11:53 am, April 24, 2023
Car dealer giants Peter Vardy and Peter Waddell will be the headline guests at our next Car Dealer Live conference.
The pair will headline our special event – sponsored by Auto Trader – on March 7, 2024, by taking part in two separate keynote interviews.
Vardy – a franchised and used car specialist – who represents brands including Porsche, BMW and Jaguar Land Rover has also made impressive inroads with his used ‘Carz’ brand.
Waddell is best known for his successful Big Motoring World used car supermarket group which is set to open its sixth site in Wimbledon soon.
Vardy and Waddell will feature in two keynote interviews where they will individually share the secrets to their success and very different ways of doing business.
Early bird tickets to the event are available now until June 30, 2023, when they will go up to full price. Tickets can be booked from today on the dedicated Car Dealer Live website.
The motor trade titans will join a host of leading figures at the special event next year.
Other leading car dealers joining the panel sessions on the day include luxury car salesman Tom Hartley, who will be joined by HR Owen CTO Brett Ward, talking about the ultra high end world of selling supercars.
Peter Smyth, Swansway director, and Chris Wiseman, MD of Wessex Garages are both confirmed to appear on the franchised dealer panel.
Wiseman attended Car Dealer Live 2023 and thoroughly enjoyed the day.
He said: ‘It was great to attend the Car Dealer Live event in 2023 and hear directly from industry leaders, OEMs and providers who gave frank views on the challenges we all face each day as well as diverse opinions on the future direction of car retailing in the UK.
‘It was an excellent opportunity to network and catch up with colleagues from across the business.’
Joining the independent car dealer panel will be Alex Jones, chief operating officer of used car supermarket Carbase, with more panellists to be announced soon.
Nigel Hurley, CEO of Carshop, who appeared at this year’s event, said: ‘Car Dealer Live was informative, professionally organised and varied in content with all the current hot topics that we are wrestling with today in our industry.
‘The panel of experts gave honest and clear feedback on how they saw the challenges and opportunities that we are dealing with right now and also what’s coming down the track at us.
‘I will certainly be making next year’s event a date in the diary to attend.’
Other guests will be added to all of the panel sessions throughout 2023 including the names of the car manufacturer bosses appearing at Car Dealer Live.
Exclusive research
Headline partners Auto Trader will be showcasing their latest research at the event, carried out exclusively for Car Dealer, as will partners Google, Automotive Transformation Group and Cox Automotive.
Auto Trader’s Catherine Faiers said: ‘This year’s event was a huge success, and along with the other excellent speakers and panellists, it was a real pleasure to have the opportunity to share our insights with such a large audience representing such a broad cross-section of our industry.
‘We’re excited to be a part of next year’s event, which promises to be even bigger and better.’
Cox Automotive’s Laura Lunn added: ‘The first Car Dealer Live was packed with insightful, candid and entertaining discussion with an impressive cross section of automotive retail leaders.
‘It was a day very well spent with a broad array of topics covered and I’m sure all attendees left with plenty to reflect and act upon. We’re looking forward to returning in 2024 to continue the conversation.’
Charity help
Car Dealer donated 10 per cent of ticket sales from Car Dealer Live 23 to Ben, the automotive industry charity and will do the same again from next year’s event.
Matt Wigginton, Ben director of partnerships, said: ‘The team at Car Dealer have been amazing supporters of Ben over the years, always looking for new and innovative ways to raise awareness and funds.
‘The donation for every ticket booked to the excellent Car Dealer Live event last month comes at a time when someone from our industry calls Ben every 15 minutes.
‘We couldn’t help those people without vital support such as this from Car Dealer Live. On behalf of everyone that will benefit from the donation, thank you.’
Wiggington, who attended this year’s conference, added that Car Dealer Live was the ‘go to’ event for the motor trade and said the agenda gives attendees ‘plenty to think about’.
‘This, combined with the ability to network with colleagues and peers in a protected space away from the day-to-day, makes Car Dealer Live an unmissable event,’ he added.
Car Dealer Live tickets are available with an early bird discount until June 30. Full details and ticket sales can be purchased on the dedicated CarDealerLive.co.uk website.
