7:43 am, February 22, 2024
Directors from challenger car brands BYD and Nio will be appearing alongside manufacturing giant Stellantis at our exclusive Car Dealer Live event.
Taking place just two weeks today (March 7) at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon, the ticket-only event will see three car manufacturer directors take our questions on stage.
Matt Galvin, managing director of Nio UK and head of European sales for the brand, will be giving his insight on the brand’s forthcoming launch in the UK.
Galvin moved to set aside rumours the brand’s UK launch was being shelved in December and will give an update on the firm’s plans.
Nio is a Chinese challenger brand that specialises in electric vehicles and has developed innovative battery swapping stations for its cars. The firm has raised $5bn from investors and has plans to expand into 25 markets by next year, but it won’t be using dealers.
Galvin has previously held roles at Volvo UK, Mercedes Benz, Renault and Jardine Motor Group.
Joining him on stage will be fellow Chinese brand challenger BYD. The firm’s marketing manager Mark Blundell will be giving an update on the firm’s ambitious roll out across the UK.
In 2023, BYD sold more than 3m vehicles worldwide and has partnered with Pendragon, Arnold Clark, Lookers, Snows, Pentagon and LSH Auto among other dealers in the UK.
The brand currently has 24 dealers in the UK and is planning to have increased this to 60 by the end of 2024.
BYD has recently been named as the official partner for the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament and will also be appearing at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
In the past year, BYD has launched three cars in the UK with the Atto 3, Dolphin and Seal all making their way into showrooms.
Joining the challenger brand pairing will be Stellantis’ director of used vehicle operations, Nicola Dobson, who will give her thoughts on the importance of used cars to manufacturer success.
She is responsible for the car manufacturer’s used vehicle strategy and the Spoticar brand which amounts to sales of around 20,000 this year.
Dobson has worked for Stellantis, and specifically Peugeot, since September 2000 in a huge variety of roles and will speak on behalf of the car brands collective.
Guests at the event will be able to submit their own questions to our panellists via the Slido.com website.
Tickets for car dealers and suppliers to the motor trade are in short supply at CarDealerLive.co.uk. Streaming tickets for the entire event for those not able to make it on the day are also available.
Car Dealer Live will feature headline interviews with Peter Vardy and used car specialist Peter Waddell.
There will also be panel discussions with franchised, independent and luxury car dealers.
Research sessions will also be hosted by headline sponsor Auto Trader as well as Google, Cox Automotive, Automotive Transformation Group and iVendi.
