Latest / Motor Trade Radio / Building trust with car buyers. Industry salaries. And THREE new Chinese car brands to debut in 2027! (E65, S12)

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Building trust with car buyers. Industry salaries. And THREE new Chinese car brands to debut in 2027! (E65, S12) · Motor Trade Radio

• 0:04
  Speaker: Hello and welcome to the Motor
• 0:06
  Speaker: Trade Radio podcast powered by
• 0:08
  Speaker: Cazoo.
• 0:10
  Speaker: With Philip Lockhart and Curtis Hutchinson bringing you all the
• 0:14
  Speaker: chatter that matters across the car retailing sector, from
• 0:18
  Speaker: factory to forecourt.
• 0:25
  Speaker: Well, you know what, Phil?
• 0:26
  Speaker: It's that time of the year, isn't it, where, um, there's a
• 0:29
  Speaker: lot of activity in the sector, a lot of industry events, and
• 0:33
  Speaker: we've got a couple of shout outs for, well at least three of
• 0:36
  Speaker: them, but there are more.
• 0:38
  Speaker: There's lots.
• 0:38
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 0:39
  Speaker: I mean looking at diaries sort of October, November and
• 0:42
  Speaker: December, getting a bit busy at the minute with all sorts of
• 0:46
  Speaker: juggling around of events and uh, yeah, things like that.
• 0:50
  Speaker: So yeah, it's, it's a busy time of the year, but I think, uh,
• 0:53
  Speaker: the, the headlines will certainly show that, won't it,
• 0:56
  Speaker: when we, when we get to them.
• 0:58
  Speaker: Yeah, definitely.
• 0:59
  Speaker: So the first event, and it's
• 1:01
  Speaker: kind of crept up on us because
• 1:03
  Speaker: we haven't mentioned it before,
• 1:05
  Speaker: but it's am live, which is on
• 1:08
  Speaker: the eleventh of November at
• 1:11
  Speaker: Birmingham's NEC.
• 1:12
  Speaker: So that's Wednesday the
• 1:13
  Speaker: eleventh, which is just over two
• 1:15
  Speaker: weeks away.
• 1:16
  Speaker: So that really has come around quickly hasn't it.
• 1:20
  Speaker: Yes.
• 1:20
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 1:20
  Speaker: And it's obviously a big event.
• 1:22
  Speaker: Uh me and you normally get our selfie at that that that event
• 1:26
  Speaker: we do the annual selfie.
• 1:28
  Speaker: So yeah, like I say, just over two weeks away.
• 1:30
  Speaker: It kind of it's a bit of a time stamp, isn't it?
• 1:33
  Speaker: That where we are in the year and how long it is until, uh,
• 1:36
  Speaker: the year is over when, when these events kind of start
• 1:39
  Speaker: because you've got things like the Smmt dinner, the Ben Ball
• 1:42
  Speaker: and all sorts of things that are now being crammed in just before
• 1:46
  Speaker: the the end of the year.
• 1:47
  Speaker: But there's also the v I a US summit that's on the twenty
• 1:51
  Speaker: fifth of November.
• 1:52
  Speaker: And I've mentioned it before on the podcast, but, uh, we have
• 1:55
  Speaker: got a bit of an exclusive and it's not been shared in the
• 1:58
  Speaker: media Yet, but Matt Busby um of uh, of, of Hendy group, um is
• 2:06
  Speaker: now consulting, but um he's going to sit with me as a
• 2:10
  Speaker: fireside chat at the VRE summit.
• 2:12
  Speaker: So we'll be, uh, sort of pulling
• 2:14
  Speaker: on, uh, max twenty plus thirty,
• 2:18
  Speaker: whatever that time is and, uh,
• 2:20
  Speaker: hendy's there.
• 2:21
  Speaker: Um, so yeah, it'd be good event.
• 2:23
  Speaker: And there's one hundred and
• 2:24
  Speaker: ninety plus now registered for
• 2:27
  Speaker: that event.
• 2:28
  Speaker: Um, so we're going to obviously
• 2:29
  Speaker: get just over two hundred, I
• 2:31
  Speaker: suspect.
• 2:31
  Speaker: So if you've not registered, we
• 2:33
  Speaker: have got capacity for about two
• 2:35
  Speaker: twenty.
• 2:36
  Speaker: Um, so we've got a few spaces left.
• 2:38
  Speaker: If you do want to come to that event and you'll see some of the
• 2:42
  Speaker: details on my social channels, but we've got a bit of other
• 2:45
  Speaker: news about Hendy don't we.
• 2:47
  Speaker: We have.
• 2:48
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 2:48
  Speaker: We're just going to do a shout
• 2:49
  Speaker: out this week because um it did
• 2:51
  Speaker: actually get a lot of coverage
• 2:53
  Speaker: in the media over the course of
• 2:55
  Speaker: the week.
• 2:56
  Speaker: And, um, that's, uh, news that Athenia has appointed Duncan
• 3:01
  Speaker: McPhee, previously chief operating officer of Hendy, as
• 3:06
  Speaker: its new chief exec and effective from November mid November.
• 3:12
  Speaker: So that was good news for Duncan there, wasn't it?
• 3:16
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 3:17
  Speaker: It's not been the best kept secret within the know when he
• 3:20
  Speaker: left and we talked about that at the time didn't we.
• 3:22
  Speaker: That one person was announced to be leaving Athenia.
• 3:25
  Speaker: And and at the same time Duncan was leaving Hendy and to take up
• 3:30
  Speaker: a CEO elsewhere.
• 3:31
  Speaker: And obviously the rumors straight away was that.
• 3:34
  Speaker: But he can now officially talk about it.
• 3:36
  Speaker: And I've had a text with Duncan this morning that he's.
• 3:41
  Speaker: I think he's quite glad that he's now got a start date and
• 3:43
  Speaker: it's out in the open.
• 3:46
  Speaker: Yes.
• 3:46
  Speaker: So best of luck with Duncan for,
• 3:49
  Speaker: for that one, I'm sure at some
• 3:50
  Speaker: point.
• 3:50
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 3:51
  Speaker: And that that that is a big job isn't it.
• 3:54
  Speaker: Because that's the old Braley's and Johnson's combined business
• 4:00
  Speaker: merged under the Athenia brand.
• 4:03
  Speaker: So, you know, a great opportunity there for Duncan.
• 4:06
  Speaker: And with Duncan's exit from
• 4:09
  Speaker: Hendy, um, news reached us that,
• 4:11
  Speaker: uh, Simon Bottomley, previously
• 4:14
  Speaker: of Hendy, has rejoined as chief
• 4:17
  Speaker: operating officer.
• 4:18
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 4:19
  Speaker: No, he left and he I think he spent some time with Vindice
• 4:22
  Speaker: group, um amongst other things.
• 4:24
  Speaker: But yeah he's returning um and I think he is like you say, he's
• 4:28
  Speaker: taken over that CEO role back at end isn't it?
• 4:31
  Speaker: Yeah, yeah.
• 4:32
  Speaker: So, uh, yeah, we'll, we'll watch that with, uh, interest and, uh,
• 4:36
  Speaker: see, see what happens.
• 4:38
  Speaker: And you know what?
• 4:39
  Speaker: We've got another shout out for another industry event.
• 4:43
  Speaker: And it's the car dealer used car awards.
• 4:45
  Speaker: So there on Monday, the thirtieth of November at the
• 4:49
  Speaker: brewery in London.
• 4:51
  Speaker: So the shortlist has just been published.
• 4:53
  Speaker: So we'll put a link to that in
• 4:55
  Speaker: the newsletter that goes out on
• 4:57
  Speaker: Monday, but there's over twenty
• 5:00
  Speaker: five categories covering dealer
• 5:02
  Speaker: best practices.
• 5:02
  Speaker: So congratulations to everyone who's been shortlisted for one
• 5:06
  Speaker: of those awards.
