Auto Retail Live

Do you really know how car buyers go from needing or wanting their next car to the final purchase? In our latest Auto Retail Live broadcast, we investigate the customer journey and the role marketing plays in this process. Coinciding with the launch of our latest report Winning and retaining customer in an always-on world, this webinar will examine consumer buying behaviour, the processes and technology involved, attribution and tracking, brand advertising and wider marketing trends both inside and outside automotive. As an added bonus, anyone who attends the webinar will be able to take advantage of the discounted rate for the report of £265, should they wish to buy a copy, rather than the full rate of £395. On the panel for the 40-minute webinar on 6 July will be, Philip Deacon, head of marketing, Marshall Motor Group, Sam Luscombe, head of innovation at award-winning Luscombe Motors, Cambria’s marketing director Ian Godboldand Phill Jones head of eBay Motors Group. All panellists will be available live to answer questions and give their views and thoughts about the latest in automotive marketing. The panel will be chaired by Auto Retail Network’s Al Clarke. The focus for this webinar will be to provide the latest insight into marketing within a fully-digital world. Key topics for discussion include: Car buyer behaviour – is a fully-online model possible How to handle customers arriving at non-standard points in the sales funnel How can retailers best track and measure multiple sources for leads How to build brand awareness Online presence – how to stand out from your rivals Wider trends from inside and outside auto retail

A new breed of digital-only retailers are spending huge sums of money marketing themselves as the best way to buy a car, but is this really the case and can more traditional showroom-based dealers win online as well as off-line? In the latest Auto Retail Live broadcast we’ll look into the detail of these business and what retailers with physical showrooms can learn from this new model. In our next Auto Retail Live webinar New entrants, the changing landscape of auto retail, Simon Dixon, founder of Rockar, Neil Smith former operations director for Cazoo and Darren Preddy, Rapid RTC sales director will all delve into the details of online retailing. The focus for this webinar will be to provide insight into online retailing and what traditional retailers can learn from the new online-only entrants. Key topics for discussion include: How to cope with vehicle returns Do customer buy without a test drive National vs local marketing How to handle customer enquires without a showroom Stock sourcing and stock turn Logistics of home delivery

Showrooms have reopened and those customers that didn’t want a fully online experience are fuelling a strong start to Q2. However, will this pent-up demand be enough to make up for the Q1 lockdown? And at what level will demand continue for the rest of the year? In our second broadcast of 2021, Auto Retail Live’s Q2 Briefing will examine how retailers can optimise sales now to best make up for a March without physical showrooms. In our Q2 Briefing we’ll have Darren Ardron, Perrys managing director, Paul Philpott, Kia UK president and CEO, and Nathan Coe, chief executive of Auto Trader all available online to answer your questions and share their experience of how best to operate after the latest lockdown. The focus for this webinar will be retail new and used car sales, how to thrive online and how to prepare for lockdown’s lifting. Key topics for discussion include: How has the showroom reopening gone? Managing pent-up demand in Q2 Balancing online/offline now everyone’s digital New and used car supply Consumer trends and buying habits for the rest of 2021 Are EVs only for company car buyers?

With less than a month to go before showrooms can reopen in the UK, Auto Retail Live looks at ideas from around the world and how retailers have handled lockdown and their subsequent reopening. Central to our discussion is the impact of the pandemic and how it has potentially reshaped many of the processes for car retailing. Retailers have lost an entire quarter of showroom sales, and while online purchasing and click and collect work for some buyers, many more are waiting so they can see cars in the metal, carry out a test drive and negotiate face-to-face. In this Auto Retail Live broadcast, in partnership with Rapid RTC, we hear about ideas from across the Atlantic and around the world and discuss how UK retailers can put themselves in the best position for showroom reopening in April. On Auto Retail Live: Steve Chipman, president and CEO of Birchwood Automotive Group a 21-site group based in Winnipeg, Canada, who will talk about what he’s learnt about auto retailing in the pandemic. Daksh Gupta, CEO of Marshall Motors, who will discuss what his business is doing to get ready for 12 April after showrooms were shut for almost all of Q1. Jonathan Meade, owner of Hutton & Meade a Dublin-based franchised retailer and treasurer of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, will talk about what his business has learnt in the pandemic. Pontus Riska, vice president of UK sales at Rapid RTC, who will reveal what his data shows about how consumers have been behaving in lockdowns around the world. Key topics for discussion include: How to get ready for reopening the showroom Lesson s from overseas Online sales innovation Customer handling and lead management Test drives Staff safety and mental wellbeing

As we start 2021 under lockdown conditions, retail businesses are once again responding with determination to get the best out of a challenging situation. In our first broadcast of 2021, Auto Retail Live’s Q1 Briefing examines the pinch-points of the latest lockdown, how customer buying habits have evolved and what’s the best course of action to get through this, especially if the lockdown continues into March; the UK’s biggest month for new car sales. In our Q1 Briefing James Brearley, Inchcape UK CEO, Rawdon Glover, Jaguar Land Rover UK managing director and Ian Plummer, commercial director at Auto Trader all share their experience of how best to operate under the latest lockdown. The focus for this webinar will be retail new and used car sales, how to thrive online and how to prepare for lockdown’s lifting. Key topics for discussion include: What to do as we get ready to exit lockdown What if lockdown is extended into March? Customer behaviour in lockdown 3.0 Will people buy without a test drive? What are the longer-term impacts of an on-off market?

