
If you wear that immigration, when we go to America for the nada trip,
you will get it let in a lot quicker.
That is how the immigrants get it, not here.
You're not getting in at all now.
So I should say made in China, actually.
Of course it was.
A MAGA hat made in China.
Oh, yeah, I'm sorry, yes.
Yeah, so I'm going to talk about the Chinese car manufacturers,
which I know is a sort of evergreen topic, but it sort of feels like 2025
was the year of Chinese car makers really going mad in the UK.
So I mean, we've had MG a long time in a way.
MG is sort of like the Chinese car manufacturer by stealth
and they've been doing very well here.
BYD arrived not that long ago as well and have cleaned up.
I mean, BYD is outselling Mini, Mazda, Tesla, Citroen,
lots of established brands here in the last 12 months.
But I think really the new ones that have arrived in the last year,
J.Coo arrived, I think it was actually January, January is when they first
officially started selling, yeah, January.
Well, there you go.
So January since January, J.Coo with their one model, largely speaking,
they've just launched a second one, managed to propel themselves to
I think it was fourth best selling car in February.
They were something like seventh last month.
So they're still riding high up there with this one model, J.Coo seven.
A Moda, I think in the background also quite big, but is Cherry as a whole?
Cherry is enormous.
We've also seen Gini come along and again, one car, I think that's only
just launched, but they've made a bit of an impact.
And I think they're probably ones to watch as well.
Lots of others waiting in the wings, the names of which I cannot quite remember.
But Chang'an is one, of course, we had the boss of Chang'an on this podcast
not that long ago.
I just feel like this year was really the year, as I say, when people
started taking Chinese cars seriously and not just in that kind of like,
oh, this is a bit interesting.
This is an unusual thing.
Or I really want an EV and this happens to be the best one.
You know, talking about the seven, I mean, the J.Coo seven really took the U.K.
by storm.
I'm starting to sound like a Daily Mail article about it, but there were
newspaper articles about this car, which was a very strange thing to watch.
Sat from here, you know, you'd open up the Daily Mail or whatever.
Obviously, I'm a big Daily Mail reader and there would be a, you know,
thousand word article where they've dispatched someone to go and take
photos of random J.Coo sevens around London going, oh, is this the new
Timu Range Rover or whatever?
And it's been very big on TikTok.
I hear it's been a TikTok sensation, this car.
So and that's, that's people actually, OK, largely driven by price, but going
for this car, not because it's a sort of oddity and it's an unusual or it's
got the best battery tech or something because it's not an EV, it's a plug-in hybrid.
They've been buying it on the merits of that car and its price.
So I just think that is probably my biggest thing of the year.
It's there's a lot of people driving around Chinese cars now in the U.K.
A lot more than they were last year.
James.
I completely agree with you.
I think it's been a massive, massive story this year.
We've talked about it many times on the podcast and we, I mean, actually,
even last week we were chatting to one on Friday, we were chatting to Peter
Vardy and he was talking about his concerns about these Chinese car
manufacturers and what they will, what they will do to the industry.
I mean, my, my thing on this is I've been amazed at how quickly they've been
accepted by the public.
I think, you know, if you think back to when Japanese cars arrived and when
Korean car now wasn't around then, but when, when Korean cars arrived and when
they really started coming over here, you know, a lot of them were sort of
laughable at the start.
You know, the first early keers in the island, they were, they were not
the best vehicles, whereas China have come in with the, with very realistic
models, very competitive ones that buyers desperately want to buy immediately.
And I think that has been the thing for me, how quickly they've been accepted.
Whether it's the biggest story of the year for me, I'm not sure, because I
think next year will be the year of the Chinese car manufacturer.
I think if we do this podcast again next year, we'll be talking about how
the, the, the sounds have shifted into the China's, China's favor.
So yeah, very interesting one that John.
I'll let you, I'll let you guide.
Well, I was just gonna, one, one bit I'll add onto that before I hand it over
to somebody else is, I think that's, that's the thing I found interesting
as well is the, the rate of adoption.
And I, I think we've said this a year ago as well.
Why are Chinese cars being so accepted compared to why we're driving
around in protons or yeah, I mean, we are driving around in keers and so on.
But day you've disappeared, it's taken a lot longer for those brands
from Korea to establish themselves.
I think partially, I don't think you can say, but me personally as a motoring
journalist, I'm James Batchel, probably nodding onto this.
I was a little bit chaffed in, I don't think Chinese cars are actually
that good in terms of all the, in terms of all the things that we as journalists
would look at, you know, like I will hop into a, a GD or a JK or whatever.
And the infotainment and all that stuff is not really brilliant in the ways
that I don't know, an Audi or even a Peugeot is, you know, it's not really
100% finished for this market.
And I think there are probably some reliability quirks that are going to
emerge over the next 24 months, because these are all quite new brands.
I just think people are more used to stuff from China now.
And I think it's just accepted as a place to buy goods from.
I shall hand it to Rebecca, because she was waving her arms vigorously there.
Well, that's basically what I was going to say, is I think the idea
that they're not laughable is laughable, because some of them are
the names for starters, build your dreams.
