12:38 pm, September 21, 2026
A former CarShop director who helped prepare the used-car supermarket business for its acquisition by Sytner has admitted he would be reluctant to launch a similar operation in today’s market, warning that changing vehicle supply is making the model increasingly difficult to operate.
Leo Nelson, who joined CarShop as marketing director in 2013 and is now chief marketing officer at Warranty First, said running a large used-car operation had become incredibly tough as the market continued to change.
Speaking on the Car Dealer Podcast, Nelson reflected on his time at CarShop, when the business was expanding under the ownership of the Dunkley family before its eventual sale to Sytner.
He said: ‘Looking back on that, it was a great journey to be part of. It was a really exciting time for the team. We’d worked really hard to get the business in great shape, to prepare it for that moment.
‘I think at the time we were pushing the boundaries of how used car retail works. And there’s a lot of firsts in that business that have become the norm today.’
However, Nelson said the market had changed significantly since he joined the business, recalling a period when used-car supply was plentiful, money was cheap and car supermarket businesses were performing well.
Asked by podcast host James Baggott whether he would consider starting a car supermarket today, Nelson questioned how attractive the proposition would be in the current market.
You can watch the podcast recording in full above or click play below to listen on Spotify.
Nelson added: ‘I think there’s a certain size of car supermarket business. Look, it offers, from a consumer point of view, it can offer some great benefits.
‘I think running a business like that is incredibly tough. I think certainly in today’s environment where the supply of used cars, that’s massively changing.
‘That makes that business quite difficult. But yeah, to answer your question, no, I personally probably wouldn’t.’
While he stopped short of suggesting the car supermarket model was no longer viable, his comments highlight the challenges facing businesses that rely on securing substantial volumes of used cars to support their operations.
His former employer CarShop has since disappeared from the UK market, although Nelson pointed out that the name continues to exist in the United States, where parent company Penske Automotive Group adopted it for an existing car supermarket operation.
Reflecting on the closure of the UK business, he said: ‘Things change, don’t they?’
He added: ‘It does, interestingly, live on in the US.’
Nelson has since moved from the dealer side of the motor trade into the supplier market, where he is now working with
Warranty First, which provides repair plans through a network of more than 1,000 dealers.
He said the business was adapting its products to reflect changes in the vehicle parc, with ageing petrol and diesel cars remaining on the road for longer while plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles account for a growing part of the market.
‘We’ve been evolving like all businesses, looking at how we need to adapt and really just looking at how the market’s changing,’ he explained.
‘ICE vehicles, they’re certainly not going to get any younger. I think the average age is now approaching 10 years, and then obviously the growing segments in plug-in hybrids and EVs.’