Latest / Motor Trade Radio / 📣 September plate change. August used market trends. Xpeng to take over UK distribution (E56, S12)

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📣 September plate change. August used market trends. Xpeng to take over UK distribution (E56, S12) · Motor Trade Radio

0:04
Speaker: Hello and welcome to the Motor Trade Radio podcast powered by
0:08
Speaker: Cazoo with Philip Northwood and Curtis Hutchinson bringing you
0:13
Speaker: all the chatter that matters across the car retailing sector,
0:17
Speaker: from factory to forecourt.
0:25
Speaker: Well, here we are.
0:26
Speaker: Phil is the first pod of September.
0:29
Speaker: The plate change has has happened.
0:32
Speaker: I've already seen loads of seventy six plate cars, but
0:35
Speaker: they're all on transporters, so that doesn't really count.
0:39
Speaker: Well, we'll get on to a bit of that later won't we?
0:41
Speaker: Yeah.
0:42
Speaker: With with one of the shout outs of this week.
0:44
Speaker: Yeah there's not.
0:45
Speaker: Well there will be many about I suppose it's spotting them into.
0:49
Speaker: And.
0:49
Speaker: Yeah.
0:49
Speaker: And I was interestingly watching
0:52
Speaker: something this morning and there
0:54
Speaker: were people critiquing the of
0:56
Speaker: the older generation should I
0:58
Speaker: say critiquing the the plate and
1:00
Speaker: very hard to spot and understand
1:02
Speaker: what these are the plates are
1:04
Speaker: these days.
1:05
Speaker: Um, it was somebody that did
1:07
Speaker: represent a, I think it was f
1:09
Speaker: sixty eight or whatever they
1:11
Speaker: were referencing.
1:12
Speaker: So yeah, they were just saying, oh, trying to understand a
1:15
Speaker: twenty six plate and a seventy six plate and things like this.
1:18
Speaker: So it's a little bit more
1:20
Speaker: challenging to spot these days
1:22
Speaker: than, than.
1:23
Speaker: But you know what?
1:23
Speaker: We've had some, what, twenty six years to get used to it.
1:27
Speaker: We have.
1:28
Speaker: Yeah, you'd think so.
1:31
Speaker: I mean so some of our listeners won't know any different.
1:35
Speaker: No that's that's very, very true.
1:37
Speaker: Yeah.
1:37
Speaker: Some of our younger generations listening to us this morning.
1:41
Speaker: But but yeah, so no, I think by all accounts, like I say, we
1:44
Speaker: won't spend too much time because we have got something
1:46
Speaker: coming up with that in mind.
1:48
Speaker: But yeah, um, first part of
1:50
Speaker: September, um, and, and eagerly
1:53
Speaker: looking to see what the
1:54
Speaker: September results will look
1:56
Speaker: like.
1:56
Speaker: We've not got the August results for you today.
2:00
Speaker: They did come out yesterday
2:01
Speaker: morning at nine o'clock Friday
2:03
Speaker: morning.
2:03
Speaker: So we we recorded before they came out.
2:06
Speaker: So we will do a deeper dive into
2:09
Speaker: the the August car and LCV
2:12
Speaker: results next week with the
2:14
Speaker: results.
2:15
Speaker: And obviously what happened in Europe as well.
2:18
Speaker: So again, August tends to be a bit of a small month.
2:21
Speaker: So the percentages look quite,
2:23
Speaker: uh, out of kilter, um, in terms
2:26
Speaker: of the represent to the volume,
2:27
Speaker: but we'll get on to that next
2:28
Speaker: week.
2:29
Speaker: What we.
2:29
Speaker: Curtis.
2:30
Speaker: Yeah, definitely.
2:30
Speaker: We'll get the highlighters out and trawl through all the
2:33
Speaker: figures and, uh, bring you the winners and losers.
2:37
Speaker: But, um, we've been busy recently on the supplier special
2:42
Speaker: side of things because we recorded a special episode with
2:45
Speaker: Autotech group and we spoke to Simon King, CEO and, um, Simon,
2:52
Speaker: he had a fascinating take.
2:54
Speaker: And, you know, he shared his
2:55
Speaker: view that as a sector, we may be
2:58
Speaker: focusing too much on the
3:00
Speaker: technician shortage and not
3:02
Speaker: enough on how we make the best
3:04
Speaker: use of skilled people already in
3:07
Speaker: the industry.
3:08
Speaker: So Autotech group as a business, they obviously, you know, look
3:14
Speaker: at the aftermarket side, the workshop side of businesses.
3:20
Speaker: And he had some great insights
3:23
Speaker: that he shared with us, didn't
3:24
Speaker: he?
3:24
Speaker: Yeah, it was a it was a great, great chat there with Simon.
3:27
Speaker: And as you say, I mean, obviously all my decades in the
3:31
Speaker: sector, it's always been about apprenticeship, recruitment and
3:34
Speaker: getting people into the sector.
3:35
Speaker: But I think, you know, as you say, making that point now with
3:39
Speaker: AI and Adas systems and, you know, electrification and hybrid
3:44
Speaker: technology, that maybe that it's the skill set that needs to
3:48
Speaker: change rather than just getting recruitment into the sector.
3:51
Speaker: So it was a, it was a great chat
3:53
Speaker: chat with Simon so we will share
3:55
Speaker: a snippet of that, uh, catch up
3:58
Speaker: with Simon King at, uh, at the
4:00
Speaker: half year.
4:00
Speaker: A half point today on the
4:02
Speaker: podcast, but you will be able to
4:03
Speaker: get that full interview in your
4:05
Speaker: podcast feed from Wednesday of
4:08
Speaker: this week.
4:08
Speaker: So if you've not listened to
4:09
Speaker: that interview, then, then I
4:11
Speaker: would suggest have a, have a
4:12
Speaker: good listen to that because it's
4:13
Speaker: something slightly different
4:14
Speaker: than what we normally talk
4:16
Speaker: about.
4:16
Speaker: Yeah, definitely.
4:17
Speaker: And we also caught up with our good friend Steve Young, CEO of
4:23
Speaker: Auto West London.
4:24
Speaker: And, um, you know, uh, the consultant with Istdp.
4:29
Speaker: So again, with his unique perspective, uh, as a dealer
4:33
Speaker: group boss and as a industry watcher as a consultant.
4:37
Speaker: But what we did was because it
4:40
Speaker: was only a couple of days into
4:42
Speaker: September, so we themed it
4:44
Speaker: around the September plate
4:46
Speaker: change and really getting his
4:48
Speaker: views on some of the challenges
4:50
Speaker: and opportunities of the off the
4:52
Speaker: plate change.
4:53
Speaker: And also to hear how his
4:55
Speaker: business prepared for the plate
4:57
Speaker: change.