I know they've moved away from that.
Yang Wang.
I remember when I think Batch brought down the BYD seal, was it?
Yeah.
The tiny little thing, and we all got in it.
And what is this?
This is all Dolphin.
And again, why are they all named after sea creatures?
And what's the new one that our Christmas party that Cameron was trying
to say the name of?
The novel.
You're joking.
No, I'm joking.
No, he tried out, he went to China, didn't he, with BYD and they tried
a new Chinese brand.
Maybe he's not allowed to talk about it, but he was saying it in a Chinese
accent as well.
He was trying to pronounce it really correctly.
And we were all like, what?
He's like he's been in doctories, wasn't he?
The Yang Wang as well.
How will we get a car that's called a Yang Wang and no one's gone?
It's probably not going to work in the UK market.
I just don't think, but I do think it obviously shows how important
price is to people.
Price is just that number one point.
There are things that people want in a car and you can't afford them in
European cars.
So yeah, but I just do think some of them obviously are good and I've
not driven all of them.
I've only seen a few of them, but I do think that some of them, they feel
like pre-production cars.
Joe, there's an element of user testing going on, I think, but that is
also true.
I hate to say about European cars as well now.
Anyway, Joe.
It was, yeah, it's not going well for me because you've both managed to
steal my two stories, but I find the China thing just similar to the
also show that I love the fact that it's been so disruptive.
I was looking back through the stories and just some of the like
conspiracy theories that people have got, they would take over the world
that they're listening.
Like I love all of that side of it.
And like you said, I think people, they just don't care anymore what the
brand is and that whole kind of car dealer thing.
I've all bought it because it's an Audi dealers are wide because I can't
use the same chat up lines to get people into them.
And you know, I do think that they're going to be a thing and I don't
reckon it will be long before we've got one on our forecourt.
Yeah.
People are using them and you know, you drive around our area and you
see them constantly.
I think this whole kind of love of brands and stuff, we're just moving away
from people see them as disposable items.
They're cheap.
That's just, yeah, use them.
Yeah.
Right.
Let's move on.
Next story, Rebecca, you can go next.
I'm sorry.
I'm on me as I mentioned, I was going to go for the auto trader story, but
realize that James is going to choose it.
And I was also thinking considering the FCA story, but I think I'm actually
going to go for the kind of shift in EV used car sales this year, because I
do think that's been quite a big shift for dealers.
I mean, I'm sure James and Joe will have something to say about this, but
I mean, even I know you've got some in stock at home, but I've found it
really interesting hearing what people are buying and that people are going out
and trying to buy some of these used EVs that are a bit cheaper and actually
finding some success.
I'm particularly, I can't know what it's called now, what's the Motability
Company?
Motability.
No, MFL.
MFL Direct, I could think M Direct, M&M Direct.
I just found it very interesting what they were saying that they're seeing a lot
of people buying three year old electric cars from them.
They're obviously in quite good condition and finding that when people do try
them, they're actually managing to make quite a reasonable margin out of them.
And we look back and I just think there are so many dealers that I remember
speaking to, even during lockdown, even 21, 22, who were like, no chance, no way
we were able to do that.
But we're seeing a slight, I think not just a shift in prices and people kind
of trusting what they can do in the ranges, but also things like just better
accessibility to charging points.
So you're a dealer and you don't think I need to have my own charger or I won't
be able to sell these cars this reasonable amount that sometimes work.
But that's my story.
No, I think, well, I mean, Joe and I have certainly tried a few more electric
cars this year and actually quite like him.
I mean, they seem to be pretty good.
We've done a few Leafs and they go very, very quickly.
And we've had a bit of a run of Volkswagen e-golfs.
And I think I quite like that one because it's an electric car that just
looks like a normal Golf and I think that's why people love them.
What do you think, Joe?
I just want to confirm for the take, when he says like them, I like them
because they sell, you'll see me driving around in one any time soon.
But no, it is interesting.
It's interesting how they've fallen into the sort of standard stock profile
and for less than six or eight thousand pound, you can still get a very good
condition, very well maintained electric vehicle.
And we do the health checks on them and they're proven they're worth.
Yeah, Johnny Ray.
Well, I'm going to use your favourite word to describe this topic, which I think
is nuanced, I think it's a nuance.
Oh, oh, sorry, I was just sick of my moment.
It's a nuanced market because I think there's a lot going on because
I think some people you speak to will suggest that some dealers are scared
of EVs because they are not your usual bread and butter car.
You know, they're worried about things like the battery packs expiring
and being suddenly really costly to replace because there's some module
buried inside the car that needs to be replaced at some great expense.
But then there's the other element of the prices.
And I don't really think that's over.
You know, we had the big price crash of I don't remember when it was
18 months ago or so when Mr Musk decided to reduce the price on all these
Eslurs and that had the enormous effect of knocking the margins down
and everything else on what was probably quite an overheated market for EVs.
So that is someone who convinced someone to buy an EV during that time.
And then it's not really worth much money.
Thank you, personal contract purchase for taking the part.
