8:06 am, October 18, 2024
Clever Car Collection – the used car dealership started by Car Dealer Magazine founder James Baggott – has been handed a top award.
The AI-assisted business has been aiming to showcase where the technology can, and can’t, help in the motor trade since launching in January and it has now been recognised for its innovative approach.
At the Auto Trader Retailer Awards 2024, Clever Car Collection, based in Gosport, Hampshire, was handed the Innovation of the Year Award (Under 50 Cars).
Car dealers named in the awards are in the top one per cent of the 14,000 retailers using the leading marketplace.
The innovation award was judged independently from Auto Trader by judges from John Lewis, Ocado, Automotive 30% Club, LinkedIn, Carbon Literacy Trust and MoneySuperMarket.
Auto Trader sales director Rebecca Clark said: ‘This year, circa 1,500 of Auto Trader’s top performing retailer partners were shortlisted to just 88 finalists split across 11 different award categories, of which just 30 were crowned winners.
‘This was determined by a combination of in-depth analysis of Auto Trader’s performance data, independent judging by a panel of experts, and the results from the UK’s largest consumer mystery shopping programme among auto retailers.
‘Accordingly, the winners are among the top 1% of Auto Trader’s retailer partners and are rightly considered the benchmark of automotive retailing excellence.’
Announcing the Clever Car Collection’s award at the event in London yesterday, Clark said the innovation category aimed to mark retailers who have ‘successfully implemented bold innovations’.
She said: ‘Our first winner has gone all in on AI, putting it at the very centre of their business and demonstrating to the industry the huge potential this exciting new technology offers automotive retailing.
‘What started out as an experiment has now become a fully-fledged business with our judges stating that “the learning journey this retailer has been on is absolutely fascinating, and the insights derived from their AI driven approach is hugely valuable to all”.
‘Congratulations on your success, we’re all very excited to see where this project will go and watch the journey unfold.’
Baggott said he was ‘shocked and delighted’ for the business to win an award.
This month the Clever Car Collection moved into its first premises in Gosport and Joe Wallington has joined as a business partner.
‘I am made up with this award and it feels very weird to be on the receiving end rather than handing awards out – but I love it,’ he said.
‘We’ve tried to use AI as much as possible with this business and it’s worked in some places and failed miserably in others. There are certainly a lot of things it can help with but as an experiment to show the motor trade what can be done I think it’s been fascinating.
‘The Clever Car Collection is taking up a huge amount of my time, but what I’ve learned from it has helped shape our news stories and fuelled our YouTube channel and podcast with content.
‘What started out as a project is now a very real business and I am honoured to have been handed this award.’
A number of car dealers were handed awards at the event in London yesterday and a full round-up of the winners will be revealed shortly.
Baggott produces weekly video diaries of his journey with the Clever Car Collection which can be found on our YouTube channel.