4:57
Speaker: And, uh, again, some, some, some great, uh, anecdotes and, uh,
5:02
Speaker: you know, some, some good best practices as well from Steve,
5:05
Speaker: very timely chat with Steve.
5:07
Speaker: And if you've not listened to our, uh, catch ups with Steve,
5:11
Speaker: then then, you know, they're always very insightful, very,
5:15
Speaker: uh, very thought provoking.
5:18
Speaker: And, you know, I think not different.
5:19
Speaker: But really, I think, as Curtis
5:22
Speaker: said, they're very timely to
5:23
Speaker: catch up with Steve just days
5:25
Speaker: into the, uh, the month of
5:27
Speaker: September and some of the
5:28
Speaker: challenges that, uh, he's now,
5:31
Speaker: uh, they're finding in Otto,
5:34
Speaker: west London.
5:35
Speaker: And briefly, before we go to this week's headlines, we must
5:39
Speaker: thank Matthew from Swansea and a shout out to the Swansea team
5:45
Speaker: there that Matthew does share.
5:47
Speaker: Um, is, uh, press releases with, with ourselves.
5:51
Speaker: And we do try and give them a shout out.
5:53
Speaker: And you you may have seen it in the media this week.
5:56
Speaker: It got quite a bit of coverage where Swansway Group announced a
5:59
Speaker: multi-million pound investment in a new fleet super hub.
6:04
Speaker: And this is that they're looking at in Cheshire.
6:07
Speaker: They're looking at a investing in a super hub to support their
6:13
Speaker: business across the UK.
6:15
Speaker: And this this development has
6:16
Speaker: capacity for up to three
6:18
Speaker: thousand vehicles and really is
6:21
Speaker: a you know, it's creating this
6:23
Speaker: infrastructure required to
6:25
Speaker: support their continued growth,
6:27
Speaker: um, as they continue to take
6:28
Speaker: acquisitions and expand their
6:31
Speaker: business.
6:31
Speaker: So fascinating and probably a
6:34
Speaker: great move for the swansway
6:36
Speaker: business for that kind of
6:37
Speaker: investment.
6:38
Speaker: Yeah, definitely.
6:39
Speaker: And there was a great photograph
6:41
Speaker: that went out with the press
6:42
Speaker: release that got a lot of
6:44
Speaker: coverage of the Swansway team in
6:47
Speaker: a field with, I think it's David
6:49
Speaker: with a spade going into the
6:51
Speaker: ground.
6:52
Speaker: And you know what surprised me, Phil, was that it's you know,
6:56
Speaker: it's a greenfield site, it's a big site, but it's due to be
7:00
Speaker: completed in Q1 next year.
7:02
Speaker: So that's going to be a quick turnaround will be.
7:05
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, that's that's very, very fast there.
7:08
Speaker: So yeah, the the three brothers
7:10
Speaker: there with John, Peter and David
7:14
Speaker: holding the what looks like a, I
7:16
Speaker: don't know, it's yellowish just
7:17
Speaker: might be the sun there and the
7:18
Speaker: spade in the, the middle of a
7:20
Speaker: field there.
7:22
Speaker: It actually looks like a golden
7:23
Speaker: spike could well be a golden
7:24
Speaker: one.
7:25
Speaker: Yeah.
7:25
Speaker: It probably makes a bit more
7:26
Speaker: sense being, uh, being a golden
7:28
Speaker: shovel.
7:29
Speaker: Yes.
7:29
Speaker: There.
7:30
Speaker: But, uh, the suits don't look
7:31
Speaker: like they're going to get their
7:32
Speaker: hands too.
7:34
Speaker: Yeah, yeah.
7:36
Speaker: But, uh, yeah.
7:37
Speaker: So good luck with that, guys.
7:38
Speaker: And, uh, you know, please do.
7:40
Speaker: If you do have any, uh, press releases, any embargoed press
7:43
Speaker: releases, or anything that you feel that justifies us giving a
7:46
Speaker: shout out on the the podcast.
7:48
Speaker: Then please do send them Curtis and me and we'll certainly try
7:52
Speaker: and fit them into the the week's headlines if we can.
7:58
Speaker: You're listening to the Motor
8:00
Speaker: Trade Radio podcast powered by
8:03
Speaker: Cazoo.
8:06
Speaker: Headlines this week come from AM car dealer and motor trader.
8:12
Speaker: Starting with the increased availability of used EVs in
8:16
Speaker: August drives a rise in ad views across the sector.
8:21
Speaker: Xpeng is to take direct UK
8:23
Speaker: control to step up dealer
8:26
Speaker: investment.
8:27
Speaker: A confident Motorpoint has
8:29
Speaker: lifted its profit outlook for
8:31
Speaker: twenty twenty six amid higher
8:33
Speaker: trading volumes and improved
8:36
Speaker: margins.
8:37
Speaker: And industry legend and friend of the pod, Mark Busby,
8:41
Speaker: announces he will leave Hendy Group this month after twenty
8:45
Speaker: five years of service.
8:47
Speaker: But first up is an extract from our September Plate Change
8:51
Speaker: special interview with Steve Young, CEO of Auto West London.
8:56
Speaker: The Umeda and Jayco dealership.
9:01
Speaker: You're listening to the Motor
9:02
Speaker: Trade Radio podcast powered by
9:06
Speaker: Cazoo.
9:09
Speaker: Can you share some of the.
9:10
Speaker: You know, as you were mentioning
9:11
Speaker: there, some of those more
9:12
Speaker: practical challenges and
9:14
Speaker: opportunities, you know, you've
9:15
Speaker: faced in the the run up to the
9:18
Speaker: plate change, as we know, in the
9:19
Speaker: sort of the first week of
9:20
Speaker: September.
9:22
Speaker: Yeah.
9:22
Speaker: I think, uh, you know, anybody who's worked in the, in the
9:27
Speaker: industry knows the, uh, you know, the challenges, you know,
9:31
Speaker: the, the whole system becomes quite fragile in, in March and
9:35
Speaker: September with the, with the bunching of the, of the demand.
9:39
Speaker: So the whole logistics system,
9:42
Speaker: um, you know, the the DVLA
9:46
Speaker: systems, the systems that the
9:48
Speaker: finance houses and so on are all
9:50
Speaker: stretched.
9:51
Speaker: And um the, you know, whilst it gives everybody a bit of a
9:54
Speaker: focus, um it also, you know, drives in drives in cost as you,
10:01
Speaker: as you try to navigate all these things and put in contingency
10:04
Speaker: plans and so on.
10:06
Speaker: So I think that's a, you know,
10:08
Speaker: one of the big issues and the,
10:10
Speaker: you know, when I was up at our
10:12
Speaker: sort of storage location, um,
10:15
Speaker: last night and, uh, you, you
10:18
Speaker: just see, you just see sort of,
10:20
Speaker: you know, ramp upon ramp in this
10:23
Speaker: multi-storey car park full of
10:24
Speaker: our cars, but also the two or
10:26
Speaker: three other dealers who are
10:27
Speaker: using it.