Yeah. But I just think, you know, as a if I was a dealer now thinking
about taking on an EV, they are cheap and I think they're
well, much like normal cars, they're all very individual.
I think the sort of thing that goes wrong on an Esan leaf, for example,
does not necessarily is not the same sort of issue you get on an eyepace.
So you can't just treat them all as the same brush as one, you know,
easy to maintain kind of car, even though that's what we would like to say
is the case because there's less moving parts.
But I just think it's the pricing thing because everything is so we're in turmoil
now about new car situation for EVs.
And the only way that we're going to get EVs into people's homes
or on the driveways is to discount them heavily.
We've got China, Chinese manufacturers have come along, as I've already said,
with even cheaper EVs.
And I just don't I'm not entirely sure we've reached
a normal point for EV pricing secondhand.
I think particularly the kind of the newer stuff I think they could.
Personally, I'm not an expert.
I'm not Darren Martin, but I just I'm not 100 percent secure
in the pricing of these things.
I think for your e-golfs, for example, I think you're probably quite safe.
But that's a very small end of the market.
You know, there weren't a lot of those sold in what, 2015 or something?
Those cars, you know, we've tried to buy them all.
Oh, yeah, exactly.
So you're quite safe there is when they really started pumping them out.
But I just think I sort of agree.
And I think that when you look at the pricing of new EVs
and what's going to be in the used market three years from now,
I think these cars are going to take a massive tumble still for people
to be happy by a used model.
And people are not going to be willing to put anywhere near.
And I do think that we're definitely, definitely going to see an influx
of better looked after petrol and diesel cars that people
I mean, not three years from now, but we'll be coming up to that 2030.
And people will be thinking if I want a car like this, I need to look after it
or find another one that's well looked after.
So I do think, yeah, we're going to we're going to come into a bigger shift,
I think, because the used markets going to change a lot.
The next three years.
So final point on this before we move on.
Yeah, I think the the how people maintain them is a really interesting point.
We did a viewing not that long ago and I was having quite the conversation
with the customer in that the fact with the EVs, people worry about them.
But the human is much less involved.
You know, you don't know what type of oil or where people have cheaped out
on their standard ice vehicles.
And, you know, they just kind of almost can't break the EV side.
So I think it is an interesting point with the service history and such line.
Yeah, this is when we hand them over to Darren to serve seal preppies.
I will just look at it and say, yeah, that's done.
Yeah, that's done, which is ridiculous.
Thanks, right.
So who wants to go next, Joe, back up to you.
Well, you've kindly stolen most of mine.
And my backup choice was the FCA, the bar call that unfolded
throughout the year, which Rebecca has kindly alluded to as well.
But I feel like it definitely deserves a mention.
Obviously, it was fairly dominating in the news for quite a long time.
And when I was looking back through both your website and some maybe
other competitors websites, it said your email didn't say
actually one of your reported news stories.
Unbelievable, right?
Yeah, I think the whole FCA thing obviously still affects us
and will continue to do so going forward.
Yeah, no, definitely.
I mean, it was a it was a massive story, this is still rumbling on now.
I think we were talking about in the podcast on Friday,
how they're still going to be possibly changing it.
And yeah, a big, big story, that one.
Johnny Ray, you've got a point.
Yeah, it's just when I mean, it's an enormous topic that
and I don't want to squeeze it into the limited time we have remaining.
Well, Batch will do a good job of explaining some of it, I'm sure.
But when we talked about this initially, when there was talk of this
£750 average or whatever, I think we took that to mean
everyone will get 700 quid.
Everyone who's had a finance agreement within the parameters that they've
suggested, which were pretty, pretty broad, I think, will get 750 quid.
And I think it's that we talked about that seeming
unfair for some people and fair for a, you know, well, I don't know.
It's unfair in positive and negative ways, isn't it?
There are people that are probably not owed 750 quid and there are people
that possibly are owed more than 750 quid.
That's the nature of doing an average.
But the whole motivation behind that was that there are
so many finance agreements for the FCA or lenders or whoever is
administering this to go through and decide whether that's a worthy claim or not.
That it would just be easier to put one price on all of them.
But the news from this week, from three days ago,
implied that actually it was going to be a bit more of a range of
outcomes, nuanced, nuanced.
Come on, I'm going to ban that word from 2026.
Nuanced is out.
The thing is, James, it is what it is.
Oh, Mike, oh my word.
I mean, talk about red flags.
But I just, I just, I can't work out how this is going to be.
I'm doing the Donald Trump hands down.
I can't work out how this is going to be administered by lenders or the FCA.
Because it's just enormous, enormous things to try and deal with.
Yeah, thanks, Bachelor.
Well, no, I think it's what I was going to say is about the administration side,
really, because I mean the administration.
Can you just go back on?
Can you stop that now?
Very tiring.
No, I was just going to say how I mean, I'm obviously not an expert
on financial matters, and I, and, but having followed this story pretty closely,
I don't know how unusual this is, but I was quite struck a few months ago,
how the FCA stepped in and kind of pleaded with members of the public,
not to go with these kind of ambulance chasing kind of lawyers
and wait for the FCA to actually come out with their own proposed
compensation scheme.
