Feature
Above: Omoda is making moves in the UK, but without a solid dealer network, can it win over fleet buyers who demand reliable aftersales support?
That is well at odds with manufacturers’ desires to sell cars directly and shrink the dealer’s role. It is in no way exclusive to new entrants, but the rise of the agency model and online sales earlier in the decade – around the time many Chinese brands were circling the UK – generated the impression that newcomers could set up shop Amazon-style, with minimal physical presence.
“The only one that got it right is Polestar because of the partnership with Volvo,” says McAtear, “they piggybacked onto their existing dealerships. That did two things: elongated the life of the Volvo dealerships and gave Polestar an immediate footprint in the UK.
“BYD, to be fair, are trying to go slower because they realise they need to build that network. For the rest of them, I haven’t got a
“Where am I going to service an Xpeng if something goes wrong?’ That will be the question my drivers ask me.”
clue. ‘Where am I going to service an Xpeng if something goes wrong?’ That will be the question my drivers ask me.”
We counted 71 outlets on BYD’s UK dealer locator in March, which illustrates its traditional bricks and mortar approach and that it has exploited the gaps left by established manufacturers trimming their networks, such as Ford and Stellantis. Many of those will be multi- franchise sites, too, with existing sales and service operations spread across more than one brand. MG’s 101-year history in the UK hardly qualifies it as a new entrant, but heritage aside, it sets the standard for Chinese-owned car brands in its modern form, with an electric-heavy model mix and a meteoric ascent in the sales charts, from less than 3,500 units in 2015 to more than 81,000 in 2024 (BYD reportedly has a 60,000 sales target for 2025, while other new entrants are allegedly seeking 50,000-100,000 within the next two years). It, too, follows a traditional franchise model, which makes the case for the format, even if it is a long game.
Above: Tony Whitehorn, Industry consultant and former Hyundai CEO
Establishing a UK sales operation and hiring local senior management is another successful method
from the MG playbook, as Whitehorn explains. “[New entrants] need to set up a traditional national sales company with an indigenous person at the head of that operation. That has worked very well [for MG]. Guy [Pigounakis] gets on with it, and guess what? He sells 80,000 vehicles.” A national sales company is closer to what we might think of as a traditional manufacturer, with a long-term sales strategy and ambitions to build the brand. It is distinct from a distributor – such as IM Group, which sells Isuzu, Subaru and, more recently, Xpeng and Great Wall Motor in the UK – which tends to have a shorter-term outlook in terms of profits and branding.
Whitehorn’s initial suggestion that there is room for a greater understanding of the UK market is more than skin deep. He explains that some
Above: Chris Chandler, principal consultant, Lex Autolease
www.businesscar.co.uk | March/April 2025 | 23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53