• 5:07
  Speaker: Yeah, definitely a big event for the dealers.
• 5:10
  Speaker: This one.
• 5:10
  Speaker: They do love this event don't they.
• 5:11
  Speaker: The the dealer network.
• 5:13
  Speaker: So they'll they'll all be down there.
• 5:16
  Speaker: Um, they say there's a few
• 5:18
  Speaker: shortlisted, but we'll, we'll
• 5:19
  Speaker: cover that um, in a, in a week
• 5:21
  Speaker: or so when we get the, the
• 5:23
  Speaker: results.
• 5:24
  Speaker: And also this week you've
• 5:27
  Speaker: announced the next Cox Insight
• 5:29
  Speaker: Quarterly has just been
• 5:31
  Speaker: published.
• 5:31
  Speaker: And um, that's really looking at the latest quarter, what the
• 5:36
  Speaker: trends you've seen and some of the forecasts that you've got.
• 5:40
  Speaker: Yeah, yeah.
• 5:41
  Speaker: As you say, it's a quarterly insight report.
• 5:45
  Speaker: So it's where I get the opportunity to, to review the
• 5:49
  Speaker: new and used car forecasts, which now this one includes
• 5:52
  Speaker: twenty twenty seven.
• 5:54
  Speaker: Um, so within the, the report is
• 5:56
  Speaker: a bit more detail on where I see
• 5:58
  Speaker: twenty twenty seven market
• 6:00
  Speaker: looking for the new and used car
• 6:02
  Speaker: market.
• 6:02
  Speaker: And then we've got other
• 6:03
  Speaker: contributors with people like
• 6:05
  Speaker: Interpath.
• 6:06
  Speaker: Um, got Icdp.
• 6:08
  Speaker: Steve Young, regular contributor.
• 6:11
  Speaker: We've got Harry Bott, our new
• 6:13
  Speaker: friend of the podcast from from
• 6:14
  Speaker: media.
• 6:15
  Speaker: We've got Anthony Stevenson who
• 6:17
  Speaker: heads up the EV battery services
• 6:19
  Speaker: battery solutions for Cox
• 6:21
  Speaker: Automotive.
• 6:22
  Speaker: So yeah, it's a, it's a very in-depth, detailed report, but
• 6:25
  Speaker: always worth having a look at.
• 6:27
  Speaker: So you'll see that on my social feed.
• 6:29
  Speaker: But yeah, it's looking at where twenty twenty seven is expected
• 6:32
  Speaker: to go now.
• 6:33
  Speaker: Curtis.
• 6:33
  Speaker: So, uh, let's, uh, let's see
• 6:36
  Speaker: more of the same, I suspect is
• 6:38
  Speaker: my view.
• 6:39
  Speaker: Yeah, yeah.
• 6:40
  Speaker: And, uh, we'll also put a link to that in the newsletter that
• 6:44
  Speaker: goes out on Monday.
• 6:45
  Speaker: But, uh, anyone who follows you
• 6:48
  Speaker: on LinkedIn will also be aware
• 6:51
  Speaker: of it and we'll be able to
• 6:52
  Speaker: access it.
• 6:53
  Speaker: Yes.
• 6:54
  Speaker: And finally, a shout out.
• 6:56
  Speaker: We got in the second half of today's podcast.
• 7:00
  Speaker: We have the latest Motortrade radio top tip from our very own
• 7:04
  Speaker: industry guru, Ian Godbold.
• 7:06
  Speaker: And this week Ian poses the
• 7:08
  Speaker: question are used cars the
• 7:11
  Speaker: biggest lead generator for new
• 7:13
  Speaker: car sales.
• 7:14
  Speaker: So stay tuned to to listen to that one.
• 7:20
  Speaker: If you're a supplier and would like us to profile your business
• 7:24
  Speaker: and reach our audience of dealer group bosses, managers and
• 7:28
  Speaker: decision makers on one of our Motortrade Radio supplier
• 7:32
  Speaker: special episodes, then get in touch at Motortrade radio at
• 7:37
  Speaker: yahoo dot com.
• 7:42
  Speaker: Some of the companies we've
• 7:44
  Speaker: already featured in our supply
• 7:46
  Speaker: specials include Auto Tech
• 7:48
  Speaker: Group, Autoglym, Live, Shine
• 7:50
  Speaker: Impel, Prospecting Dynamics, and
• 7:53
  Speaker: MTC.
• 7:54
  Speaker: And you can find them all in
• 7:55
  Speaker: your podcast feed, along with
• 7:57
  Speaker: some of our OEM specials with
• 7:59
  Speaker: new EV brands Verizon, Ion and
• 8:03
  Speaker: Changan.
• 8:04
  Speaker: And we also caught up with Suzuki.
• 8:07
  Speaker: And if you'd like us to profile
• 8:08
  Speaker: your business, then just message
• 8:10
  Speaker: us at motor trade radio at yahoo
• 8:14
  Speaker: dot com.
• 8:18
  Speaker: You're listening to the Motor
• 8:20
  Speaker: Trade Radio podcast powered by
• 8:23
  Speaker: Cazoo.
• 8:27
  Speaker: Lots of headlines to cover this week.
• 8:29
  Speaker: And in fact, before we started recording, Philip and I were
• 8:32
  Speaker: just saying, well, it's actually enough headlines in this week
• 8:36
  Speaker: alone to do two separate pods, but we've tried to, to get the
• 8:40
  Speaker: best of the best together.
• 8:42
  Speaker: And this is what we've got from
• 8:44
  Speaker: Motor Trade News, a m car
• 8:47
  Speaker: dealer, Auto Sunday and Car
• 8:50
  Speaker: magazine.
• 8:51
  Speaker: So we'll start this week's headlines with a new Cazoo
• 8:54
  Speaker: survey showing how only a third of used car buyers trust dealers
• 9:00
  Speaker: with hidden faults cited as their biggest concern.
• 9:04
  Speaker: Pay growth at car dealerships has stalled while staff turnover
• 9:09
  Speaker: falls, finds the annual BDO Motor Salary survey.
• 9:14
  Speaker: Then in the second half, we have
• 9:16
  Speaker: the latest financial full year
• 9:18
  Speaker: results from Mega Group's Sytner
• 9:21
  Speaker: and Group one, and we'll finish
• 9:24
  Speaker: this week's pod with not one but
• 9:27
  Speaker: three new Chinese brands heading
• 9:29
  Speaker: to the UK in twenty twenty
• 9:32
  Speaker: seven, so plenty of new names to
• 9:34
  Speaker: get our heads and tongues
• 9:36
  Speaker: around.
• 9:36
  Speaker: Philip.
• 9:39
  Speaker: You're listening to the Motor
• 9:40
  Speaker: Trade Radio podcast powered by
• 9:44
  Speaker: Cazoo.
• 9:46
  Speaker: But before we get on to the next launch of new manufacturers
• 9:52
  Speaker: entering the UK new car market at the end of the show is.
• 9:54
  Speaker: Curtis said.
• 9:55
  Speaker: There.
• 9:56
  Speaker: Let's look at something a little bit closer to home at the minute
• 9:59
  Speaker: and we're heading over to Cazoo, up the new story at Cazoo
• 10:04
  Speaker: themselves, and this is that.
• 10:06
  Speaker: I know you were involved with this one, Curtis, but saying
• 10:08
  Speaker: that Cazoo study finds only third of used car buyers trust
• 10:13
  Speaker: dealers with hidden faults.
• 10:16
  Speaker: Biggest concern.
• 10:17
  Speaker: So I think we're covering the story in here.
• 10:20
  Speaker: But some good insight this as to
• 10:22
  Speaker: the consumer's view of the the
• 10:24
  Speaker: dealers.
• 10:25
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 10:25
  Speaker: So this is the consumer insight
• 10:28
  Speaker: panel that Cazoo does on a
• 10:30
  Speaker: regular basis.