And it seems like even now when you switch the TV on or you listen to a
if you listen to a radio station with adverts that you still get these adverts
about how you could be entitled to, you know, thousands of pounds worth of compensation.
And again, I just think a lot of people are confused by it, aren't they?
And as soon as you say to somebody, well, you may have had a financial agreement
15 years ago, and you may be entitled to compensation.
People immediately pick up the phone when they go on the go, you know,
start sending emails often trying to because it's it's it's the potential for free money, isn't it?
So I don't know how well the whole situation has been handled by the FCA.
I know they've stepped in at one stage, but I think a lot of panic has been created.
And of course, dealers are just are just as clueless as customers are as well, aren't they?
I'll answer that one, Batch. It's been handled quite poorly.
Well, because I mean, let us not forget as well, these are this is compensation
for rules that the FCA wrote that dealers on the whole adhered to that.
Now the FCA have to go back and say, you did a bad thing.
So you're going to have to pay some compensation.
So that's that's the frustration that we've forgotten in all this insanity.
And also, I just think they've been on the back foot when it comes to
getting the message out about, as you say, please don't use the ambulance chasing firms.
They've put an amount of budget into countering that.
And I think we wrote a story about it in September, October,
that was basically they've paid one influencer on Instagram to say, guys, don't use these firms.
Please go. Please don't do anything because the FCA don't have anything to say at the moment,
but they will soon like just it's not good enough, just doesn't work.
And I've not seen anything else since to counter.
I mean, I didn't even see that apart from via our story.
So I just I think that it's too late.
The horse is bolted on that one.
And I just think it's a bit of a mess.
James, yeah, I'm going to move us on because we've got one more story
to wedging from Mr.
Bachelor before we vote and move on to our quiz.
So Batch, over to you.
OK, well, firstly, I just want to just to sort of remark on something
you said earlier on, James, which was you think next year is going to be the year
of the Chinese car makers.
I kind of agree with you there because I feel as though the Chinese are really coming in
and they're going to dominate the value end of the market,
which leads me on to the story and why the topic that I want to talk about, which is Ford,
because, well, let me just start with the story.
So I found this story absolutely gobsmacking and it was it was very recent.
It was the announcement that Ford signed a partnership with Renault
to develop future EVs and as another agreement to do with commercial vehicles.
But I'm primarily interested in the in the passenger car side.
So from now, so from 2028 onwards,
Ford is going to be using Renault's
Ampere platform for a pair of affordable new electric cars.
And I just find this absolutely incredible
how Ford has got to this situation where they have by their own decision,
they've abandoned the affordable end of the car market
and now rapidly running around and chasing their own tail to try and,
you know, reclaim this part of the market, which they were were masters of,
not only has was there this this announcement with Ford Renault,
but Ford recently made the announcement that this is Ford Motor Company, not Ford of Europe,
but Ford Motor Company have they're going to have a 19.5 billion
dollar write down on their EV division,
primarily because of cars like the F 150 Lightning,
with this huge electric pickup truck in America has absolutely bombed.
And then also in the UK, we reported on this,
that Ford have killed off the focus as well this year after 27 years.
You know, a car that for the last three decades
has been a mainstay of the British car market.
So I just find it amazing how Ford has got itself into this situation.
And I think we really are witnessing the decline of an absolutely dominant car maker.
And I just feel as though this this this trend is this decline is irreversible.
I hope I'm wrong. Perhaps 2026 may change my opinion on that.
But I I think the outlook is very, very bleak.
And Ford may not be here much longer in Europe and particularly in the UK.
A good story that back, Becky, you had your hand up first.
I just wanted to say that I think you and Joe back me up and most used car dealers.
People want small cars, they want small automatic cars.
And we are drastically losing any good small automatic cars or manual or whatever.
But yeah, I do think I agree with that that Ford have messed this up badly.
They had something that was an absolute industry leader in this country,
not just class leader, like it was the car.
And I mean, they had two of them and for some reason they've got rid of them
and not developed them and instead gone for cars that I mean, people like and people buy.
So I can't be too critical, but I don't like them.
So yeah, I think it'll be interesting.
I think it's really interesting that they are working on this product with Renault
and what the outcome is going to be at the end.
But yeah, Ford and Renault, that's going to produce.
Yeah, I think we need more small cars.
I really think that's the if the future is electric, if the future is greener,
we need smaller cars, not bigger cars that are running on less fumes.
Johnny Ray, final word on this.
Well, actually, Rebecca, that's what the EU are mandating in a new EV thing,
aren't they? One point three times the points if you make a small electric car.
But yeah, going back to the Ford thing, I just I I just find it so sad
because I think, you know, most of us in this strange little podcast room,
virtual room have been Ford fans for a very long time.
You know, I've always been a big fan of Ford.
I think, you know, James definitely because he's on the most batch.
I'm sure you're the same.
You know, they were always from a motoring journalist point of view.