10:28
Speaker: And it just brings it home about, about what total madness,
10:32
Speaker: uh, the system is.
10:34
Speaker: Um, so it's, uh, it's, it's a challenge.
10:39
Speaker: Um, we, you know, like all dealers, then you've got to
10:43
Speaker: staff up to to cope with the volume of pddis.
10:47
Speaker: Uh, the, you know, as we came into this through August, it's
10:53
Speaker: still holiday time.
10:54
Speaker: So you're trying to balance, you know, early preparation with
10:57
Speaker: the, um, with the fact that people, you know, reasonably
11:02
Speaker: want to take holiday when the schools are off and so on.
11:06
Speaker: Um, our, you know, particular, uh, challenges are more to do
11:10
Speaker: with where we are.
11:11
Speaker: So, so we're effectively
11:13
Speaker: operating, you know, from, from
11:15
Speaker: three locations.
11:16
Speaker: And that also means a lot of
11:18
Speaker: inter-site vehicle movements
11:20
Speaker: and, um, the opportunity to
11:23
Speaker: leave the keys in one location
11:24
Speaker: whilst the cars in another and
11:26
Speaker: so on.
11:28
Speaker: So it's a, it's a logistical
11:31
Speaker: problem really, rather than a
11:33
Speaker: sales problem.
11:33
Speaker: The sales are already there, the order banks there.
11:36
Speaker: Um, but it's a logistical problem.
11:39
Speaker: And then overlaid on that.
11:41
Speaker: You know, we still have customers who walk in who want
11:43
Speaker: to spend a couple of hours buying a car.
11:45
Speaker: Yeah.
11:47
Speaker: Yeah.
11:47
Speaker: Yeah.
11:48
Speaker: As everybody's trying to navigate a multi-car transport
11:51
Speaker: around a reverse onto a roundabout and try and organize
11:54
Speaker: that, you've got a, there's a lot of plates to, to, to spin.
11:58
Speaker: I mean, you know, in previous
12:00
Speaker: conversations we've had with
12:01
Speaker: you, Steve, there's always
12:02
Speaker: plenty of plates spinning
12:04
Speaker: anyway.
12:04
Speaker: But as you say there, with the added complexity of that volume
12:08
Speaker: increase at a time where straight out of a bank holiday
12:12
Speaker: as well, aren't we into a first plate month as well?
12:15
Speaker: And as you say in that that mid holiday period.
12:19
Speaker: I mean, I was asked this question recently and I know you
12:22
Speaker: were also asked this.
12:23
Speaker: I mean, you know, how important do you now?
12:26
Speaker: I mean, I'm certainly old enough.
12:28
Speaker: And remember the first of first of August days, the one plate.
12:32
Speaker: Um, yeah.
12:34
Speaker: But now we've obviously got the September and the March play.
12:37
Speaker: And I think by on average, I think March is about seventeen
12:40
Speaker: percent of the annual volume, and September is about fifteen
12:43
Speaker: percent of the annual volume.
12:45
Speaker: So quite, quite a significant
12:47
Speaker: proportion of the the annual
12:49
Speaker: registration volume for for
12:50
Speaker: cars.
12:51
Speaker: How important do you think those plate changes are now compared
12:54
Speaker: to, you know, for buyers and dealers within the market given
12:58
Speaker: accounting for that, you know, added complexity that you get
13:01
Speaker: with the pressures?
13:04
Speaker: I think, uh, it's actually less
13:07
Speaker: important, um, for customers in
13:10
Speaker: terms of the actual, the fact
13:12
Speaker: that the number plate is, is
13:14
Speaker: changed.
13:15
Speaker: The identifier, I think is less important for customers than it
13:20
Speaker: is for, for the industry.
13:22
Speaker: Um, and probably, you know, back
13:26
Speaker: when it was first of August and
13:27
Speaker: the, there was a much clearer
13:30
Speaker: change on the plate rather than
13:31
Speaker: being buried in the middle of a
13:33
Speaker: something which people don't
13:34
Speaker: really quite understand the
13:36
Speaker: format and the meaning of
13:37
Speaker: anymore.
13:38
Speaker: Um, you know, maybe it was more
13:39
Speaker: important than, but the, we had
13:42
Speaker: customers who were, you know,
13:44
Speaker: still taking cars, you know,
13:46
Speaker: last week, even even on, on
13:48
Speaker: Saturday.
13:49
Speaker: Um, when, you know, in your
13:52
Speaker: mind, you're thinking, why are
13:53
Speaker: you taking this car when you can
13:55
Speaker: wait two or three days and get
13:57
Speaker: it with a, with a seventy six
13:58
Speaker: plate.
13:59
Speaker: So, um, I think for the customers, the fact of the new
14:06
Speaker: plate is less important.
14:07
Speaker: There's some who, you know, particularly excited and I want
14:11
Speaker: to be the first person on my street with the seventy six.
14:14
Speaker: But the, I think for the
14:16
Speaker: industry, um, it's become
14:19
Speaker: important because it provides a
14:20
Speaker: focus.
14:21
Speaker: And so you get, um, um, you
14:24
Speaker: know, better offers in, in March
14:26
Speaker: and September for the consumers
14:28
Speaker: than, uh, than you do the rest
14:30
Speaker: of the month because none of
14:31
Speaker: them want to be left behind in
14:33
Speaker: the, um, in the league tables,
14:37
Speaker: you know, when the SMG published
14:39
Speaker: their, uh, numbers in five weeks
14:42
Speaker: time, then they all want to be
14:44
Speaker: number one.
14:44
Speaker: So they're all gaming that.
14:46
Speaker: And then that brings, you know, genuine value to the customers,
14:50
Speaker: the, you know, they can shop around and get a better deal,
14:54
Speaker: better interest rate or whatever in September than they would
14:59
Speaker: have done in, in August.
15:01
Speaker: So there is a value to the customers.
15:03
Speaker: But I, I think that we've created this beast, which is,
15:07
Speaker: um, you know, causing all sorts of issues and challenges.
15:11
Speaker: And it would be nice to think that you could just have a bit
15:14
Speaker: of common sense all year round and a bit of stability.
15:17
Speaker: But I'm not, I'm not
15:18
Speaker: anticipating that happening any
15:20
Speaker: time soon.
15:21
Speaker: Well, there's some some great insight there on the ground, you
15:26
Speaker: know, as and when we um, recorded the interview with him,
15:31
Speaker: Phil um, he'd just come back from directing a transporter.
15:38
Speaker: Transporter?
15:38
Speaker: Yeah.
15:39
Speaker: Onto the site.
15:40
Speaker: And anyone who knows that part
15:42
Speaker: of west London, Chiswick and the
15:45
Speaker: Hogarth roundabout.