• 10:32
  Speaker: And this one has pulled the
• 10:33
  Speaker: views of just over two thousand
• 10:35
  Speaker: buyers.
• 10:36
  Speaker: And this specific piece of research analysed the level of
• 10:41
  Speaker: trust that buyers have when purchasing used cars.
• 10:45
  Speaker: And as you say, only a third of
• 10:48
  Speaker: used car buyers say that they
• 10:50
  Speaker: trust dealers and over half
• 10:52
  Speaker: expect friction as part of their
• 10:55
  Speaker: buying experience.
• 10:56
  Speaker: So looking at the the breakdown
• 11:00
  Speaker: in detail, it found that thirty
• 11:02
  Speaker: five point five percent of
• 11:04
  Speaker: respondents said they do trust
• 11:06
  Speaker: dealers.
• 11:07
  Speaker: Sixteen point five percent do
• 11:09
  Speaker: not, and the remaining forty
• 11:12
  Speaker: eight percent are sitting on the
• 11:13
  Speaker: fence.
• 11:14
  Speaker: So when asked specifically to
• 11:17
  Speaker: identify the main causes of
• 11:20
  Speaker: their concerns, over two thirds
• 11:23
  Speaker: cited the possibility of hidden
• 11:26
  Speaker: faults or undisclosed damage in
• 11:29
  Speaker: the car that they're interested
• 11:31
  Speaker: in, followed by unclear vehicle
• 11:35
  Speaker: histories.
• 11:35
  Speaker: That was forty five percent being overcharged forty one
• 11:39
  Speaker: percent, and surprise, surprise, pushy sales tactics, which was
• 11:44
  Speaker: thirty six percent.
• 11:46
  Speaker: And some of the other concerns included poor after sale
• 11:50
  Speaker: support, Five point five percent and hidden fees or finance terms
• 11:55
  Speaker: at twenty five percent.
• 11:57
  Speaker: And over half of these used car
• 12:00
  Speaker: buyers, that was fifty four
• 12:01
  Speaker: percent said they expected
• 12:03
  Speaker: friction or difficult
• 12:06
  Speaker: negotiations.
• 12:07
  Speaker: Um, which interestingly, interestingly, the sentiment was
• 12:11
  Speaker: highest among younger buyers.
• 12:14
  Speaker: So those aged eighteen to twenty four.
• 12:17
  Speaker: But it's not all negative because the research also asked
• 12:22
  Speaker: buyers what steps dealers could or could actually take to reduce
• 12:26
  Speaker: friction and build trust.
• 12:28
  Speaker: So most of them, sixty one
• 12:30
  Speaker: percent, said making full
• 12:33
  Speaker: vehicle history reports more
• 12:35
  Speaker: available, uh, followed by
• 12:37
  Speaker: independent vehicle inspections
• 12:39
  Speaker: or warranties.
• 12:41
  Speaker: Uh, also clear no haggle pricing and verified customer reviews.
• 12:48
  Speaker: And buyers also said they they
• 12:50
  Speaker: value dealer accreditation from
• 12:52
  Speaker: a trade body, and also
• 12:54
  Speaker: photographs or videos of
• 12:56
  Speaker: dealerships when they're doing
• 12:57
  Speaker: their research.
• 12:58
  Speaker: So quite a balanced survey here.
• 13:01
  Speaker: And as you say, I did work with
• 13:03
  Speaker: the team at Cazoo on this and
• 13:06
  Speaker: some fascinating insight and
• 13:08
  Speaker: some really good data here, I
• 13:09
  Speaker: think.
• 13:10
  Speaker: I think really, you know, the good deal is that you and I
• 13:13
  Speaker: obviously see those those are ones that, you know, expect that
• 13:16
  Speaker: transparency and available information, as you say there
• 13:20
  Speaker: with the, you know, the full history of reports and a little
• 13:24
  Speaker: bit, you know, as you said it towards the end there, Curtis,
• 13:26
  Speaker: around, you know, a little bit about who they're buying the car
• 13:29
  Speaker: from the dealership, the people, that kind of thing.
• 13:32
  Speaker: It just adds that value, doesn't it?
• 13:33
  Speaker: And we know, you know, a lot of
• 13:35
  Speaker: the good operators, particularly
• 13:36
  Speaker: independent operators that you
• 13:38
  Speaker: and I know they put a lot of
• 13:40
  Speaker: time and effort into, into doing
• 13:42
  Speaker: that for their, for their
• 13:43
  Speaker: customers.
• 13:43
  Speaker: And that's crucial with this one.
• 13:45
  Speaker: And just to finish this off, I
• 13:46
  Speaker: mean, Lucy Tugby, who's the
• 13:48
  Speaker: chief marketing officer there at
• 13:50
  Speaker: said that their latest Consumer
• 13:53
  Speaker: Insight panel identifies the
• 13:55
  Speaker: role dealers can play in
• 13:57
  Speaker: recognizing how trust can
• 14:00
  Speaker: address the pain points
• 14:01
  Speaker: experienced by many used car
• 14:04
  Speaker: buyers.
• 14:04
  Speaker: Time and again that they see how
• 14:07
  Speaker: the best performing used car
• 14:08
  Speaker: dealers are the ones with
• 14:10
  Speaker: processes in place to ensure
• 14:12
  Speaker: vehicles are described
• 14:13
  Speaker: accurately and sold with
• 14:16
  Speaker: independent inspections and
• 14:17
  Speaker: warranties.
• 14:19
  Speaker: Through their honesty.
• 14:20
  Speaker: Finally, they add a comment that, uh, you know, they support
• 14:26
  Speaker: these practices and making closer with their dealer
• 14:29
  Speaker: partners to make car selling process more transparent.
• 14:33
  Speaker: So I think that that end bit there really does sum it up.
• 14:35
  Speaker: It's about that transparency, isn't it?
• 14:37
  Speaker: Um, absolutely.
• 14:38
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 14:39
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 14:39
  Speaker: Now moving on.
• 14:41
  Speaker: Next headline is from AM online and it is car dealer pay growth
• 14:46
  Speaker: stalls as staff turnover falls to twenty five percent.
• 14:51
  Speaker: So this is the annual BDO Motor Salary survey.
• 14:56
  Speaker: Now, back in my days at Motor
• 14:58
  Speaker: Trader, whenever we covered this
• 15:00
  Speaker: story, we would get so many
• 15:03
  Speaker: hits.
• 15:03
  Speaker: There was a lot of interest in this research.
• 15:06
  Speaker: It's been going for some years now.
• 15:08
  Speaker: And BDO, as you know, very
• 15:10
  Speaker: analytical in, um, the data
• 15:13
  Speaker: they're looking at and what
• 15:15
  Speaker: they're producing is showing
• 15:16
  Speaker: some of the pay trends within
• 15:19
  Speaker: dealerships.
• 15:20
  Speaker: So the sort of headline figure is that pay growth that UK car
• 15:25
  Speaker: dealers has actually stalled.
• 15:28
  Speaker: But um, annual staff turnover is turnover has fallen.
• 15:32
  Speaker: So it's found that average total
• 15:35
  Speaker: remuneration was unchanged year
• 15:37
  Speaker: on year.
• 15:39
  Speaker: Um once you exclude the
• 15:40
  Speaker: management roles with a one
• 15:42
  Speaker: percent rise in basic salaries
• 15:44
  Speaker: off offset by one percent fall
• 15:47
  Speaker: in commissions bonuses and other
• 15:50
  Speaker: pay.
• 15:50
  Speaker: So neutral there.
• 15:52
  Speaker: But across all positions,
• 15:54
  Speaker: average remuneration fell by
• 15:57
  Speaker: four percent, heavily influenced
• 15:59
  Speaker: by an eight percent reduction in
• 16:02
  Speaker: management pay.