Even before Covid-19, 2021 was always going to be a turbulent year. The UK’s separation from the EU starts in January. Emissions targets get tougher in 2021. And the number of new-start tech firms trying to reinvent auto retail seems to be on an exponential growth trajectory. In our final Auto Retail Live of 2020 we had Robert Forrester, CEO of Vertu Motors, Jonathan Gravell, managing director of Gravells Motors, Paul Ward director of Shelbourne Motors and Darren Preddy, director of dealer sales of Rapid RTC all available online to discuss these topics, answer your questions and help you get ready for 2021. Register to join us HERE The focus for this webinar was on new and used car sales, how to hit your targets while dealing with a changing landscape. Questions for discussion include: How have the 2020 lockdowns changed consumer behaviour? What more can dealerships be doing? What should retailers do about Brexit? Do retailers need to plan for the new petrol and diesel car ban now? Will the new-start tech firms reinventing auto retail, such as Cinch and Cazoo, be successful? Why haven’t we seen a shift to agency agreements yet?

Lockdown 2.0 may not come with the same shock as the first, but it’s raised a new set of questions around what the Government will and won’t allow this time round plus how best to refine online sales and click and collect to keep business running and customers satisfied. In our Q4 Briefing we have Darren Edwards, Sytner Group CEO, Bill Berman, Pendragon CEO and Catherine Faiers, COO at Auto Trader all answering your questions and sharing their experience of how best to operate under lockdown. The focus for this webinar will be retail new and used car sales, how to hit your targets while dealing with a changing landscape. Key topics for discussion include: Lockdown 2.0, what have we learnt from the first lockdown to help us now? What’s different this time round and how to deal with it. Are the manufacturers doing enough to support their networks?

How is your September going? Want to do even better? Then tune in to this Auto Retail Live podcast to get the critical insight to hit your September targets, grow your profitability and maintain impetus for the remainder of 2020. Due to the premature end to March sales, this September will be the most important month of 2020, both for the sale of new vehicles and maximising the part exchanges to fuel your used car sales. Held in association with Mazepoint, our podcast features Daksh Gupta, CEO of Marshall Motors, John O’Hanlon, founder of Waylands, Ian Plummer, Auto Trader commercial director and Tracy Ellam, Mazepoint commercial director. The focus for this webinar will be new car sales, how to hit September’s targets without resorting to pre-registration, will the pent-up demand continue, how to spot new opportunities within your own data and how the rest of 2020 will shape up. Key topics for discussion include: The latest on September new car registrations Identifying business opportunities in your data Consumer demand outlook How to deal with OEM targets and pressures Used car opportunities

The FCA’s new rules on commission disclosure and a ban on discretionary commission payments will have far-reaching implications for the sale of cars. Our Auto Retail Live webinar The Future of Motor Finance looks at how retailers can continue to make money from finance, but also make the buying experience easier, clearer and simpler for consumers resulting in better customer satisfaction and increased new and used car sales. In this Auto Retail Live webinar we’ll have Mike Pierce, managing director of Sytner Finance, Neil Pickles from RSM Risk Assurance Services, James Tew from iVendi and finance sales expert Andy Tong to help improve your retail performance. The focus for The Future of Finance webinar will be on what the new FCA rules mean to your business, what you can and can’t do as well as looking at how to future-proof your operations. Key topics for discussion include: What did the FCA report on car finance say What are your immediate actions What can and can’t you do How you should be planning for the future

Business is far from normal yet, but the September plate-change will still happen and targets still have to be hit. Our next Auto Retail Live Quarterly Briefing will help put your business in the best position with advice, tips, insight and discussion from our expert panel. In the Q3 Briefing we’ll have Robin Luscombe, founder of Luscombe Suzuki and Mitsubishi, Mike Jones, chairman of ASE Global and Sue Fish, head of new cars at Auto Trader on the panel to help improve your retail performance. The focus for this webinar will be retail new car sales, how to hit new car targets without resorting to pre-registration and the latest buyer behaviours as well as the impact of the broader economic climate. Key topics for discussion include: Will pent-up demand continue to September? Is there enough, or too much, supply? Latest consumer trends Economic impact on auto retail