They were always you would go on a Ford launch and you go, right,
this is going to be a really good car.
It's going to drive really well.
It's going to be affordable.
It's going to be plushish.
You know, it's not going to be as dull as whatever Vauxhall they're making
or as sort of plush maybe as a VW, but it would just be a really good car
that you know would sell well.
And I just think they they lost that quite a long time ago, which is quite sad.
And I mean, I think Ford as a we look at Ford in Europe and Ford in Europe
have a user with nuanced again.
Ford in Europe is the matter with you.
It's like a day.
They've Ford in Europe have been in trouble for a long time.
The only thing that makes the money.
And I remember being told this on by an engineer on a Ford launch
in happier times is commercial vehicles.
That's all Ford in Europe is good at making money from.
And you can understand that because a transit doesn't cost much more to produce
that probably cost less to produce than a focus.
But it sells for more money and they have this enormous share of market
and they're just really good at it.
But they've just never been able to make money from passenger cars.
That's one issue.
But I just think as well in America, they've lost the plot as well.
Because as you say, this F 150 lightning, some of that, I think,
probably was difficult timing in the world.
I think when that came out, that was quite an interesting product,
but it's not done very well.
But they've just shut down the production line for the escape,
which is the Cougar in America, which in American terms is their cheapest car.
That's their bread and butter car.
And they've just shut it down to make a line for new EVs.
So I just I do not understand what is going on with Ford.
Like they just don't seem to have a clue.
And yet, you know, I think it's Jim Farley, the boss of Ford will come out
and say all these things like we're way behind China.
I've been driving around the Xiaomi and it's fantastic.
We can't do that. We need to compete.
We'll get on with it then.
Like you're the biggest car maker in the world.
You certainly were at one stage.
What is happening?
James, no, I'm not going to hand it to Batch.
I'm going to bring the rant to a close.
Sorry, I'm going to bring this round to a close
because we need we need to move on to the quiz.
So we're going to have to now vote for our favourite story.
So I'm going to come to each of you.
Like I think maybe the rule has to be we can't vote for our own story.
Perhaps that should be.
Yeah, possibly.
So yeah, vote for vote for vote for your favourite story, Joe.
Can you ever just remind of the stories because I forgot.
Oh, yes, of course we can, John.
Thank you for that.
As the traditional podcast host.
So I went with Australia's deal builder.
You went, John, with China.
Rebecca went with the car sales.
Joe talks about the FCA debacle and Batch talks about Ford and Renault.
So, Joe, I'll let you choose your the most the most important story of the year.
I think the I've got to go with deal with that saddens me
that that's given you the point slightly.
No, you don't need to say any more.
Thank you very much, James.
James Baxler over to you.
Deal builder.
Deal builder. Excellent.
Thank you very much, Johnny Ray.
Regressively, deal builder.
Oh, my word.
Excellent.
Rebecca, I am going to say the Chinese cars.
Just Chinese cars.
I am going to I'm also going to say Chinese cars,
because I actually do think that has been dominating the dominating the news this year.
So that's three for me, two for you, John.
It means I get 10 points going into the next round, which I'm not even including.
I'm not even happy.
Right, this is a plan.
This is a plan.
But anyway, let's move on to the quiz.
Now, a quick word from one of our sponsors.
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That sounds awfully familiar.
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Dealers can find out more at dealerway.co.uk.
Now, back to the podcast.
So we've got a number of questions here.
Now, firstly, so for these questions, it's a case
it's a case of first correct answer wins.
So if you think you know the answer, say your name, actually,
or you could raise your hand, press that raise your hand button
and I'll try and spot who was first.
And I'll keep tabs of the scores and people who are playing along at home
can do the same and see if they beat the professionals, which is you guys.
So let's get cracking.
The first 10 questions are multiple choice.
And the first question is number one.
Arnold Clark topped the car dealer top 100 this year
with EBITDA profit of three hundred and eighty point eight million pounds.
But what was the total amount of profit generated by all our dealers on the list?
Was it a two point zero two billion?
Was it B one point seven eight billion?
Was it C two point eight two billion or D two point five two billion?
Joe, you went in first.
No one's read this.
So I'm just going to have the first guess of C.
Thank you, Joe. Incorrect.
Next guess, Rebecca.
D. Incorrect.
I can't remember what you went out.
John or Batch, you've got two to choose from.
A. It's going to be A.
It was A. It was definitely A.
It was two point zero two billion.
Well done, Batch.
No, they're not all A.
I've made sure of it.
Hang on. Was it B?
It was not B.
No, it was two point zero two billion.
Interesting fact for you, the top ten car dealers in the UK accounted for more than half the profit
generated by the entire top 100.
You can read that story on our website.
Question number two.
Tom Hartley, Jr.
was one of the biggest rises in the car dealer top 100 list.
He was up 40 places.
But which car dealer was the biggest faller?
A. Chapel House.
B. City Gate Automotive.
C. Motorpoint.
Or D. Big Motoring World.
John, you got in there first.
I knew it was Big Motoring World.
It was Big Motoring World, John.
You are correct.
They fell down 50 places to 86 on our list.
