12:40 pm, March 19, 2026
There is a fine line between being brave and being reckless when setting up a new car dealership.
That is according to Infinity Motors founder Sohib Ghafouri, who has been appearing as one of the keynote speakers at Car Dealer Live today (Mar 19).
Ghafouri, who the Swindon-based business in 2021, told the audience at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon about his journey from banking giant JP Morgan to running a thriving used car dealership.
A civil engineer turned project manager, Ghafouri turned his back on a career with blue chip companies after deciding he wanted a crack at the motor trade – against the advice of his father!
He began by operating a five-car site in London while holding down a full-time job but now operates a much larger showroom in Wiltshire, selling almost 200 vehicles a month. He and his team recently added a preparation centre equipped with 16 ramps and two MOT bays.
Looking back to the early days of his business, Ghafouri pinpointed three things he needed: passion, hard work and a vision. And he recalled the post-Covid era, when he started to realise he was making more money running his dealership than he was at work.
Ghafouri, whose business won the Used Car Online Sales Experience trophy at the 2025 Car Dealer Magazine Used Car Awards, explained that Auto Trader had been instrumental in his success to date.
He said: ‘The period after Covid was a tough spell for the industry of course, but it was a blessing in disguise for me. That’s when I tried the Auto Trader packages instead of pay-as-you-go. It went really well.’
Discussing the challenges of deciding to pursue a full-time career in the trade, he admitted: ‘Some of it, you don’t really plan for. It hits you and you just have to deal with it.
‘You’re in the thick of the moment. You’re down in the trenches, as they say. So you’re not having too much time to think about what you’re going through.
‘’Of course, you have to try and make sure that you plan as well as you can. And that you’re well prepared for the risks, because it is very, very risky. People sometimes ask me, ‘What made you take that decision? That leap of faith?
‘You do have to be brave. But there’s a fine line between being brave and being reckless. Only you can decide where you draw that line in the sand. So when we went into this new site in Swindon, that was exactly the situation. My dad advised me not to do it.
‘’He said, “look, you’ve got to be really careful. This is obviously a completely different exercise” [to the much smaller London operation].
‘I took the leap of faith and went into an area I was unfamiliar with, 84 miles away from home. With respect, I didn’t even know where Swindon was when I was living in London!’
Asked about the current state of the motor trade, Ghafouri said: ‘At the moment, it’s difficult. We’ve gone through a period during which we have reduced headcount because of our cost base and because of increasing overheads.
‘The cost of living is going up, and there a lot of pressures. But there are still really good opportunities for anyone wanting to go into it.’
Ghafouri said it would be a good idea for novice dealers to get themselves a mentor – someone who could ‘hold their hand’.
Reflecting on his journey so far, he said: ‘I have loved every single second of it. In some ways, I wish I’d done it sooner, but there’s a time and a place for everything.’