• 16:04
  Speaker: And the survey goes on to say
• 16:05
  Speaker: that management remuneration
• 16:08
  Speaker: recorded the largest decline,
• 16:10
  Speaker: with basic salaries down five
• 16:12
  Speaker: percent, and commissions,
• 16:14
  Speaker: bonuses and other pay down
• 16:17
  Speaker: fifteen percent.
• 16:18
  Speaker: And the management category
• 16:21
  Speaker: includes MDS, chief execs,
• 16:24
  Speaker: dealer principals, finance
• 16:26
  Speaker: directors and senior HR, IT and
• 16:29
  Speaker: marketing roles.
• 16:30
  Speaker: So, um, what, what did you make of this one, Phil?
• 16:34
  Speaker: I mean, it kind of reflects the
• 16:35
  Speaker: sign of the times at the minute,
• 16:37
  Speaker: doesn't it?
• 16:37
  Speaker: I mean, we'll get on to some of the, uh, the financials after
• 16:40
  Speaker: the, the break, but I think, you know, the dealer market
• 16:44
  Speaker: particularly have been struggling, aren't they, in
• 16:45
  Speaker: terms of their profitability.
• 16:47
  Speaker: And, you know, we know about things like the the budget of
• 16:50
  Speaker: last year with National Insurance and the problems there
• 16:53
  Speaker: and minimum wage increases and things like this.
• 16:55
  Speaker: So in terms of that, you know,
• 16:57
  Speaker: the salary sector, it's been
• 16:58
  Speaker: under a lot of pressure, aren't
• 16:59
  Speaker: it, for for the last twelve,
• 17:01
  Speaker: eighteen months really around
• 17:03
  Speaker: that.
• 17:04
  Speaker: So it's not surprising in some cases around this.
• 17:07
  Speaker: And obviously, you know,
• 17:08
  Speaker: commission is always a big
• 17:10
  Speaker: question in in the car retailing
• 17:13
  Speaker: sector is how do you pay
• 17:14
  Speaker: commission and keep keep the
• 17:18
  Speaker: market happy.
• 17:19
  Speaker: So not surprised with some of this.
• 17:21
  Speaker: It's interesting, you know, it's all excluding the management
• 17:25
  Speaker: numbers in this insert.
• 17:27
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 17:28
  Speaker: And and one of the other other
• 17:30
  Speaker: areas they looked at was staff
• 17:32
  Speaker: turnover.
• 17:32
  Speaker: And they found that that fell from twenty eight percent last
• 17:37
  Speaker: year to twenty five percent.
• 17:40
  Speaker: And continuing what they're
• 17:43
  Speaker: tracking as an improvement from
• 17:45
  Speaker: thirty two percent just two
• 17:47
  Speaker: years ago.
• 17:48
  Speaker: So within the report, BDO say the overall workforce among the
• 17:53
  Speaker: participating businesses contracted by around one
• 17:57
  Speaker: percent, with most respondents expecting staffing levels to
• 18:02
  Speaker: remain broadly unchanged over the coming years.
• 18:05
  Speaker: So really sort of emphasizing what you just said about some of
• 18:09
  Speaker: the pressures that businesses are on in terms of, um, you
• 18:14
  Speaker: know, the number of people they employ, uh, National insurance
• 18:18
  Speaker: and all that good stuff as well.
• 18:21
  Speaker: It was just a final little bit here, which is saying that the
• 18:24
  Speaker: average working week remained unchanged at forty one hours.
• 18:28
  Speaker: I bet a lot of, uh, car car
• 18:30
  Speaker: salespeople or would enjoy to
• 18:33
  Speaker: work as little as fifty one
• 18:34
  Speaker: hours away.
• 18:35
  Speaker: Um, whilst they annual leave
• 18:38
  Speaker: entitlement stayed at twenty
• 18:40
  Speaker: five days.
• 18:41
  Speaker: So, you know, there's a bit of consistency there, isn't there?
• 18:44
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 18:45
  Speaker: And definitely worth checking out the full story because they
• 18:48
  Speaker: do go into breakdowns.
• 18:50
  Speaker: Average salaries by vehicle
• 18:53
  Speaker: sales, part sales, servicing and
• 18:55
  Speaker: administration.
• 18:56
  Speaker: So lots and lots to unpick in that story.
• 19:00
  Speaker: But we'll be back with the rest
• 19:01
  Speaker: of the week's headlines after
• 19:03
  Speaker: this.
• 19:05
  Speaker: You're listening to all the chatter that matters on motor
• 19:09
  Speaker: trade radio powered by Cazoo.
• 19:13
  Speaker: Next up is car retailing industry guru Ian Godbold,
• 19:17
  Speaker: sharing his top tips on how to steer your business to success.
• 19:25
  Speaker: Hello everyone and welcome to this month's Top Tip.
• 19:29
  Speaker: October.
• 19:29
  Speaker: Used car sales are looking
• 19:31
  Speaker: strong, with many dealers
• 19:32
  Speaker: running used car events to help
• 19:34
  Speaker: work through the high volume of
• 19:35
  Speaker: part exchange vehicles and
• 19:37
  Speaker: clearing the decks ready to
• 19:39
  Speaker: purchase stock again in November
• 19:41
  Speaker: when the market is a little bit
• 19:43
  Speaker: softer.
• 19:44
  Speaker: So on to this week's top tip And
• 19:46
  Speaker: the question we're asking today
• 19:48
  Speaker: is are used cars now the biggest
• 19:52
  Speaker: lead generator for new car
• 19:54
  Speaker: sales?
• 19:55
  Speaker: The latest Smmt figures highlighted that Chinese brands
• 19:59
  Speaker: accounted for over twenty percent of UK new car
• 20:02
  Speaker: registrations in September, with the J Q seven becoming Britain's
• 20:06
  Speaker: best selling car.
• 20:08
  Speaker: But how have they achieved such a significant market share in
• 20:12
  Speaker: such a short space of time?
• 20:13
  Speaker: I believe part of the answer lies in the used car market.
• 20:18
  Speaker: Consider a customer looking for a three year old Ford Focus,
• 20:22
  Speaker: let's say around about twenty two K. They start their journey
• 20:25
  Speaker: searching for a used car, but with the attractive naught
• 20:28
  Speaker: percent or low rate, finance offers, competitive monthly
• 20:32
  Speaker: payment, increased technology, and impressive levels of
• 20:35
  Speaker: specifications in the vehicle.
• 20:37
  Speaker: They could end up driving away
• 20:39
  Speaker: in a brand new JC seven or a BYD
• 20:41
  Speaker: Ciel.
• 20:42
  Speaker: And why wouldn't they consider it?
• 20:44
  Speaker: For dealers.
• 20:45
  Speaker: This creates both a challenge and an opportunity.
• 20:49
  Speaker: How do you maintain and grow used car volumes, improve stock
• 20:53
  Speaker: churn and protect margins, while also delivering increasingly
• 20:56
  Speaker: ambitious new car targets.
• 20:59
  Speaker: For me, the answer is a blended, new and used marketing strategy.
• 21:03
  Speaker: Traditionally, new and used marketing have operated
• 21:06
  Speaker: independently with separate budgets, campaigns and channels,
• 21:10
  Speaker: but the customer doesn't necessarily think that way.
• 21:13
  Speaker: They're often shopping to a
• 21:15
  Speaker: budget or a monthly payment, not
• 21:17
  Speaker: exclusively for a new or used
• 21:19
  Speaker: car.
• 21:20
  Speaker: Used car marketing offers such a
• 21:23
  Speaker: broader range of marketplaces
• 21:24
  Speaker: and channels to generate traffic
• 21:26
  Speaker: and inquiries.
• 21:27
  Speaker: So why aren't we using these opportunities more effectively
• 21:31
  Speaker: across both new and used stock?
• 21:33
  Speaker: Some of the tactics you can do
• 21:35
  Speaker: is include the following
• 21:37
  Speaker: injecting tactical new car
• 21:39
  Speaker: offers into used car search
• 21:40
  Speaker: results pages.