15:46
Speaker: That's a busy old road, really is.
15:50
Speaker: But that's all part of the job.
15:53
Speaker: And, you know, the you know, as he says, the madness that goes
15:57
Speaker: around the plate change.
15:58
Speaker: I mean, that's it.
15:59
Speaker: And, you know, I mean, again, we do chat with with Steve around a
16:02
Speaker: lot of different things.
16:03
Speaker: And obviously in terms of their
16:05
Speaker: growth and the market in
16:07
Speaker: general.
16:07
Speaker: But I think, you know, he does cite there.
16:09
Speaker: You know, we look forward to
16:11
Speaker: this plate change and, you know,
16:12
Speaker: whatever that number will be
16:14
Speaker: when we get those figures
16:16
Speaker: published that that adds that
16:19
Speaker: financial pressure, logistical
16:21
Speaker: complexity, you know, you've got
16:23
Speaker: all the, everything that comes
16:25
Speaker: with that.
16:26
Speaker: And it really does.
16:28
Speaker: And I think Steve, Steve made
16:30
Speaker: the point there that, you know,
16:32
Speaker: it's how much do the customers
16:35
Speaker: care?
16:35
Speaker: I don't know, but it's a debate.
16:38
Speaker: But I say, as I said earlier,
16:40
Speaker: people just twenty six years,
16:42
Speaker: you say people are still trying
16:43
Speaker: to get used to this place, but,
16:46
Speaker: um, don't introduce another one
16:47
Speaker: anytime sooner before we, uh, we
16:49
Speaker: get there.
16:50
Speaker: So say, you know, the full
16:51
Speaker: interview from, from this week
16:53
Speaker: is in your podcast feed all
16:56
Speaker: everybody gets something from
16:58
Speaker: the conversations we have with,
16:59
Speaker: with Steve.
17:00
Speaker: So do, do check out that full interview with Steve Young.
17:03
Speaker: You will certainly not be disappointed.
17:06
Speaker: Will.
17:07
Speaker: Uh, most definitely not.
17:08
Speaker: And it's worth adding that, um,
17:10
Speaker: as well as talking about his
17:12
Speaker: business, which is, is actually
17:15
Speaker: part of the Chatham Group, um,
17:16
Speaker: the turkey's biggest dealer
17:19
Speaker: group.
17:19
Speaker: Um, but, uh, we also got him to
17:22
Speaker: talk about the Zev mandate
17:24
Speaker: consultation.
17:25
Speaker: So it's right up to date.
17:27
Speaker: It really is.
17:28
Speaker: So do check out the full episode
17:30
Speaker: because there's some great
17:32
Speaker: insights.
17:32
Speaker: Great chat from Steve.
17:35
Speaker: But heading back to the
17:37
Speaker: headlines, the first headline
17:39
Speaker: this week comes from Car Dealer
17:41
Speaker: and it is used EV stock jumps as
17:44
Speaker: buyer interest more than
17:45
Speaker: doubles.
17:46
Speaker: New Cazoo data shows.
17:48
Speaker: So this is the monthly market view from Cazoo.
17:53
Speaker: Looking at the month of August
17:55
Speaker: and I worked with the team on
17:57
Speaker: this.
17:57
Speaker: So I did get to see the data.
18:00
Speaker: And you know as we always say August is a relatively quiet
18:05
Speaker: month both for used and new sales because a lot of buyers
18:10
Speaker: are out of the market.
18:11
Speaker: But notwithstanding that, there are plenty of activity in
18:15
Speaker: August, because what the market view found was that, uh, a lot
18:19
Speaker: of interest in used EVs.
18:22
Speaker: So EVs accounted for seven point
18:25
Speaker: five percent of all car
18:27
Speaker: listings.
18:28
Speaker: And that was actually a month on month increase of eight percent.
18:32
Speaker: But when you start looking at the year on year figures, it's
18:34
Speaker: actually a jump of seventeen point five percent.
18:38
Speaker: So we can see the movement of direction.
18:40
Speaker: It's something we do talk about quite often on the podcast, but,
18:45
Speaker: you know, clear signals there in August in the growth of used EV
18:51
Speaker: stock coming into the market and being advertised, and this
18:57
Speaker: improved availability as driven a rise in the proportion of EVs
19:02
Speaker: listed by dealers since May.
19:05
Speaker: So this trend has really been noticeable since May.
19:09
Speaker: And when combined with hybrids
19:12
Speaker: and plug in hybrids, alternative
19:14
Speaker: fuel vehicles accounted for just
19:17
Speaker: under one in five cars stocked
19:20
Speaker: by dealers.
19:22
Speaker: And the research just staying with EVs for a moment.
19:26
Speaker: The research also found that better availability of Tesla's
19:31
Speaker: Model Y and model three contributed to the rising EV
19:35
Speaker: volumes, with Tesla actually emerging as the brand with the
19:39
Speaker: highest number of used EVs in the market, followed by LG,
19:45
Speaker: Vauxhall, BMW, and Hyundai.
19:48
Speaker: But buyer searches for EVs more than doubled year on year from
19:54
Speaker: one point seven percent to three point six percent.
19:57
Speaker: So really showing that as the as
20:00
Speaker: greater volume of listings come
20:03
Speaker: on board, then the searches go
20:05
Speaker: up proportionately.
20:07
Speaker: And you've got some data on some of the ice trends, haven't you?
20:12
Speaker: Yeah.
20:13
Speaker: I mean, you know, clearly, you
20:14
Speaker: know, hybrid searches, those
20:17
Speaker: those increased rising from five
20:19
Speaker: point four percent to six point
20:22
Speaker: nine percent.
20:23
Speaker: But petrol and diesel cars
20:25
Speaker: continue to dominate the used
20:28
Speaker: car market, and petrol has
20:30
Speaker: remained the most popular fuel
20:31
Speaker: type amongst buyers, although
20:33
Speaker: its share views fell from fifty
20:37
Speaker: one point one percent to forty
20:39
Speaker: five point two percent year on
20:41
Speaker: year, diesel moved into in the
20:44
Speaker: opposite direction.
20:45
Speaker: Interestingly, they increased in
20:47
Speaker: share from forty one point eight
20:49
Speaker: percent to forty four point
20:52
Speaker: three percent.
20:53
Speaker: So, so clearly, you know, it's positive in terms of that EV
20:57
Speaker: obviously still remain in terms of that used vehicle park, a
21:01
Speaker: small proportion of all of the, the UK vehicles on, on the road.
21:06
Speaker: So I think obviously, you know,
21:08
Speaker: when we start talking about
21:09
Speaker: petrol and diesel, we must
21:11
Speaker: remember the, the dominance of
21:13
Speaker: those in the, the used vehicle
21:15
Speaker: part.
