11:39 am, May 28, 2024
Auto Sportiva has changed its stock profile away from more expensive and exotic cars, as part of a bid to ‘move with the times’.
That is according to the Kent outfit’s owner and director, Will Lee-Kemp, who has been appearing on the latest episode of the Car Dealer Podcast.
Joining our very own Rebecca Chaplin and James Batchelor, Lee-Kemp discussed how his business has changed over the past 12 months.
‘We’re sports prestige, I suppose you’d call us,’ he said. ‘We stock about 150 cars at any one time.
‘We’ve kind of adapted recently, I suppose is the term. This time last year had a lot, I would say, more expensive sports cars and luxury cars.
‘I just kind of felt with the way the world’s been moving and changing, we had to sort of change things a little bit.
‘So we have adapted and come down to a more sort of normal level, I suppose.
‘We’re just trying to be a little bit less exotic than we were just to try and move with the times.’
The Car Dealer Podcast, sponsored by JATO, sees an industry guest join our regular hosts to discuss the biggest automotive stories of the week.
The most recent episode, recorded on Friday (May 24), saw Peter Waddell’s High Court battle come up for discussion.
The team also spoke about the news that Cazoo has been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, after falling into administration.
Since the news broke, some experts have put the failure down to a desire for customers to ‘touch and feel’ cars prior to purchase, but Lee-Kemp says that a market does exist for digital buying.
He explained that the key to making the model work, is adopting a strong social media platform and building trust, via digital platforms.
He told the Podcast: ‘We deliver so much of our stock now. We deliver blind probably at least 30% of our stock.
‘So it’s not always easy to convince someone in Glasgow or Liverpool, or wherever, to part with £50,000 to buy a car blind.
‘They’re questioning who you are, are you a scam? All these things go on these days there.
‘We discovered with our social media and stuff, people look at it and it makes them feel a bit more comfortable about being in Manchester and spending £50,000 on a car and having it delivered to your door.’
He added: ‘Our deliveries are always booked seven to 10 days in advance.
‘I’m at the point now where I’m actually going to take on another delivery driver, just to speed that up a bit, because I don’t want to give those customers the time in those seven days to talk themselves out of it because you’re leaving that lag time for anything to go wrong.’
A full list of the stories discussed can be found here:
- Day 1: Big Motoring World founder Peter Waddell appears at High Court as future hangs in balance
- Day 2: Peter Waddell lays out demands as High Court hearing enters second day
- Day 2: Peter Waddell’s conduct comes under intense scrutiny as High Court case continues
- Used car supermarket founder Peter Waddell accused of ‘bullying’ and ‘intimidation’ as High Court ponders case
- Cazoo to be delisted on New York Stock Exchange after trading in shares is suspended
- Confirmed: Failed used car dealer Cazoo enters into administration as voluntary liquidation looms
- G3 reveals plans for failed Cazoo’s Bedford site after swooping in for purchase
- Woman who stole vehicle keys so thieves could target used car dealership walks free from court
- Self-driving cars could be on UK roads within two years as Bill becomes law
You can listen to all episodes of the Car Dealer Podcast on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
