11:19 am, April 11, 2023
The new wave of Chinese EV brands represents the ‘single biggest seismic shift’ for the automotive industry since the arrival of Japanese and Korean vehicles.
That is the verdict of Cambria Automobiles boss Mark Lavery, who says his firm is interested in partnering with the new outfits.
Speaking at last month’s Car Dealer Live conference in Gaydon, Lavery refused to be drawn on specifics but did say certain brands had ‘piqued his interest’.
He also told host James Baggott that the Chinese influx were ‘bringing a dynamic to the market, the likes of which we haven’t seen for many years’.
‘The single biggest change for me is the arrival of Chinese OEMs,’ he said.
‘A bunch of the existing legacy OEMs have chosen to restructure their networks just when the biggest change in the industry is arriving.
‘I think that affords opportunity and in certain cases we see a lot of Chinese OEMs as being real dynamic, extraordinarily well funded, great products.
‘I think that’s the biggest change coming. Agency, I think, is not as relevant as the arrival of the Chinese OEMs.’
He added: ‘Is there a number piquing our interest? Yes. Is there a number that we’ll work with going forward? Yes. Am I going to name any of them here this morning? No.
‘I think it’s the single biggest seismic shift we’ve seen since the Japanese and Koreans arrived.
‘They’re bringing a dynamic to the market, the likes of which we haven’t seen for many years so I think it affords a lot of opportunity.’
(Mark Lavery)
Earlier this year, leading Chinese outfit BYD announced plans to have up to 100 UK car dealers by end of 2025.
Meanwhile rival firm GWM Ora has partnered with dealer groups Lookers, Wessex Garages, Peter Vardy, Chorley Group, Charles Hurst Group and City West Country.
Other new brands include the likes of Chery, XPeng and Nio but Snows boss Neil McCue believes it is too early to tell which will be successful.
‘I don’t think you can say there’s going to be one winner, he told Car Dealer Live.
‘They’re all trying different routes to market so I think it’s too early to say who’s going to be the winner.
‘I think we’ve got to watch with caution. The Chinese economy’s been doing incredibly well, so let’s see politically how that works.
‘We’ve got to be very cautious of what’s coming. We’re looking [at potential partnerships]. We’ve not committed to anyone yet but we’ll see what happens.’
Paul Hendy, boss of Hendy Group, added: ‘I would say that in the short 35 years that I’ve had [in the industry] there’s never been a dull moment.
‘There’s always evolution. There’s always change. There’s always something.
‘At the moment there is probably three or four things colliding together at the same time when there’s huge pressure out there and in the world from an economical point of view.
‘As retailers we’re having a good time of it, I’d like to think that the OEMs are but there is never a dull moment that’s probably why we keep turning up every and bizarrely we love it.’
Car Dealer Live, sponsored by Auto Trader, will be back on March 7, 2024. Tickets are available to purchase now at discounted early bird rates at CarDealerLive.co.uk.