21:16
Speaker: But there is a nice comment in
21:17
Speaker: the story there from Cazoo chief
21:20
Speaker: marketing officer Lucy Tugby,
21:22
Speaker: who's saying that their market
21:24
Speaker: view analyses points to growing
21:27
Speaker: buyer interest in EVs, supported
21:30
Speaker: by the improved availability and
21:33
Speaker: stable prices, making them a
21:36
Speaker: more accessible consideration
21:39
Speaker: for buyers.
21:40
Speaker: But ice ice models still account for the lion's share of dealers
21:46
Speaker: inventories and ad views, with diesel remaining strong draw for
21:50
Speaker: many used car buyers.
21:52
Speaker: Despite falling out of favor in the new car market.
21:56
Speaker: And I must point, I must add something here at the end
21:58
Speaker: because you mentioned Tesla there, and I don't know if you
22:00
Speaker: caught up with it, Curtis, that Mr. Bhagat and if he's listening
22:04
Speaker: to the podcast from from car dealer did a great video
22:09
Speaker: recently on Tesla.
22:11
Speaker: It was down at their
22:12
Speaker: repatriation center and it was
22:15
Speaker: very fascinating of the they
22:17
Speaker: showed the difference between
22:19
Speaker: the facelifts within the model
22:21
Speaker: three and how you could tell the
22:23
Speaker: difference and the difference
22:24
Speaker: interior.
22:25
Speaker: And depending where those
22:26
Speaker: vehicles were built, whether
22:28
Speaker: they were built in the US or, or
22:30
Speaker: in China, where the differences
22:32
Speaker: were.
22:32
Speaker: And it was a great, insightful, uh, video to watch.
22:36
Speaker: So I would recommend that you,
22:39
Speaker: uh, if you've not seen that, I
22:41
Speaker: will put it on the weekend watch
22:43
Speaker: list.
22:43
Speaker: Yes, definitely.
22:44
Speaker: So it is fascinating actually,
22:46
Speaker: where you can see the, uh, the
22:48
Speaker: different trim.
22:49
Speaker: Um, and actually you do get a variance in the, uh, the engine
22:53
Speaker: and things like that as well.
22:55
Speaker: Or the battery technology engine.
22:58
Speaker: Yes, yes.
23:00
Speaker: I was going to say whose engines
23:03
Speaker: are diesel there within a Tesla
23:05
Speaker: three.
23:05
Speaker: Yeah.
23:07
Speaker: Uh, so next headline is from AM
23:09
Speaker: online and it is Xpeng takes
23:12
Speaker: direct UK control to step up
23:15
Speaker: dealer investment.
23:16
Speaker: Now before we go into this story
23:18
Speaker: and before we started recording
23:20
Speaker: this, Phil and I had a chat
23:21
Speaker: about how on earth do you
23:23
Speaker: pronounce Xpeng?
23:25
Speaker: So there's three or four
23:26
Speaker: different varieties variations,
23:28
Speaker: but we've decided for, for the
23:31
Speaker: motor trade radio, um house
23:33
Speaker: style.
23:34
Speaker: We're going to go with Xpeng aren't we.
23:36
Speaker: We are.
23:36
Speaker: Yes, yes.
23:37
Speaker: There is a various uh pronunciations but we're not, we
23:41
Speaker: don't speak Mandarin.
23:43
Speaker: Um so we will stay away from
23:46
Speaker: the, uh, the shouting, um,
23:49
Speaker: pronunciation, which is in
23:50
Speaker: Mandarin and we'll stick to the,
23:52
Speaker: uh, the preferred Xpeng in
23:55
Speaker: English.
23:56
Speaker: Yeah.
23:56
Speaker: And unless we hear otherwise from Xpeng.
23:59
Speaker: Yes, exactly.
24:01
Speaker: Yes, they will correct us.
24:03
Speaker: But this story, I mean it's a
24:05
Speaker: fascinating one really, because
24:07
Speaker: it's it's about Xpeng, um,
24:09
Speaker: taking direct control of its UK
24:11
Speaker: business through a new national
24:14
Speaker: sales company.
24:15
Speaker: Um, in a move that's reportedly
24:17
Speaker: intended to increase investment
24:19
Speaker: in its dealer network, brand
24:21
Speaker: development and customer
24:23
Speaker: experience.
24:24
Speaker: Um. Now, not that long ago, we
24:27
Speaker: mentioned when Xpeng was being
24:29
Speaker: launched into the UK that it was
24:32
Speaker: it was being distributed by
24:33
Speaker: International Motors.
24:35
Speaker: So the story goes on to say
24:37
Speaker: that, uh, Xpeng has reached an
24:40
Speaker: agreement with International
24:42
Speaker: Motors that it will replace its
24:43
Speaker: distributor lead launch
24:46
Speaker: structure with direct national
24:48
Speaker: operations.
24:49
Speaker: But International Motors will continue to provide operational
24:54
Speaker: services, infrastructure and local distribution expertise.
24:59
Speaker: What did you make of this one?
25:01
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, it's yeah, I get it.
25:04
Speaker: I think, you know it's a you feel that.
25:07
Speaker: Does it give them more control?
25:10
Speaker: I don't know.
25:11
Speaker: Is it that you know do they do they want to take the control.
25:14
Speaker: And we thought we uh we had the is it sky?
25:17
Speaker: Well, recently that they, you know, they were dropped by
25:20
Speaker: their, um, distributor.
25:22
Speaker: So that left them sort of, let's say high and dry, wasn't it?
25:25
Speaker: Um, so is this a way that
25:27
Speaker: actually, you know, Xpeng get
25:29
Speaker: and maintain control of that
25:32
Speaker: distribution.
25:33
Speaker: Um, for, for the future, I don't know, it's, uh, but I get it
25:37
Speaker: where there is that obviously, you know, they are keeping a
25:40
Speaker: little bit of control there with, with international Motors.
25:42
Speaker: So they're not, they're not taking the, the full
25:45
Speaker: distribution risk, I suppose in, in the UK.
25:48
Speaker: Yeah.
25:48
Speaker: And the story goes on to say
25:50
Speaker: that Xpeng said, um it's growing
25:53
Speaker: UK scale has actually prompted
25:55
Speaker: this move.
25:57
Speaker: Um and that the new structure will give it direct
26:00
Speaker: responsibility for things like investment in the dealer network
26:04
Speaker: marketing, customer experience and future product launches.
26:08
Speaker: But you know what, um, the two of us have been in the industry
26:11
Speaker: a long, long time and it got me thinking back to those sort of
26:17
Speaker: early days when, uh, some of the, um, some of the Japanese
26:22
Speaker: and Korean brands first appeared in the UK.
26:25
Speaker: Now originally Toyota, for
26:27
Speaker: example, was was imported by
26:29
Speaker: Inchcape.