Very well done, John.
Got straight in there.
Number three.
Question number three.
How many of the top ten biggest used car value fallers in 2025 were electric?
Was it A. Nine out of ten.
Was it B. Seven out of ten.
C. Five out of ten.
Or D. Four out of ten.
John, you got in there first again.
The problem is, James, when you wrote this story, you put the wrong number in the headline.
So I don't know which one you're going to go with.
But I think you said it was nine, but I'm pretty sure it's actually seven.
I wrote the story and I'm going to say it was nine.
So I'm actually going to give you the point.
You look at the list.
He's the number seven, though you've argued with me.
I was going to say seven.
It was nine, according to the story, which may or may not be correct.
But this is news that earlier this month, CapHBI revealed the used car that suffered
the biggest percentage price falls in 2025 with electric cars dominating the list.
It was led by the Nissan EMV200, which lost 29% of its value over the past 12 months.
Subaru Saltero was second and the Sanyong Corando was third.
Next question, number four, in January, we revealed the whopping tax bills
car dealer owners had paid with Lady Filomena Clark, the largest shareholder in Arnold Clark,
top in the list.
But just how much tax did she hand over to Rachel Reeves?
Was it A, 56 million, B, 74 million, C, 65 million, or D, 102 million?
Joe, you got in there first.
C.
Incorrect, Rebecca.
B, 74 million.
B is the correct answer, 74 million pounds.
This is the widow of Sir Arnold Clark, Lady Filomena Clark, a family paid 74.2 million
in tax last year, according to the Sunday Times tax list.
Other car dealers on the list included former car salesman and finance entrepreneur Henry Moser,
who paid 57.8 million, Douglas Park of the Parks Motor Group, who paid 19.8 million
pounds in tax, and John Tordoff and the JCT 600 family, who paid 17.4 million.
John Ray, you were just outside the top 100, weren't you?
I was actually going to make that joke about you.
I knew you would, which is why I got in there first.
Thank you very much.
You used an offshore Isle of Wight bank account, of course, for your tax purposes.
Yeah, it's a pain going to ride.
Right, question number five.
In August, Jaguar Land Rover, or JLR, as it's now known, was hit by a cyber attack that
shut down factories.
But for how many days were its production lines standing still?
Yes, John?
I'm not going to answer this.
I'm just going to ask, are all your questions numbers based?
No.
Oh, OK, I'm going to guess it was about 32 days.
Well, luckily, it is multiple choice.
So, A, 45 days, B, 40 days, C, 28 days, or D, 31 days.
John, you refer?
31, I'll go with.
I think it's wrong, though.
31 is correct.
Well done.
Production was halted on 31st of August and restarted with a phased production restart
on the 1st of October.
Sticking with that JLR theme for number six.
A few weeks ago, their design guru, Jerry McGovern,
left his post, which I hasten to add.
The firm denied was because they terminated his appointment,
didn't terminate his appointment.
But which of the following cars did he not design?
How long did your little legal speech say?
You've got it the wrong way round.
I hasten to add, JLR, terminated.
No, they didn't, they didn't.
I made it worse.
Oh, OK.
OK, yeah, which cars did Jerry McGovern not design?
Which car did he not design?
Is it A, the Freelander, B, the Villar, C, the Jaguar I-Pace,
or D, the Discovery?
John, you've got him first again.
That would be the I-Pace.
That wasn't him.
That's correct.
Sorry, can I just...
There's an issue with this quiz, right?
Johnny Ray just puts his hand up before the answers are read out.
You can do the same.
He puts it up before the answers are read out.
So, therefore, you go to him first and he just gives his answer.
It's flawed, it's rigged to this quiz.
I'm never doing it again.
I think you just need to be quicker with your fingers back.
I was listening to the answers like you do in any quiz.
Have you ever watched Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Exactly.
Rubbish, absolutely rubbish.
So, current scores, John Ray's on four,
Bachelor on one, despite your disagreement with the quiz.
Becky on one, Jo-Yon Zero.
Next question.
This year, the electric car grant was launched giving buyers...
Put your hands down.
We'll wait until he's asked for one.
This year, the electric car grant was launched
giving buyers cash off a new EV.
But Chinese car firms were largely left out.
BYD was particularly miffed.
What did BYD CEO Wang Chan-Fu call the scheme?
Was it A, crazy?
B, misguided?
C, foolish?
Or D, stupid?
John, you got your hand up first.
I'm sorry, Batch, because I knew what it was going to be
even before the multiple choice.
So, it's stupid, he called it stupid.
You are correct, John.
He did call it stupid and a bit of a joke after the government
announced £650 million of funding for EVs.
Question number eight.
As of today, how many cars are eligible for the grants in total?
So, both the 3,750-pound tier one and the 1,500-pound tier two.
So, in total, is it A34, B49, C43 or D52?
Jo, you're in.
See? No.
I thought it would be so.
James Batch, though.
52.
No.
John Ray.
I think it's A, because all the other ones were implausible.
No.
Rebecca, you've got one to guess.
If you were listening, you will get this question right.