• 21:42
  Speaker: Introducing physical new car
• 21:44
  Speaker: stock into used car search
• 21:46
  Speaker: results, blending comparable new
• 21:49
  Speaker: and used vehicles based on
• 21:51
  Speaker: price, monthly payment and
• 21:53
  Speaker: customer budget.
• 21:54
  Speaker: Utilizing the wider range of
• 21:56
  Speaker: used car marketing channels to
• 21:57
  Speaker: generate incremental new car
• 21:59
  Speaker: opportunities.
• 22:00
  Speaker: Creating a joined up strategy that drives additional inquiries
• 22:04
  Speaker: without simply increasing marketing expenditure and
• 22:07
  Speaker: utilizing merchandise imagery to offer a leading new car offer.
• 22:12
  Speaker: At IGC digital, we've identified the shift in the marketplace and
• 22:16
  Speaker: are already working with dealers to implement a blended, new and
• 22:19
  Speaker: used car marketing strategies.
• 22:22
  Speaker: The objective isn't to sacrifice used car performance to achieve
• 22:25
  Speaker: new car targets.
• 22:27
  Speaker: It's about driving more traffic,
• 22:29
  Speaker: creating more opportunities,
• 22:31
  Speaker: improving marketing efficiency,
• 22:33
  Speaker: and most importantly, ensuring
• 22:35
  Speaker: that whether the customer buys
• 22:36
  Speaker: new or used, they buy from your
• 22:39
  Speaker: dealership.
• 22:40
  Speaker: Perhaps it's time we stop
• 22:41
  Speaker: treating new and used car
• 22:42
  Speaker: marketing as two completely
• 22:44
  Speaker: separate strategies because
• 22:46
  Speaker: increasingly the customer is
• 22:48
  Speaker: them.
• 22:49
  Speaker: So guys, have a great weekend,
• 22:51
  Speaker: have a strong finish to October
• 22:52
  Speaker: and I'll see you all again next
• 22:54
  Speaker: month.
• 22:55
  Speaker: Well I think he's spot on once again isn't he Phil.
• 22:58
  Speaker: Absolutely spot on.
• 22:59
  Speaker: I mean what Ian was saying there
• 23:02
  Speaker: really sort of resonated with me
• 23:03
  Speaker: because I've always believed
• 23:05
  Speaker: that many buyers are in the
• 23:07
  Speaker: market for probably a
• 23:08
  Speaker: replacement car to their
• 23:10
  Speaker: existing model.
• 23:11
  Speaker: And that could be new, it could be used.
• 23:14
  Speaker: And that decision may not be
• 23:17
  Speaker: made until they're actually in
• 23:18
  Speaker: the dealership and see what's
• 23:20
  Speaker: available or when they're
• 23:21
  Speaker: searching online.
• 23:23
  Speaker: Yeah, I one hundred percent.
• 23:25
  Speaker: I mean, I mean, going back to, to my days, I mean, you know,
• 23:29
  Speaker: when around dealerships and, and sometimes it was the split, the
• 23:33
  Speaker: new and used sales team.
• 23:35
  Speaker: And that was challenging at that level because you had a customer
• 23:38
  Speaker: that you might, you know, sales person A was looking at, you
• 23:42
  Speaker: know, selling a used car.
• 23:44
  Speaker: And salesperson B was looking at selling a new.
• 23:46
  Speaker: Well, how do you swap one over to the other?
• 23:48
  Speaker: It was very, you know, and
• 23:50
  Speaker: that's where you started going
• 23:51
  Speaker: and go, well, actually, I have a
• 23:52
  Speaker: combined salesperson sales team
• 23:54
  Speaker: that look after both new and
• 23:56
  Speaker: used.
• 23:56
  Speaker: It don't matter.
• 23:57
  Speaker: You think about the customer,
• 23:58
  Speaker: but I think Ian's right, moving
• 24:00
  Speaker: that into the marketing space
• 24:02
  Speaker: and that it's, it's yeah, it's
• 24:03
  Speaker: fantastic.
• 24:04
  Speaker: And I'm sure that, you know, as,
• 24:07
  Speaker: as Ian's put there, we don't not
• 24:09
  Speaker: everybody thinks of it that way
• 24:10
  Speaker: do they?
• 24:11
  Speaker: No, no definitely not.
• 24:13
  Speaker: You know, we think in terms of silos.
• 24:15
  Speaker: But you know his blended
• 24:16
  Speaker: approach makes an awful lot of
• 24:19
  Speaker: sense.
• 24:19
  Speaker: And if you'd like to get in touch with Ian, you can direct
• 24:24
  Speaker: message him on LinkedIn or email him at Ian Godbold at igc
• 24:32
  Speaker: digital dot co dot UK.
• 24:35
  Speaker: And I imagine he might be doing a m live as well.
• 24:38
  Speaker: Curtis.
• 24:38
  Speaker: I should imagine he will be.
• 24:40
  Speaker: Yes, heading down to a m live.
• 24:42
  Speaker: And you want to chat with with Ian.
• 24:44
  Speaker: I'm sure he will be there and
• 24:47
  Speaker: wandering around on a stall, um,
• 24:49
  Speaker: exhibiting somewhere.
• 24:51
  Speaker: So I'm sure you may even appear in one of his selfies.
• 24:54
  Speaker: May do, may well do.
• 24:56
  Speaker: Yeah, yeah.
• 24:57
  Speaker: We get, it's very busy down
• 24:58
  Speaker: there in it as we, as we well
• 25:00
  Speaker: know.
• 25:00
  Speaker: But we'll get back to the, the headlines.
• 25:02
  Speaker: And as Curtis said at the start,
• 25:04
  Speaker: a couple of financial updates
• 25:06
  Speaker: and mainly from over the the
• 25:09
  Speaker: pond there.
• 25:10
  Speaker: Curtis with the two US giants,
• 25:12
  Speaker: as you as you say there and auto
• 25:14
  Speaker: Sunday um our friend Tristan
• 25:16
  Speaker: Young um came straight out very
• 25:18
  Speaker: early in the morning that sit in
• 25:20
  Speaker: a turnover drops almost one
• 25:23
  Speaker: billion.
• 25:24
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 25:24
  Speaker: I said one billion.
• 25:25
  Speaker: They're saying that sit in a group.
• 25:27
  Speaker: The UK's largest car retailer saw turnover drop to nine
• 25:31
  Speaker: hundred and sixty six million in twenty twenty five, with a
• 25:35
  Speaker: profit before tax dropping nearly six million down to One
• 25:41
  Speaker: point six million on the back of falling new and used car sales.
• 25:45
  Speaker: So quite a big hit there that they felt in twenty twenty five
• 25:48
  Speaker: for their financial year ending thirty first of December.
• 25:52
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 25:53
  Speaker: Um, that that is a sizable drop, isn't it?
• 25:56
  Speaker: Uh, I don't recall, um, you
• 25:59
  Speaker: know, one of the financials
• 26:00
  Speaker: showing such a big dip, but, uh,
• 26:03
  Speaker: there are plenty of mitigating
• 26:05
  Speaker: circumstances, which, um,
• 26:07
  Speaker: Tristan's covered within his
• 26:09
  Speaker: reports and, uh, you know, he
• 26:12
  Speaker: certainly singles out that while
• 26:14
  Speaker: return on sales figures improved
• 26:16
  Speaker: to naught point eight two
• 26:18
  Speaker: percent in twenty five from
• 26:20
  Speaker: naught point seven nine the
• 26:21
  Speaker: previous years, the figures were
• 26:23
  Speaker: impacted by one off costs of
• 26:26
  Speaker: three million pounds for the car
• 26:29
  Speaker: shop closures.