26:30
Speaker: Um, Nissan was imported by Datsun run by the, the legendary
26:36
Speaker: Octav Botnar who you'll recall, and Mazda was imported by MCL.
26:43
Speaker: And it was similar with the
26:45
Speaker: Korean brands, you know, a ten
26:47
Speaker: or so years later with Kia also
26:49
Speaker: imported by MCL and Hyundai by
26:53
Speaker: International Motors, funnily
26:54
Speaker: enough.
26:55
Speaker: But in all those instances, it was a long time before the
26:59
Speaker: respective factories took over distribution of the brands.
27:04
Speaker: You know, in some cases it was a
27:07
Speaker: decade or more, whereas Xpeng,
27:09
Speaker: they launched in the UK last
27:11
Speaker: year.
27:13
Speaker: and this is happening now.
27:14
Speaker: They're taking over distribution effectively.
27:17
Speaker: I think one thing is clear that and you know, we touched on a
27:22
Speaker: little bit with the interview with with Steve Young.
27:24
Speaker: But you know, they're not hanging around.
27:26
Speaker: I mean, they're used to, you
27:27
Speaker: know, they these are brands that
27:29
Speaker: are very competitive back in, in
27:31
Speaker: China.
27:32
Speaker: You know, I don't know what the number is now.
27:34
Speaker: I mean, it's always muted to be about one hundred and fifty, one
27:36
Speaker: hundred and seventy five manufacturers back in in China.
27:39
Speaker: So they, they used to operate in
27:41
Speaker: a very competitive market
27:43
Speaker: landscape.
27:44
Speaker: And, you know, clearly if you
27:46
Speaker: look at, you know, we'll get
27:47
Speaker: the, uh, when we do start to
27:49
Speaker: look at the, the September new
27:51
Speaker: car registration figures, which
27:52
Speaker: will be very interesting indeed
27:54
Speaker: when we get those and cover
27:55
Speaker: those in the the first week of
27:58
Speaker: October, you know, the speed in
28:01
Speaker: which these manufacturers are
28:02
Speaker: entering the marketplace, both
28:04
Speaker: in the UK and across Europe and
28:06
Speaker: South America.
28:07
Speaker: You know, they're not hanging around, are they?
28:09
Speaker: They're not it's not a slow entrance.
28:12
Speaker: You know, you've got four
28:13
Speaker: manufacturers from China that
28:15
Speaker: are moving very quickly in
28:16
Speaker: market share.
28:18
Speaker: Um, and maybe explains the same.
28:20
Speaker: It's, you know, they know what they want to do and they're
28:23
Speaker: moving quickly with it.
28:24
Speaker: Yeah.
28:25
Speaker: Because only last week we were
28:26
Speaker: talking about, uh, lipase
28:28
Speaker: launching in the UK and opening
28:31
Speaker: its first dealership with
28:32
Speaker: Brindley Group.
28:33
Speaker: And they're already saying there
28:35
Speaker: was a follow up story this week
28:37
Speaker: in the press that they're
28:38
Speaker: targeting two percent market
28:40
Speaker: share.
28:41
Speaker: And there's, as we've discussed
28:44
Speaker: before on the pod, there's only
28:45
Speaker: so many two percent market
28:46
Speaker: shares that any brand can have,
28:48
Speaker: but they're all going for rapid
28:51
Speaker: growth.
28:52
Speaker: They're they're not hanging around now, are they?
28:55
Speaker: No, not not at all.
28:56
Speaker: So again, I'm sure we will.
28:59
Speaker: Uh, we'll be talking about Xpeng a lot more, but we'll be back
29:03
Speaker: with the the rest of this week's headlines after the extract from
29:06
Speaker: our supplier special episode with Auto tech group when we
29:10
Speaker: were joined by CEO Simon King.
29:16
Speaker: If you're a supplier and would
29:18
Speaker: like us to profile your business
29:20
Speaker: and reach our audience of dealer
29:22
Speaker: group bosses, managers and
29:24
Speaker: decision makers on one of our
29:26
Speaker: motor trade radio supplier
29:28
Speaker: special episodes.
29:30
Speaker: Then get in touch at Motor Trade Radio at yahoo dot com.
29:38
Speaker: Simon the technician shortage.
29:41
Speaker: You know, it is well known throughout the industry that we
29:44
Speaker: have this shortage.
29:45
Speaker: But do you think the shortage is
29:48
Speaker: changing rather than simply
29:50
Speaker: getting worse?
29:51
Speaker: What's your take on where we are?
29:53
Speaker: Yeah.
29:54
Speaker: Okay.
29:54
Speaker: So this is a this is very topical at the moment.
29:57
Speaker: And I think it's exactly the
29:58
Speaker: right way, you know, to, to look
30:00
Speaker: at it.
30:01
Speaker: The shortage hasn't disappeared, but it's it's evolved.
30:05
Speaker: And we're now dealing with a
30:07
Speaker: much more complex skills and
30:09
Speaker: capability challenge, rather
30:11
Speaker: than just a simple lack of
30:13
Speaker: people.
30:15
Speaker: The latest IMI figures show that
30:17
Speaker: around seventy two percent of
30:19
Speaker: automotive vacancies are
30:22
Speaker: technical roles.
30:24
Speaker: But what's changed is the type of technician businesses need
30:28
Speaker: and require to operate.
30:30
Speaker: Vehicle technology has become
30:32
Speaker: significantly more complex, and
30:35
Speaker: today's technicians are expected
30:37
Speaker: to diagnose, repair and
30:40
Speaker: calibrate increasingly
30:41
Speaker: sophisticated systems.
30:43
Speaker: And as a result of that, businesses need access to the
30:46
Speaker: right skills at the right time.
30:48
Speaker: And it's not all about just just more people.
30:51
Speaker: Uh, that's, that's why having a flexible workforce model, uh, is
30:57
Speaker: becoming increasingly important.
30:59
Speaker: Uh, businesses need the ability to access specialist skills.
31:06
Speaker: you know, when when demand requires it.
31:08
Speaker: And the way the industry and
31:11
Speaker: modern workshop is, is evolving
31:15
Speaker: really sort of points that out
31:16
Speaker: on a daily basis to, to, to
31:18
Speaker: probably all the listeners that
31:20
Speaker: you need different skills,
31:21
Speaker: different people, and to be able
31:23
Speaker: to attract them from different
31:25
Speaker: talent pools, perhaps outside of
31:27
Speaker: industry who have transferable
31:29
Speaker: skills.
31:30
Speaker: Yeah, I couldn't, I couldn't agree more.
31:32
Speaker: I mean, it's, it's becoming a
31:33
Speaker: more complex, as you say, as it
31:35
Speaker: evolves.
31:36
Speaker: And you mentioned there around the connected vehicles and Adas
31:40
Speaker: systems and all that side that's that's operating within it.
