ICDP's blog

There has been a lot written and said about the impact of the new Chinese brands on the established players in Europe, and I have talked about it in my blogs in past.  The primary focus has been on the competitive pricing, the technical leadership in BEVs and the level of technology included as standard in the cars with features like adaptive cruise control and lane keeping in even the cheapest cars. 

It seems appropriate given that last week’s blog challenged the potential mass roll-out of robotaxis to tackle this week another of the visionary concepts that I would argue attracts more attention than it deserves – that of the flying car. 

There have been some blogs and news items recently, including from our good friend Glenn Mercer, which relate to some recent positive developments in the world of Waymo.  They just achieved 200,000 rides in one week, double the level just six months ago and up from 10,000 two years ago.

We are giving a lot of thought currently to dealer digitalisation – thinking primarily about integration of data processes and related IT, and exploiting that data and the broader digitalisation of the customer buying journey and online marketplaces to make better decisions.

I do not want to trivialise the personal challenges that people with substance abuse problems and their families face, nor do I want to suggest that the management of our car manufacturers are prone to this condition, but I do genuinely see some similarities within a critical part of our business, and perhaps also similar challenges in terms of kicking the habit.

Aftersales has long been seen as the backbone that reliably delivers profits to sustain OEMs and dealers through hard times, and are clearly the sole focus of the many independent players who have built significant businesses. 

Headline news in the Dutch press last week was that the Louwman Group had cut all ties with Stellantis, terminating the Opel and Peugeot franchises at retail level from March 1st.  This affects a number of dealerships including some acquired just two years ago, formerly Orange Motors.

Having previously suggested that distribution models sit on a spectrum from the traditional franchise through to the direct sales model, I am concluding that this is not actually the right representation of the different models that we will see in 3-5 years time. 

As I head to the US for the annual NADA Show, the headlines are full of President Trump’s ‘shock and awe’ first 24 hours in office.  I’m certain that I will meet many card-carrying Republican US dealers over the next few days who are highly supportive of what is unfolding in Washington, and I’m not going to comment here on my own thoughts about Trump 2. 

As we all return to work (what happened to the holidays?) the news is full of stories related to potential mergers amongst the established car manufacturers – and possibly some newcomers.

Firstly, happy New Year to all that follow this blog!  I hope that the break has allowed you to recharge your batteries, ready to re-engage in your business for the next, doubtless eventful, twelve months. 

Before anyone thinks that I’m going to start offering tips on how to make a fortune in their local casino, I will immediately declare that my card skills are limited to simple childhood games like snap and whist.  When I visit Las Vegas for the NADA Show every other year, I have absolutely no idea what’s going on at the gaming tables other than a certainty that the house is winning. 

There is an expression in English to get your hands dirty – which means to get engaged in something personally rather than just to watch others from the sidelines.  When you’re in advisory roles, there is always some degree of frustration that you’re not hands on, able to execute rather than advise. 

The news yesterday that Stellantis and Carlos Tavares were parting company came as a surprise – at least to me – given that it was already planned that he would retire at the start of 2026.  The recent problems at Stellantis with high inventories in North America and low sales in some European markets have been well-publicised, so it was clear that the pressure was on, but losing your CEO so that there is then a vacuum at a time when you need clear direction is high risk.

The Jaguar rebranding events last week have certainly succeeded in getting the Jaguar name into many headlines even as they stop production of all models so you can no longer buy a new Jaguar.  There's been a huge amount of comment, mainly negative, on social media and the general press.

The core of ICDP’s activities is our collaborative research programme which has been running for over thirty years at a European level.

Following my post at the end of last week, it was good to see a number of readers of this blog joining our webinar on Tuesday alongside ICDP members and some representatives from the press.  The webinar was for the formal publication of our Top 50 European dealer group ranking that we produce annually, and the presentation slides are available to download from the ICDP website here.

I feel fortunate to have spent most of my working career in a period when the automotive industry and the world at large have been pursuing a path of globalisation.

I attended a podcast recording last night for Autocar, where the two regular co-presenters, Steve Cropley and Matt Prior were joined by a special guest, Jonathan Palmer. 

We had our Autumn ICDP Members’ Meeting in Paris this week which gave me an opportunity to visit the Paris Motor Show as well (a ‘proper’, albeit slightly smaller, motor show, with a very impressive showing by a number of serious Chinese brands), but also required me to prepare a couple of the presentations.