8:49 am, February 18, 2026
Not long ago, sourcing vehicle stock was one of the most labour-intensive parts of running a dealership.
Dealers spent countless hours inspecting cars in person, chasing paperwork, and travelling between auctions and private sellers – time that should have been spent advising customers and closing sales.
Dealers spent significant time attending in-person auctions, travelling between sites multiple times a week, and manually reviewing available stock.
While these physical processes allowed dealers to inspect vehicles firsthand, they were also inherently labour-intensive and limited by time, geography, and availability.
These methods remain part of the industry today, but historically they placed an operational burden on dealerships and constrained how quickly and efficiently stock could be sourced.
Digital stock sourcing changed that. What initially emerged as a convenient alternative channel has evolved into a foundational part of how modern dealerships operate. Today, digital sourcing isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s central to growth, resilience, and competitiveness.
But its importance has been sharpened by a single, persistent challenge: stock availability. In conversations with dealers, the issue isn’t demand – it’s access.
Many tell us they’re already losing sales simply because they can’t source the right vehicles, at the right price, at the right moment. When stock falls short, revenue follows.
This is where digital sourcing moves from being a tactical tool to a strategic advantage. When it sits at the core of a dealership’s sourcing strategy, it unlocks scale, speed, and certainty – enabling dealers to grow without proportionally increasing cost or complexity.
So what does that transformation look like in practice? How does a dealership go from constrained by supply to confidently scaling its operations? And most importantly, what do dealers like Hilton Garage stand to gain when digital sourcing becomes the engine of their growth?
From local lot to top dealer
I recently sat down with George Manning, director of Hilton Garage, who is currently leading his family’s business which has been serving customers in Derby and beyond for over 50 years.
George’s grandfather, David Manning, started the dealership in 1973 with only a few cars in tow. His father, Richard Manning, took the business to a new level, to become one of the first car supermarkets in the country.
Fast forward to today, and Hilton Garage has grown into a third-generation business that stocks more than 2,000 cars at a time.
Much of that growth came post-pandemic, he said, with the business nearly doubling in size in the years since. A big part of that success came from George and his team embracing digital sourcing (and selling), with Motorway now his biggest source of stock.
Reflecting on how they used to source before, he said: ‘We were spreading ourselves too thin – sending buyers all over the country to stand for four or five hours, only to come home with two or three cars.’
However, making Motorway’s platform a more central part of their sourcing strategy let George and his team access quality vehicles up and down the country – essential for attracting new customers and better serving existing ones.
‘With Motorway, we’re selling two to three times as many cars as were before,’ he explained. ‘They’re our largest source of stock, so they’re extremely important to us.
‘It’s so simple and easy. The CAP information, the pricing, vehicle history, grading information – everything’s all in one place and very easy to find.
‘Motorway has been crucial to the growth of Hilton Garage. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to stock anywhere near as many quality and varied cars as we do now.’
Getting quality stock, digitally
As securing used stock becomes increasingly challenging, the dealers best positioned to compete are those adopting a more modern, technology-driven approach to buying.
Digital sourcing is no longer a nice-to-have – it’s a necessity. The ‘sweet spot’ of relatively new, low-mileage vehicles is shrinking, making fast, reliable access to a broad range of stock more important than ever.
The quicker dealers can identify the right cars and move decisively to secure them, the better protected they are against shortages.
The result? Happier customers, more agile teams, and – most importantly – sustainable growth.
Watch his full testimonial at the top of this article.