31:43
Speaker: And I mean, you know, as an industry, I mean, we're
31:45
Speaker: obviously all aware over the decades of the, you know, the
31:50
Speaker: importance of that, that after after sales revenue stream as a,
31:54
Speaker: as a, as a business.
31:56
Speaker: But I mean, is the sector focusing enough on, on, you
32:01
Speaker: know, workshop productivity to, to your point made made earlier.
32:06
Speaker: Um, honestly, I don't think we are.
32:10
Speaker: Um. I don't think we can simply
32:12
Speaker: recruit our way out of this
32:14
Speaker: anymore.
32:15
Speaker: Uh, the the industry has
32:17
Speaker: understandably spent, you know,
32:19
Speaker: years talking about technician
32:20
Speaker: shortages, but if we were
32:23
Speaker: serious about really solving
32:25
Speaker: capacity issues, uh,
32:27
Speaker: productivity has to become a
32:28
Speaker: much bigger part of the
32:29
Speaker: conversation.
32:31
Speaker: Um, productivity improvements
32:33
Speaker: are most successful when they're
32:35
Speaker: part of a wider workforce
32:36
Speaker: strategy.
32:37
Speaker: And that won't be the last time you hear me mention, um, that,
32:41
Speaker: uh, giving technicians time back isn't just an operational win.
32:46
Speaker: It's a people strategy, a retention strategy, and
32:49
Speaker: ultimately a profitability strategy as well.
32:53
Speaker: You know, um, more and more,
32:55
Speaker: we're asking highly skilled
32:56
Speaker: technicians to, to spend
32:58
Speaker: significant portions of their
33:00
Speaker: day on administrative tasks such
33:02
Speaker: as documentation and warranty,
33:04
Speaker: port reports and compliance
33:06
Speaker: processes.
33:07
Speaker: And look, if you can give a technician back just thirty
33:11
Speaker: minutes a day, that's more than ten additional productive hours
33:15
Speaker: every month, you know, across an entire workshop or dealer group,
33:19
Speaker: that quickly becomes a huge amount of additional capacity.
33:23
Speaker: And I think for me, you know,
33:26
Speaker: importantly, this isn't about
33:28
Speaker: about asking technicians to work
33:30
Speaker: harder.
33:30
Speaker: It's about making sure that they spend more time, well, more of
33:35
Speaker: their time doing the skilled work we're struggling to recruit
33:39
Speaker: people to do in the first place.
33:41
Speaker: The industry's biggest untapped
33:43
Speaker: resource may not be in in in
33:45
Speaker: more technicians.
33:46
Speaker: It may be in making better use
33:48
Speaker: of the technicians that we
33:50
Speaker: already have.
33:51
Speaker: Productivity should should sit within workforce strategy.
33:54
Speaker: Um, productivity for me is, is under-discussed versus shortage.
34:01
Speaker: And I think with our research.
34:03
Speaker: Ten to twenty percent of the day is lost to administration.
34:06
Speaker: Yeah.
34:07
Speaker: Some fascinating, uh, insights there from Simon King and it.
34:12
Speaker: Definitely worth checking out the full episode because he does
34:16
Speaker: go into, you know.
34:17
Speaker: Some detail about what he's seeing, uh, certainly in the, in
34:23
Speaker: the after sales side of the business in workshops and the
34:28
Speaker: challenges facing all workshops, be they franchised or
34:33
Speaker: independent and some of the skills, uh, challenges, um, as
34:39
Speaker: well as the role of AI.
34:41
Speaker: So there's a lot going on in that space.
34:44
Speaker: And, you know, our interview with Simon did kind of sum up
34:48
Speaker: the current thinking there.
34:51
Speaker: Yeah, no, you're right.
34:52
Speaker: And I think, you know, we
34:53
Speaker: touched on it at the start
34:55
Speaker: there.
34:55
Speaker: You know, we start talking about
34:56
Speaker: the use of AI within the after
34:58
Speaker: sales sector.
34:58
Speaker: We talk about a lot in the sales environment around AI, but the
35:02
Speaker: use of it within that after sales to improve efficiencies
35:04
Speaker: and productivity within that, that after sales environment,
35:08
Speaker: the, you know, that technician, um, uh, knowledge and expertise.
35:13
Speaker: Now with obviously the changes, significant changes on the
35:16
Speaker: landscape around, you know, whether it's transition to
35:18
Speaker: electrification or, you know, AI within vehicles or Adas systems,
35:23
Speaker: etc.. So I think what was great and Simon positioned it very
35:27
Speaker: well is the wealth of knowledge and solutions that auto tech
35:30
Speaker: group do offer the market.
35:33
Speaker: Um, that if you're not involved with them, then, you know, I
35:37
Speaker: would certainly be reaching out to the auto tech group and get
35:40
Speaker: involved with them and where they can help your business in,
35:43
Speaker: particularly in the after sales environment, which is, you know,
35:47
Speaker: every time we speak to any CEO, whether it's Robert Forrest or
35:51
Speaker: and others, you know, the importance of that after sales
35:54
Speaker: revenue is crucial to the profitability of any business.
35:58
Speaker: And we did touch on that with Steve, didn't we?
36:00
Speaker: Around that building that that after sales revenue.
36:02
Speaker: So, you know, it is a key
36:04
Speaker: element of any operation in the
36:06
Speaker: automotive sector.
36:07
Speaker: Yeah.
36:08
Speaker: And auto tech group, highly regarded in the industry.
36:12
Speaker: They've been around since twenty ten and very much an automotive
36:16
Speaker: industry specialist helping businesses address workforce
36:20
Speaker: challenges, develop skills and you know, the absolute key
36:25
Speaker: improve workshop productivity.
36:27
Speaker: So do check out the full episode.
36:30
Speaker: It's in your podcast feed.
36:32
Speaker: Yeah.
36:32
Speaker: So as I say, we'll get back to the headlines now.
36:36
Speaker: And the final couple of stories
36:37
Speaker: here is first one in Malta,
36:40
Speaker: trader dot com multipoint lifts
36:43
Speaker: profit outlook amid higher
36:45
Speaker: trading volumes.
36:47
Speaker: And this is at the supermarket multipoint group.
36:50
Speaker: This week um issued an update on current trading and the outlook
36:57
Speaker: for the year ending thirty first of March twenty twenty seven,
37:02
Speaker: saying that the trading volumes have been stronger than
37:05
Speaker: anticipated, supported by its strategic initiatives including
37:10
Speaker: accelerated investment in technology, data and AI.
37:14
Speaker: Funnily enough, I again, yeah,
37:17
Speaker: yeah, with margin improvement
37:19
Speaker: yielding higher profitability
37:21
Speaker: per unit.
37:22
Speaker: Now, interestingly, Robert
37:23
Speaker: Forrester mentioned that, didn't
37:24
Speaker: he, on catch up with him and,
37:26
Speaker: and their recent, um, outlook
37:28
Speaker: increase around that
37:29
Speaker: profitability uplift.