• 26:30
  Speaker: The car supermarket um business that Sytner ran and seventeen
• 26:36
  Speaker: million pounds to to close four retail locations and the twenty
• 26:42
  Speaker: twenty five full year results also include those one off costs
• 26:46
  Speaker: of two million pounds for the closure of a Land Rover service
• 26:50
  Speaker: site in Ascot, and the piece goes on to also show how Sytner,
• 26:58
  Speaker: uh, listed the JLR cyber attack as having a negative impact on
• 27:04
  Speaker: the group over the period.
• 27:06
  Speaker: But certainly, unlike rival
• 27:08
  Speaker: virtue, it does not list any
• 27:10
  Speaker: insurance compensation to cover
• 27:12
  Speaker: the full.
• 27:13
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 27:14
  Speaker: I wonder if they, uh, because
• 27:15
  Speaker: obviously when we chatted with
• 27:17
  Speaker: Robert, he did say that on the
• 27:18
  Speaker: conversation at the time, he did
• 27:20
  Speaker: say, but we forget about how big
• 27:22
  Speaker: that cyber attack was and how
• 27:23
  Speaker: damaging it was to the, uh, the
• 27:25
  Speaker: retailers, you know, those
• 27:27
  Speaker: particularly who represent that
• 27:28
  Speaker: brand quite, quite
• 27:29
  Speaker: significantly.
• 27:29
  Speaker: So yeah, as you say, they're quite a big, a big drop in in
• 27:33
  Speaker: the financials there for, for CET in the UK.
• 27:37
  Speaker: But there was an increase.
• 27:39
  Speaker: I mean, if you're looking for any sort of bright signs on the
• 27:43
  Speaker: horizon, there was an increase in gross profit margin from
• 27:48
  Speaker: fourteen point seven percent to fifteen point six percent,
• 27:52
  Speaker: suggesting the group maintained discipline pricing and benefited
• 27:57
  Speaker: from more favorable sales mix and within its cells.
• 28:02
  Speaker: Again, the piece shows how new
• 28:05
  Speaker: car sales for the year fell ten
• 28:07
  Speaker: point six percent to seventy six
• 28:10
  Speaker: thousand units, while used car
• 28:12
  Speaker: numbers were down twenty three
• 28:14
  Speaker: point seven percent to ninety
• 28:16
  Speaker: thousand seven hundred and fifty
• 28:18
  Speaker: cars.
• 28:19
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 28:20
  Speaker: And just to just to finish off the story there, the director
• 28:23
  Speaker: said that gross profit reduced from by eighty nine point one
• 28:27
  Speaker: million to ninety eight, four point three million, a decline
• 28:30
  Speaker: of eight point three percent compared to the prior year.
• 28:33
  Speaker: Importantly, gross profit declined at a slower rate than
• 28:38
  Speaker: revenue, leading to an improvement in GP margin.
• 28:42
  Speaker: The increase in GP margin from fourteen point seven percent to
• 28:46
  Speaker: fifteen point six percent, suggests the group maintained
• 28:50
  Speaker: disciplined pricing and benefited from a more favourable
• 28:55
  Speaker: sales mix, despite weaker demand and lower unit sales.
• 29:00
  Speaker: So a bit of a mixed message
• 29:01
  Speaker: there within the financials of
• 29:04
  Speaker: of sitting in the the UK and
• 29:07
  Speaker: heading over to the next big
• 29:09
  Speaker: giant from over the the pond
• 29:11
  Speaker: there is group one automotive UK
• 29:13
  Speaker: division sinks further into the
• 29:16
  Speaker: red as losses double in twenty
• 29:18
  Speaker: twenty five.
• 29:19
  Speaker: And this is over in car dealer.
• 29:21
  Speaker: They're saying that the Group one Automotive Post UK accounts
• 29:24
  Speaker: for twenty twenty five.
• 29:26
  Speaker: The firm lost an eye watering fifty two point zero three
• 29:31
  Speaker: million last year, and that the bosses admit challenging
• 29:37
  Speaker: Macroeconomic environment has had an impact.
• 29:42
  Speaker: So again, I mean, you get these
• 29:44
  Speaker: size and scales of these
• 29:45
  Speaker: operations.
• 29:45
  Speaker: But when times are tough it doesn't have hit that bottom
• 29:48
  Speaker: line doesn't it.
• 29:49
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 29:50
  Speaker: And so car dealer has been
• 29:52
  Speaker: poring over the um, the accounts
• 29:55
  Speaker: that were recently filed at
• 29:57
  Speaker: companies House.
• 29:59
  Speaker: And on top of what you've
• 30:01
  Speaker: already covered, uh, the slump
• 30:05
  Speaker: comes amid rising costs across
• 30:07
  Speaker: the business, with the accounts
• 30:09
  Speaker: showing that sixteen point five
• 30:12
  Speaker: million pounds was spent on
• 30:13
  Speaker: restructuring activity, while
• 30:16
  Speaker: also booking impairment charges
• 30:19
  Speaker: of seventeen point four million
• 30:21
  Speaker: pounds.
• 30:22
  Speaker: The year saw Group one also announced its decision to axe
• 30:26
  Speaker: JLR from its brand partners, which contributed to the firm's
• 30:31
  Speaker: dealer network shrinking from one hundred and fourteen sites
• 30:35
  Speaker: to one hundred and nine overall.
• 30:37
  Speaker: Um, but despite this turnover
• 30:40
  Speaker: actually rose, um, aided by
• 30:42
  Speaker: increased new and used car
• 30:45
  Speaker: sales.
• 30:47
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 30:47
  Speaker: I mean, it's, uh, again, not
• 30:49
  Speaker: dissimilar to what we were
• 30:50
  Speaker: talking about with the, uh, the
• 30:52
  Speaker: sitna story there that, um, you
• 30:54
  Speaker: know, very challenging time and
• 30:56
  Speaker: interesting.
• 30:57
  Speaker: JL I mentioned there in both
• 30:58
  Speaker: start, but obviously in that
• 31:01
  Speaker: trading period of twenty twenty
• 31:03
  Speaker: five.
• 31:03
  Speaker: So quite a damaging picture there for them.
• 31:06
  Speaker: But the, you know, the account
• 31:07
  Speaker: shows that that group won, um,
• 31:09
  Speaker: you know, employed an average
• 31:11
  Speaker: linking back to the BDO, an
• 31:13
  Speaker: average of seven thousand and
• 31:15
  Speaker: thirty two UK employees in
• 31:17
  Speaker: twenty twenty five, um compared
• 31:19
  Speaker: to five thousand two hundred and
• 31:21
  Speaker: forty six in twenty twenty four,
• 31:23
  Speaker: with the technician headcount
• 31:25
  Speaker: increasing from one thousand
• 31:28
  Speaker: five hundred and twelve to one
• 31:29
  Speaker: thousand six hundred and twenty
• 31:31
  Speaker: eight employees there in the
• 31:33
  Speaker: technical department.
• 31:35
  Speaker: So, you know, really that, you
• 31:37
  Speaker: know, that kind of give you a
• 31:38
  Speaker: size, an indication of that pure
• 31:41
  Speaker: size.
• 31:41
  Speaker: I mean, one thousand six hundred
• 31:42
  Speaker: and twenty eight technicians
• 31:44
  Speaker: there, Curtis, that people have
• 31:46
  Speaker: got to manage across the the
• 31:49
  Speaker: business.
• 31:49
  Speaker: But as you say there, I mean,
• 31:50
  Speaker: hopefully twenty twenty six will
• 31:51
  Speaker: be a more favorable trading year
• 31:53
  Speaker: because as you say, with both
• 31:55
  Speaker: them stories, both from sitting
• 31:56
  Speaker: as anthem Group one, and there
• 31:57
  Speaker: are some mitigating
• 31:58
  Speaker: circumstances that have led to
• 32:00
  Speaker: some of these financials through
• 32:02
  Speaker: the year.
• 32:03
  Speaker: And we'll finish this week's pod
• 32:04
  Speaker: with a look at three, not one,
• 32:07
  Speaker: but three new Chinese brands
• 32:09
  Speaker: that are heading our way coming
• 32:11
  Speaker: to the UK for twenty twenty
• 32:14
  Speaker: seven.
