MT Interview

Motor Trader caught up with David Kateley – Director Automobile at the Suzuki GB head office in Milton Keynes. In the reception area, the renowned Suzuki Swift and racing legend Barry Sheene’s LJ80 4×4 Suzuki Jimny occupy pride of place. Just beyond, a door leads to training rooms and workshops where the skills of dealers and technicians are honed. Kateley, ...

Building on from Vertu Motors’ H1 2024 financial results, the group announced it will rebrand and consolidate its brands under the name ‘Vertu’, retiring the Bristol Street and Macklin brands. It’s a big move. All Vertu’s UK retail outlets will trade under the Vertu brand by the end of April 2025 as the dealer group jettisons its Bristol Street Motors ...

Kia UK CEO and president Paul Philpott on the ZEV mandate, balancing UK sales, EV learning for its customers and training for technicians and sales staff. It’s a good time for Kia. Its line-up has received widespread recognition this year, with the EV9 making the headlines, garnering accolades, including the World Car of the Year 2024 award. The group has ...

Motor Trader caught up with Stoneacre Managing Director Shaun Foweather at the group’s headquarters in Thorne, Doncaster. It is early June and Motor Trader is trying to set up a time to meet with Stoneacre MD Shaun Foweather. We settle on the 26th as it becomes clear he is unavailable on the 27th due to Stoneacre signing a deal that ...

Pat Kirk Mazda is no stranger to awards ceremonies. In 2022, the dealer was awarded the Customer for Life accolade at Mazda’s Annual All-Stars awards. Most recently, the dealer was named Mazda’s UK Dealer of the Year and Number One Sales Dealer. Philip Lyons, general sales manager at Pat Kirk Mazda, is a sales veteran. He has been with Pat ...

The new Westfield store is the fourth BYD showroom to open in partnership with LSH Auto. Motor Trader caught up with Vaughan Blackman, MD of LSH Auto UK, and Mark Blundell, head of marketing BYD UK. With BYD stores already up and running in Stockport, Macclesfield and Tamworth, the new Westfield London (White City) store is the fourth BYD showroom ...

By Guy Bird After a bumpy few years, Renault Group UK MD Guillaume Sicard explains how the French marque and Romanian sister brand Dacia can continue to improve, through new exciting products, consistency and respect for the dealer network He might be more of a Daft Punk fan than a Jean Michel-Jarre advocate – despite respecting the latter’s work in ...

South Wales family-owned dealer group Gravells has won Kia’s Dealer of the Year accolade for a third year in succession. Managing director Jonathan Gravell gives an insight to the group’s continuing success. The Motor Trader dealer insight series regularly features dealer-of-the-year winning groups, some with multiple accolades – but winning the top award three years in succession is a rare ...

“We always make our decisions based on the best performing people in the business, the people that have been with us for a long time, that are loyal to the business, which are part of the Chapelhouse family. That’s Phil Clay spelling out the culture of Chapelhouse, a £112m-turnover dealer group based in the North West selling Suzuki, Kia and ...

By Guy Bird Stellantis Group’s Maria Grazia Davino is not your average UK automotive managing director. In a year of car sales and distribution upheaval, she’s taken on one of the toughest jobs in the business. Here she explains what makes her different and how the turnaround starts now I am expert in logic, that’s my background,” says Stellantis UK ...