37:31
Speaker: Yeah.
37:32
Speaker: And this is all welcome news for, for Motorpoint because, um,
37:36
Speaker: its performance has been steadily improving since twenty
37:39
Speaker: twenty four, which I think it described itself as its most
37:44
Speaker: difficult year ever.
37:45
Speaker: And we did cover that at the time.
37:47
Speaker: But, uh, the business has returned to profit in twenty
37:51
Speaker: twenty five following the introduction of its Brilliant
37:54
Speaker: Basics restructuring program.
37:57
Speaker: And that's now starting to pay off.
38:00
Speaker: And they just seem a lot more
38:02
Speaker: confident now about current and
38:04
Speaker: future trading.
38:06
Speaker: And, uh, you know, within, um,
38:08
Speaker: this story, it's their coach is
38:11
Speaker: saying that, uh, supply dynamics
38:13
Speaker: remain favorable.
38:15
Speaker: And, um, we are pleased to
38:16
Speaker: announce a further store has
38:18
Speaker: been secured to open in spring
38:20
Speaker: twenty twenty seven so that as a
38:23
Speaker: business, they're the biggest
38:25
Speaker: car supermarkets, uh, network in
38:28
Speaker: the country, but they're
38:29
Speaker: growing, they're looking at
38:31
Speaker: additional sites and, you know,
38:33
Speaker: that's now confirmed that
38:35
Speaker: they'll open a new one next
38:37
Speaker: year.
38:38
Speaker: Yeah.
38:38
Speaker: And the final story, we'll head over to a m online.
38:41
Speaker: This was covered quite across the, uh, the trade media this
38:44
Speaker: week that a m one hundred dealer groups, commercial directors to
38:47
Speaker: leave after twenty five years.
38:50
Speaker: Now, as Curtis said, friend of
38:51
Speaker: the podcast, we did have Mark on
38:53
Speaker: the podcast that Hendy
38:56
Speaker: commercial director Matt Busby
38:57
Speaker: is to leave the a one hundred
38:59
Speaker: dealer group after more than
39:01
Speaker: twenty five years with the
39:03
Speaker: business that he announced his
39:05
Speaker: decision on LinkedIn, saying he
39:08
Speaker: was ready to use his automotive
39:11
Speaker: retail experience to help other
39:14
Speaker: organizations address
39:16
Speaker: operational challenges for car
39:19
Speaker: dealers.
39:20
Speaker: So, yeah, I mean, a significant name within the sector and
39:25
Speaker: twenty five years, a long time with Hendy Group.
39:28
Speaker: Yeah.
39:28
Speaker: Um, you know, Mark is is one of
39:31
Speaker: the industry heavyweights,
39:32
Speaker: highly regarded, highly
39:34
Speaker: respected.
39:35
Speaker: He leaves Hendy at the end of
39:37
Speaker: September, as you say, to go
39:39
Speaker: into consultancy.
39:41
Speaker: Uh, within this particular report it says that no details
39:44
Speaker: of his successor at Hendy Group have been announced yet.
39:49
Speaker: But he's quoted within the
39:52
Speaker: piece, and I did see his
39:53
Speaker: LinkedIn post.
39:54
Speaker: And, you know, if you are connected with Mark, it'd be
39:57
Speaker: worth checking out because he does go into some detail about,
40:01
Speaker: you know, his thoughts and you know, what he wants to do.
40:04
Speaker: But in within this piece in AM,
40:06
Speaker: he says, after more than twenty
40:08
Speaker: five years, I've made the
40:09
Speaker: difficult decision to leave
40:11
Speaker: Hendy Group.
40:12
Speaker: It's strange writing that sentence and oh boy, it must be.
40:17
Speaker: Yeah, it's a long time, isn't it?
40:19
Speaker: And you know, the changes through through the Hendy group
40:22
Speaker: and what he's been involved with with with the Hendy group.
40:26
Speaker: You know he's he's a trustee of the the Hendy Foundation.
40:30
Speaker: Um you know, which provides
40:32
Speaker: financial support to charities
40:34
Speaker: and community organisations in
40:36
Speaker: areas served by, by the dealer
40:39
Speaker: group.
40:39
Speaker: So he's done a lot within that, that, that business and, you
40:42
Speaker: know, a lot of initiatives and a lot of change.
40:44
Speaker: Yeah.
40:45
Speaker: And because he's leaving at the end of September, he makes it
40:49
Speaker: quite clear that all his focus is in delivering a Q3 results.
40:55
Speaker: So an absolute pro to the end.
40:57
Speaker: So we do wish Mark well and
40:59
Speaker: hopefully we can get him on the
41:00
Speaker: pod.
41:01
Speaker: So, you know, once he sets up in the consultancy world, sorry, I
41:06
Speaker: want to come on to let people know what he's what he's up to.
41:10
Speaker: But but that's it for this week.
41:11
Speaker: So I think as always, you know,
41:13
Speaker: we kept we try keeping the
41:14
Speaker: headlines a little bit lighter
41:16
Speaker: this week.
41:16
Speaker: We're conscious that we had the,
41:18
Speaker: the snippet there from from
41:19
Speaker: Steve Young Icdp and Otto West
41:22
Speaker: London and also the snippet
41:24
Speaker: there from Simon King from Otto
41:26
Speaker: Tech Group, which was the
41:28
Speaker: supplier special.
41:29
Speaker: And as I say, you know, both
41:30
Speaker: those podcasts were in your
41:32
Speaker: podcast feed, neither of them to
41:35
Speaker: be missed.
41:36
Speaker: Um, both very good value catch ups there particularly, uh, you
41:40
Speaker: know, Steve Young and Steve's view from both is the icdp head
41:45
Speaker: on, on the market.
41:46
Speaker: And.
41:47
Speaker: And now at the front end of running the auto West business
41:52
Speaker: and Simon, their auto tech group as to, you know, their services
41:56
Speaker: to the aftermarket within the automotive sector and how they
42:00
Speaker: are looking at how the the changes in the landscape.
42:03
Speaker: You know, it means people have
42:05
Speaker: got to think differently within
42:06
Speaker: their organizations, aren't
42:07
Speaker: they, with with things on the
42:09
Speaker: horizon.
42:09
Speaker: So two podcasts there on your podcast feed, not to be missed.
42:13
Speaker: So any downtime, grab a coffee and tune in.
42:17
Speaker: But that's all for now.
42:18
Speaker: So many thanks to you for
42:20
Speaker: listening to this Motor Trade
42:21
Speaker: radio podcast.
42:22
Speaker: Until next time.
42:23
Speaker: It's goodbye from me and it's goodbye from him.
42:29
Speaker: Thank you for listening to the Motor Trade Radio podcast
42:32
Speaker: powered by Cazoo.