• 32:15
  Speaker: Um, so there's one that's
• 32:16
  Speaker: totally new and two others that,
• 32:19
  Speaker: uh, are subbrands of existing
• 32:21
  Speaker: players.
• 32:22
  Speaker: So starting with the AM online,
• 32:25
  Speaker: they reported that Lai Auto
• 32:27
  Speaker: targets UK launch in Q3 twenty
• 32:30
  Speaker: twenty seven.
• 32:32
  Speaker: So I think what's happened is a
• 32:34
  Speaker: lot of these stories have come
• 32:35
  Speaker: out from the recent Paris motor
• 32:38
  Speaker: show.
• 32:39
  Speaker: Um, so we're starting to see, um, what was discussed there.
• 32:43
  Speaker: A lot of these businesses were
• 32:45
  Speaker: exhibiting there and this is
• 32:47
  Speaker: where the the information has
• 32:49
  Speaker: come from.
• 32:49
  Speaker: So within the AM report, it's um
• 32:52
  Speaker: saying that Chinese premium
• 32:55
  Speaker: start up car brand Lai Auto is
• 32:58
  Speaker: targeting a UK launch in Q3 next
• 33:00
  Speaker: year as part of its overall
• 33:03
  Speaker: European expansion.
• 33:05
  Speaker: Um, the UK timing was confirmed following the manufacturer's
• 33:09
  Speaker: presentation to its European business plans at Paris a couple
• 33:16
  Speaker: of weeks ago.
• 33:17
  Speaker: And this is a new certainly a new name to me.
• 33:20
  Speaker: Um I don't think they're part of another business.
• 33:23
  Speaker: I, you know, they are described in the story as being standalone
• 33:27
  Speaker: and uh, it's um, for prospective UK dealer partners, the
• 33:32
  Speaker: outstanding questions as posed by am include things like
• 33:36
  Speaker: franchise availability, showroom investments, um, and how the
• 33:41
  Speaker: European parts operation would support British customers.
• 33:45
  Speaker: So, uh, a lot to come out of this story, I feel, but they,
• 33:50
  Speaker: they, they have shown one of their vehicles, uh, certainly at
• 33:54
  Speaker: Paris, they, they showed the ly six, which is um, begins
• 33:59
  Speaker: deliveries in the Netherlands and Norway in Q1.
• 34:03
  Speaker: So an indicator there that that SUV could be the first one to
• 34:08
  Speaker: come to the UK.
• 34:09
  Speaker: It's just, just what we need isn't it.
• 34:11
  Speaker: Um yeah.
• 34:12
  Speaker: Yeah, exactly.
• 34:14
  Speaker: Another new brand with another new SUV.
• 34:17
  Speaker: Yeah, yeah.
• 34:18
  Speaker: But as I say there, I mean, you know, there's a lot, I mean,
• 34:21
  Speaker: there's talk about the like six, which is an electric vehicle.
• 34:24
  Speaker: It's, it's already scheduled to
• 34:25
  Speaker: start deliveries in Netherlands
• 34:27
  Speaker: and Norway in Q1 twenty twenty
• 34:30
  Speaker: seven.
• 34:31
  Speaker: Um, you know, they plan to open up regional parts distribution
• 34:36
  Speaker: centres across Netherlands in December of this year, alongside
• 34:40
  Speaker: roadside assistance and customer call centres as well.
• 34:45
  Speaker: So really thinking more broadly about that, that, you know,
• 34:48
  Speaker: customer communication and the aftermarket ahead of a launch.
• 34:53
  Speaker: But as you say, there another
• 34:55
  Speaker: one heading to the the UK, but I
• 34:58
  Speaker: mean, it looks it looks a nice,
• 34:59
  Speaker: nice vehicle.
• 35:00
  Speaker: They're talking about, um, you
• 35:02
  Speaker: know, dedicated battery electric
• 35:04
  Speaker: platform with eight hundred V
• 35:06
  Speaker: technology.
• 35:07
  Speaker: It's, it's chassis and then adapted for, for European roads,
• 35:12
  Speaker: which is obviously at when we go into one of the other stories
• 35:16
  Speaker: about Shannon was, was very much trying to adapt the vehicles for
• 35:20
  Speaker: UK and European roads.
• 35:22
  Speaker: Um, but yeah, it's going to be, it's going to be an interesting
• 35:24
  Speaker: one, this one.
• 35:25
  Speaker: So what that market starts to look like as we, as we move into
• 35:28
  Speaker: twenty twenty seven.
• 35:30
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 35:30
  Speaker: Should I tell you about the next one here?
• 35:32
  Speaker: The next one, uh, Also from AM online.
• 35:36
  Speaker: Shannon's avatar plans six
• 35:38
  Speaker: models as European launch
• 35:40
  Speaker: confirmed for twenty twenty
• 35:42
  Speaker: seven.
• 35:43
  Speaker: So, uh, this is, um, Shannon.
• 35:47
  Speaker: Its subbrand avatar will launch
• 35:50
  Speaker: initially in Norway and Spain,
• 35:52
  Speaker: with six models planned for
• 35:55
  Speaker: Europe over the following three
• 35:57
  Speaker: years, and the UK has certainly
• 36:00
  Speaker: been mentioned within that mix,
• 36:02
  Speaker: again from the the Paris motor
• 36:04
  Speaker: show.
• 36:05
  Speaker: So at Paris um the, the models that were shown were the oh six
• 36:11
  Speaker: and oh seven L2, very catchy names, um as two of its first
• 36:17
  Speaker: models for the region.
• 36:19
  Speaker: Um its planned range will include medium and large SUVs.
• 36:24
  Speaker: And the announcement uh, did, although it did not include a UK
• 36:29
  Speaker: launch date, pricing or name dealer partners Shanghai Gain
• 36:33
  Speaker: has already launched with its D-pal brand here and established
• 36:38
  Speaker: a network of sixty dealers.
• 36:40
  Speaker: So when it's ready to launch, you know, it does have an
• 36:43
  Speaker: established network now for to sell the cars through.
• 36:48
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 36:49
  Speaker: No, I think, you know, this was
• 36:51
  Speaker: always talked about right at the
• 36:52
  Speaker: start.
• 36:52
  Speaker: Want it when we first started to hear about Shenyang's entrance
• 36:55
  Speaker: into the the UK and European market, particularly being led
• 36:58
  Speaker: by Nick Thomas there, who's the the MD for UK and Europe.
• 37:03
  Speaker: The avatar was always kind of there once as the the next
• 37:07
  Speaker: premium brand SUV that was going to be the following up.
• 37:11
  Speaker: And we know that, um, you know,
• 37:13
  Speaker: they're talking about hybrid
• 37:15
  Speaker: technologies.
• 37:15
  Speaker: I think the next vehicle coming
• 37:17
  Speaker: out of Shanghai themselves is,
• 37:18
  Speaker: is a hybrid following the s u
• 37:20
  Speaker: seven.
• 37:21
  Speaker: Um, if I get that, I'm sure anybody that wants to correct me
• 37:25
  Speaker: on that they can do.
• 37:27
  Speaker: Um, but I think clearly this is
• 37:29
  Speaker: now that, you know, you get that
• 37:30
  Speaker: entrance into the market, build
• 37:31
  Speaker: up that dealership partner
• 37:33
  Speaker: dealership partnership and then
• 37:35
  Speaker: start to, to increase as we're
• 37:36
  Speaker: seeing with, with, with other
• 37:37
  Speaker: brands.
• 37:38
  Speaker: So yeah, again, it's twenty
• 37:40
  Speaker: twenty seven is going to be no
• 37:41
  Speaker: different to what we've seen
• 37:43
  Speaker: through twenty twenty five and
• 37:45
  Speaker: twenty twenty six with more
• 37:47
  Speaker: vehicles, more manufacturers,
• 37:49
  Speaker: and trying to understand their
• 37:51
  Speaker: proposition.
