11:55 am, April 27, 2026
Resistance to Chinese car brands is nothing compared to what dealers of Japanese cars faced back in the 1970s.
That is the verdict of motor trade legend Sandy Burgess, who began his career working as an apprentice mechanic at a Datsun dealership in 1974.
Appearing on the latest episode of the Car Dealer Podcast, Burgess reminisced about the challenges of representing a Japanese brand in the decades following the Second World War.
Difficulties included protests from the British Legion, who even marched on the dealership to voice their displeasure.
Despite the anger, Datsun proved a major success, living on today through Nissan, and Burgess believes that it could be a similar story for the current wave of Chinese manufacturers.
Speaking to hosts James Baggott and Jon Reay, he said: ‘I started in 1974 – yes, that long ago – as a young apprentice mechanic, selling Datsuns.
‘Now, this is an odd story, but once a year, we used to have an invasion in our Datsun workshop, and it was the British Legion who would march in on a certain day and make a silent protest at the fact we were selling Japanese vehicles.
‘Bear in mind, it’s not that terrible long after the war and there was a resistance against Japanese.
‘Then there was a resistance against Korean, and the resistance against the Chinese has disappeared so dramatically quickly, it’s quite eye-watering.
‘That’s because of their whole value from what money product situation.’
He added: ‘I don’t have a great experience with Chinese vehicles, but I have to say that the ones I’ve driven, I’ve been really impressed with their standard of finish inside, quality and the feel of the car, and value for money.’
Throughout the podcast, Burgess reflected on his own career, including several years of work with the Scottish Motor Trade Association.
The 67-year-old spent a decade as CEO of the trade body, before resigning in 2024, having been associated with the body for almost 50 years.
His other roles included 18 years as a board member and half a decade as president of the group between 2006 and 2011.
Looking forward, he says the landscape for franchised dealers in particular is changing, as Chinese newcomers continue to muscle their way in.
He said: ‘For the traditional legacy manufacturers, it’s a big challenge for them. It must be.
‘I live in Dumfries and Galloway. ‘If you look at landscape 50 years ago, 40, 30, 20, even 10 years ago, I used to have the Ford franchise and the Pearsons franchise for the whole region – which is 2,500 square miles – and there’s now not a Ford dealer in Dumfries and Galloway, all the borders, not one, not a retail dealer of any kind, not a service dealer, nothing.
It’s the same with Pearsons, same with Citroen – same way, the story goes on. That landscape is changing as well.
‘That was maybe the reason why I said I’m quite happy selling used cars.’