D.
Incorrect.
You're all wrong.
It was C43, eight tier one cars and 35 tier two cars.
Question number nine.
At Car Deal Alive 2025, available cars CEO Michael Bell told the audience that AI had dealt with
60,000 leads for the firm and sent out thousands of messages.
But how many thousands?
Was it 125,000, 250,000, 400,000 or half a million?
500,000.
Rebecca, you were up first.
It's not the question I thought it was going to be, but I'm going to go B.
You wrote this story and you are wrong.
Jo, you were up next.
It's A.
Not 125,000.
You're wrong.
Batch, John, do you want to have a guess?
Not really.
I thought it was going to be about how many times this AI spoke to them before they responded
on average, which is six.
No, that's the correct answer is C.
400,000 messages were sent out by AI.
I will move on.
Question number 10.
In July, the JB1 number plate owned by the iconic Cardi the Jack Barkley sold at auction.
But how much did James Bachelor pay for it?
Was it A?
Was it A, 600,000 pounds?
Was it B, 400,000 pounds?
Was it C, 200,000 pounds?
Or D, 750,000 pounds?
Jo, you were first.
B.
No.
Rebecca, you were second.
Just an answer is all we need.
Well, I thought it was 600,000.
That's the correct answer.
600,000 pounds when it went for a sale at the Bonham Goodwood Auction, double its estimate
of between 200,000 and 300,000 pounds.
Right.
Next round is not multiple choice.
You've just got to give me the correct answer.
My last question.
How many pounds are there?
I was going to watch that.
There's two rounds.
There's two rounds.
There's two rounds.
There's two rounds.
There's two rounds.
John, you're in the lead.
Five points back.
You've got one.
Rebecca, you've got two.
Jo, you've got none.
So next question.
Which car manufacturer issued a major recall in 2025,
which it struggled to deal with?
First correct answer.
Yes, John.
You were first.
Citroen.
It is Citroen.
Don't say DS because it was the Citroen DS3 and the Citroen C3.
Thank you, James.
What was this?
Stalantis, isn't it?
I mean, Stalantis by James Baxter.
You're correct.
I said that first.
Rebecca said that before me, actually.
I must agree with that because although Stalantis launched,
it was only on the Citroens.
Well, unfortunately,
I wrote the quiz and it says Stalantis.
So, John, I'll give the point to Rebecca.
Just as a brand, this question.
Next question.
Which supercar dealer made history this year
with a unique showroom deal?
You're going to need to give us more.
I think it's Tom Hartley with Harrods.
You didn't need more, then, did you?
It's Tom Hartley with Harrods.
He was selling his luxury vehicles
from the windows of Harrods this year.
Next question.
This year, Jack Barkley was sued by the surgeon
to a famous footballer.
But who was that footballer?
Oh, um, come on.
Come on, press the button.
I know, I didn't.
I was getting the music.
No, I'm moving on.
James Baxter.
Harry Kane.
I thought it was so much that it was food for, which I do know.
Harry Kane is the correct answer.
Harry Kane's the correct answer.
Who was the footballer in question?
Next question.
The motor trade's most famous car dealer,
an all-round nice guy, Mr. Dash Gupta,
was named the chairman of one group in March.
But which one was it?
Rebecca, you were first.
Hendy.
Hendy is right.
Extra point, if you can tell me.
Who is the CEO for?
No, Hughes Gray.
Yes, John, Hughes Gray.
Hughes Gray.
Very well done.
In October, the FCA announced it would set up a redress scheme
to compensate some 14 million finance customers.
Doesn't ring a bell.
How much will the payouts be, at the moment,
for each individual?
Yes, John.
Well, if they're sticking to what they said,
£700 is the average they've said recently.
What was it, £750?
£700 is the correct answer, John.
You said it first.
I will give you the point.
Very well done.
In January, we reported on a car dealership
that had to apologise for the behaviour
of one of its valetors.
But what did that valetor do?
What did Luke do?
Yes, Rebecca.
Did he urinate on the car or something?
He did, in fact, urinate on the customer's car.
This was the news in Mercedes-Benz Eschewsbury.
That video is burnt into my mind, obviously.
Sorry?
That video is burnt into my mind, obviously.
This was news from Mercedes-Benz Eschewsbury
that it had to apologise after a contractor
was caught on dashcam urinating on the customer's A35.
Right, next question.
In April, car manufacturer Ineos poked fun at a rival,
but what did it do?
Yes, John.
This was so rubbish that this is burned into my memory.
It drove a grenadier around with a trailer,
with an A-frame on the back of it,
with a picture of a defender and an Ineos grenadier
and said some cheeky phrase underneath it,
and it was covered in mud.
It's not even a cheeky phrase.
Oh, I don't know.
No, I don't know.
Batch, do you know the cheeky phrase?
Well, no, I can't remember the cheeky phrase,
but I was going to say they took up the billboard space
next to the JLR dealership on the A4, didn't they?
A40.
That is the story that I'm looking for.
It was the JLR...