• 37:52
  Speaker: But we have got a final story today.
• 37:55
  Speaker: And this is in car, the the the report and get our cars and cars
• 38:01
  Speaker: sorted out and sorted out.
• 38:03
  Speaker: Don't worry.
• 38:04
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 38:04
  Speaker: Good luck with this one.
• 38:06
  Speaker: So there's been lots of talk about the defender look alike
• 38:11
  Speaker: coming out of of China.
• 38:13
  Speaker: Now this is the fifth I think
• 38:16
  Speaker: brand coming out of the Chery
• 38:18
  Speaker: group alongside Chery themselves
• 38:21
  Speaker: Jacob Mulder and Lipase that
• 38:24
  Speaker: we've already got here in the
• 38:25
  Speaker: the UK.
• 38:26
  Speaker: And this is the the called iCar,
• 38:28
  Speaker: but it's spelt in the UK and
• 38:30
  Speaker: across Europe as I see a you are
• 38:34
  Speaker: um and this is the defender
• 38:36
  Speaker: fighting brand from cherry
• 38:38
  Speaker: launches in twenty twenty seven
• 38:40
  Speaker: with its v twenty seven s u v
• 38:44
  Speaker: now now obviously just a little
• 38:45
  Speaker: bit of background on the naming
• 38:47
  Speaker: convention of this is that the
• 38:50
  Speaker: if you Google it or use AI,
• 38:52
  Speaker: however you want to look at it,
• 38:53
  Speaker: is that, uh, the electric
• 38:55
  Speaker: vehicle brand Ikea or Ikea is
• 38:59
  Speaker: named actually Ikea in, in
• 39:01
  Speaker: China, but was renamed to Ikea
• 39:05
  Speaker: with a C a u r for overseas
• 39:08
  Speaker: markets to avoid trademark and
• 39:11
  Speaker: legal conflicts.
• 39:12
  Speaker: Conflicts with the tech giant Apple, which holds the rights to
• 39:17
  Speaker: Ikea name globally.
• 39:20
  Speaker: So this is going to be a hell of a thing to get your head around
• 39:24
  Speaker: into and talk about.
• 39:26
  Speaker: It is good.
• 39:30
  Speaker: Well, yeah, I mean I'm also hearing Ikea as well.
• 39:34
  Speaker: Well, yeah, it could be anything.
• 39:36
  Speaker: My Northern Yorkshire Lancashire accent probably is not helping
• 39:39
  Speaker: with this one.
• 39:41
  Speaker: Um, the guys at, uh, car
• 39:43
  Speaker: magazine had a bit of fun with
• 39:45
  Speaker: this story because, uh, they
• 39:47
  Speaker: describe, uh, ichor as being,
• 39:49
  Speaker: uh, a chunky su flavored, um,
• 39:52
  Speaker: brand from the wider Cherry
• 39:55
  Speaker: International group.
• 39:56
  Speaker: And with the V twenty seven SUV certainly reminding them of
• 40:01
  Speaker: something that rhymes with, uh, that, um, in the report, they
• 40:05
  Speaker: say it rhymes with hand over.
• 40:08
  Speaker: Um, ichor says that the UK is a natural home for it because
• 40:12
  Speaker: British drivers have long appreciated cars with presence.
• 40:16
  Speaker: So is their cheeky way of saying that it looks like a defender.
• 40:20
  Speaker: It looks like a Range Rover.
• 40:22
  Speaker: It's very boxy.
• 40:23
  Speaker: Looks like a Mercedes GL.
• 40:25
  Speaker: Yes.
• 40:26
  Speaker: Yeah yeah yeah.
• 40:27
  Speaker: But I think, you know again we've known about this because
• 40:29
  Speaker: this has been highly speculated on what's on the horizon and
• 40:33
  Speaker: yeah, looks like, but, uh, yeah, the, the naming convention makes
• 40:37
  Speaker: it a little bit more difficult.
• 40:38
  Speaker: But, uh, they do talk about the V twenty seven SUV.
• 40:42
  Speaker: Um, it's a range extender, four
• 40:45
  Speaker: wheel drive with a rather
• 40:47
  Speaker: obvious design inspiration and a
• 40:50
  Speaker: boxy footprint.
• 40:52
  Speaker: Um, and it does go on to say that we'll have to find out more
• 40:55
  Speaker: for the confirmed European and UK specifications, but it is
• 41:00
  Speaker: available in other markets with a one point five petrol engine
• 41:05
  Speaker: and an electric motor with a varying power outputs depending
• 41:10
  Speaker: on the market that it's sold in.
• 41:12
  Speaker: So we kind of have a lot of speculation around what we're
• 41:14
  Speaker: actually going to get here in the UK at the minute.
• 41:17
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 41:18
  Speaker: Um, there is a big hint here because, uh, as we've said,
• 41:23
  Speaker: Sherry is very much established in the UK, especially with its
• 41:27
  Speaker: Armada and Jaiku networks.
• 41:29
  Speaker: And, you know, it's also selling the Cherry and La Paz brands.
• 41:33
  Speaker: But this particular car, um, a
• 41:36
  Speaker: lot of it's, um, technical, uh,
• 41:41
  Speaker: fine tuning has been done at the
• 41:44
  Speaker: R&D center, Cherry's R&D center
• 41:48
  Speaker: at Millbrook, you know, the
• 41:50
  Speaker: Millbrook Proving Ground in
• 41:51
  Speaker: Bedfordshire.
• 41:52
  Speaker: So it's very much being prepared and refined for UK roads.
• 41:57
  Speaker: So, uh, I think we can take it as, as said that this will be
• 42:02
  Speaker: heading to the UK next year.
• 42:05
  Speaker: Um, you know, along with these other two brands.
• 42:07
  Speaker: Yeah, yeah.
• 42:08
  Speaker: So I think yeah, next year will be a lot to, to get my head
• 42:11
  Speaker: around with that one.
• 42:12
  Speaker: And certainly this week's
• 42:13
  Speaker: headlines have given us a few
• 42:14
  Speaker: tongue twisters in the, uh, in
• 42:16
  Speaker: the, in the run up to the end
• 42:18
  Speaker: there, Curtis with everything
• 42:20
  Speaker: going on.
• 42:20
  Speaker: But as, uh, as Curtis said right at the start, I mean, what a
• 42:23
  Speaker: busy week for headlines.
• 42:25
  Speaker: We we conscious we haven't necessarily covered everything.
• 42:29
  Speaker: um, there's been quite a few
• 42:30
  Speaker: moves, quite a few, uh,
• 42:31
  Speaker: financials and some big stuff
• 42:33
  Speaker: coming out.
• 42:34
  Speaker: We've obviously got the, uh, the budget next week, which is a lot
• 42:37
  Speaker: of speculation as to what will happen to the budget for the,
• 42:41
  Speaker: uh, the UK automotive sector.
• 42:44
  Speaker: Um, but I'm sure we'll get on to
• 42:45
  Speaker: some of that next week, won't
• 42:46
  Speaker: we?
• 42:47
  Speaker: Yep.
• 42:48
  Speaker: Definitely.
• 42:48
  Speaker: But that is all for now.
• 42:50
  Speaker: So many thanks to you for
• 42:51
  Speaker: listening to this Motor Trade
• 42:53
  Speaker: Radio podcast.
• 42:54
  Speaker: We're back next week with our
• 42:56
  Speaker: exclusive look at breakouts
• 42:58
  Speaker: trade values for October with
• 43:00
  Speaker: Rupert Pontin.
• 43:02
  Speaker: So look out for that in your podcast feed from Wednesday
• 43:06
  Speaker: until then, it's goodbye from me and it's goodbye from him.
• 43:12
  Speaker: Thank you for listening to the Motor Trade Radio podcast
• 43:16
  Speaker: powered by Cazoo.