They targeted JLR with a billboard called Us vs Them
and placed it outside one of their flagship London dealerships,
as you say, opposite the JLR one.
The stunt followed repeated legal battles with JLR,
which Ineos had won their CEO, Lynn Calder,
said the brand is tired of the comparisons
and wanted to make it clear that the grenadier is different.
But copied.
Yeah, I'm not the problem when you set up a car company
to make a new defender rival, as your boss calls it.
Can't really get away from that then, can you?
Next question.
And this will be the last of this round.
Yeah, no, I've got one cheeky final round.
In June, we published our Cardila Power 2025 winners video
that named the best manufacturers to do business with
and the best suppliers as voted for by our Cardila readers.
But how many times did our hosts, me and Batch,
say the phrase,
bus our winner, though?
Yes, Rebecca.
We're going to say 28.
I'd say closest to the number wins.
John.
Right, so there's about 30 something awards.
I'm going to go with 25.
25.
John, James Batch with that?
31.
41.
Joe.
24.
24.
Joe, you are the winner with the closest to the correct answer,
which was, in fact, zero.
Despite handing out 24 awards in total,
our presenters resisted the urge to say, but our winner, though.
However, they did say, but taking the 12 times,
but topping the three times, but that top spot once.
So nobody, despite what you say, John, said, but our winner, though.
How nuanced is that?
How nuanced is that answer?
I mean, effectively, we said, but our winner, didn't we, really?
Don't say nuanced anymore.
Final round.
This is a question for each of you.
It's a real or fake headline round.
So you have to tell me whether this was real or fake, Rebecca.
Oh, God.
Do you have warned not to panic as EV values slide even faster?
Real?
It was fake, I'm afraid.
I thought this was going to be, like, one of the mistakes
in to be like, this was yours, Rebecca.
No, that's great.
James Batchelor, M.G. named the most unreliable used car brand.
See, I'm paused.
He might be broken.
He doesn't want to say anything bad about M.G., that's the problem.
Fake.
Unfortunately, it was real, Batchelor.
Unfortunately, it was real.
Johnny Ray, meet the pensioner who refuses to slow down
as he collects his latest high-performance BMW.
Well, while I would love to put my hat on and do the catchphrase,
I happen to know this is real because I was there taking photos for it.
Oh.
I've probably given that to the wrong person, haven't I?
It's a Dave Brown special.
It's a Dave Brown special.
Dave Brown special.
I will obviously give you the point for that.
Well done, John.
And Joe, Peter Waddell, returns to the used car supermarket,
Big Motor in World for their Christmas party.
Real or fake?
Is it fake?
It's fake.
Fake news.
Fake news.
Very good.
Very good.
So, the final scores on the doors are starting in reverse order.
It's Joe and Batch with two each.
It's Rebecca with five.
And it's John Ray, the winner, with nine.
But, effectively, I got ten for winning the first round.
So, really, I'm the winner.
What the fix?
It's just rigged from you taking the lead story
to the rubbish hand-raising situation we had.
It's all rigged.
It's appalling.
You must have known it would be impossible
for someone to get more than ten points.
Yes.
I'm not saying that whether that's true or not,
but congratulations to me.
Excellent news.
After two hours, 12 minutes, our poor listeners
have to listen to that tribe.
I mean...
Oh, dear.
Okay, okay.
So, that's it.
That's our big, fat Christmas cardinal quiz of the year.
No prizes, sorry.
But, purely, I just get to take home your honour.
Excellent.
I'm very, very pleased.
You'll be pleased to know we'll be back in the new year
with our normal podcast.
Thank God.
On January the 9th.
And while you're feeling festive,
please take the time to book some tickets
to our Cardinal Live event.
It's at cardinallive.co.uk.
Tickets are on early bird to the end of the year.
So, you've got a few more days to snap up a bargain.
That just leaves me to say thank you to our guests,
contestants, John Ray, James Batchelor,
Rebecca Chaplin, and Joe Wellington.
Merry Christmas to you all.
Thank you very much for joining us.
Okay, you don't have to say anything.
Goodbye.
Oh, sorry.
Thank you.
Hang on, let me raise my hand.
On that horrendous ending.
We'll see you next year.
Thank you very much for listening.
Have a very, very Christmas and happy new year.
Sherry.
You got that.
About this episode
The Car Dealer Podcast's festive episode features a lively Christmas quiz with hosts and guests discussing the year's biggest automotive stories. Highlights include the controversy surrounding AutoTrader's Deal Builder, the rise of Chinese car manufacturers, and the struggles of Ford in the EV market. The quiz tests participants on various industry-related trivia, with humorous banter and insights throughout. The episode wraps up with reflections on the year's events and a look forward to the new year.
Original notes
In this special festive edition of the Car Dealer Podcast, hosts James Baggott, Jon Reay, James Batchelor, Joe Wallington and Rebecca Chaplin pick the Car Dealer stories they think were the most important of the year.
And in the second half they take on The Car Dealer Big Fat Christmas Quiz of the Year. Play along with them too and see if you can beat our experts.
Merry Christmas to you all and a very happy New Year from the Car Dealer team.
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