^{E10 with Ian Plummer :  EVs, Innovation & the Shape of Modern Retail}

The auto industry is in the midst of historic change, and few understand the impact across the entire retail ecosystem better than Auto Trader. In our latest Auto Futurecast, Chris Kirby is joined by Ian Plummer, Commercial Director at Auto Trader, for a discussion that explores challenges from electric vehicle (EV) adoption, digital transformation, and the resilience of UK retailers.

Ian's career spans both manufacturing and retail. He’s worked internationally at Renault Nissan, contributed to OEM and franchise operations in the UK, and even managed direct relationships with government, finance, and tech partners. This unique experience enables a holistic view, one that bridges day-to-day dealer realities and tomorrow’s mobility solutions.

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How Is EV Adoption Evolving?

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EVs remain the industry’s single greatest challenge, touching OEMs, retailers, financiers, and the consumer alike. The transition asks drivers to radically change behaviour. While mass market adoption remains just out of reach, the gap is closing. Current figures reveal that over 20% of new car searches on Auto Trader are for electric vehicles. There is traction, but real mass market movement requires further progress on choice and affordability.

Notably, price gaps between ICE and EV models are narrowing, from a 36 percentage point premium to 23% today. That’s significant, but a meaningful gap remains. For true democratisation, competitive EV options are needed in every size and budget bracket. Encouragingly, available models in the critical sub-£30,000 segment have grown from 9 to 34 inside the last year. Meanwhile, emerging models and downward trends in used EV prices, such as £4,000 Nissan Leafs and £10,000 Teslas, are expanding access at every level of the market.

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Barriers & Opportunities: Affordability, Incentives and Used EVs

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While salary sacrifice schemes have been a vital tool in bridging the EV affordability gap, helping not only high earners, but NHS workers, teachers, and other public sector professionals, mass-scale adoption remains a challenge, especially for lower income segments. Unlocking used EV options through similar schemes is an emerging opportunity, with industry participants encouraged to make these accessible and advocate for policy support.

Crucially, the discussion highlighted EV longevity. Evidence points to electric cars regularly hitting 200,000+ miles, with battery packs often outlasting the seats and interiors. This opens opportunities not only in used retail, but new business models focused on refurbishment, upcycling, and even battery resale, an entrepreneurial area, ripe with potential.

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Managing Depreciation and the Multi-Life Vehicle

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A major concern in EV finance is depreciation. Market data indicates that, following sharp corrections in 2022, used EV prices have now stabilised, yielding parity with ICE vehicles in terms of speed of sale. In fact, 2-5 year-old EVs are currently the fastest-turning segment on Auto Trader’s platform, with days-to-sell outperforming petrol and diesel equivalents. As the market matures, falling prices mean future uplift in resale value is unlikely, but rapid stock turn and consumer acceptance signal genuine growth.

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Lessons from the Shanghai Auto Show: Fast-Paced Innovation

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Having just visited the Shanghai Auto Show, Ian highlights China’s automotive sector as a glimpse of the future: a market as large as Europe and the US combined, moving at a decidedly faster pace. Chinese brands have set new standards in EV range, pricing, manufacturing scale, and technology. The bar for quality, tech integration, and user experience is accelerating.

Infotainment, seamless over-the-air updates, intuitive voice controls, and sophisticated autonomous features have become baseline expectations, particularly among younger and tech-savvy buyers. Unlike legacy OEMs, many Chinese brands rapidly respond to consumer feedback, iteratively improving product features through software and data, not just hardware upgrades.

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Autonomous Technology: Moving from Hype to Real-World Use

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The next frontier will be won not just on price, but on tech and autonomy. In China, autonomous features, especially “Level 2++” driver assistance, are now differentiators. While fully “eyes-off” driving is still a way off for Europe, substantial gains in adaptive cruise, lane assist, and voice interfaces have transformed the everyday driving and ownership experience.

Importantly, advances in autonomy and ADAS systems not only boost convenience, but drive measurable improvements in long-distance comfort and road safety, reducing driver fatigue and minimising rear-end collisions in urban traffic.

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The Role and Resilience of Automotive Retailers

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UK automotive retail is remarkably resilient. Despite years of disruption, from lockdowns to regulatory changes, dealers have adapted, maintaining long-term profitability averages close to 1.5%. Recent studies reaffirm this figure both in the UK and US. However, the pressure to transition to EVs, manage shrinking aftersales revenue, and invest in digitalisation presents new strategic challenges.

The much-discussed shift to “agency” sales models has largely stalled; manufacturers and retailers must now double down on operational savings, digital transformation, and smarter use of technology to streamline processes, enhance customer experiences, and unlock efficiencies.

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Digital Transformation: Simplification as a Catalyst

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Legacy systems, fragmented platforms, and disconnected data are common pain points for today’s retailers. Simplifying the tech stack, enabling seamless data flow from manufacturers to dealer groups and third-party partners, creates opportunities to eliminate manual processes, empower business managers, and redeploy staff into more strategic, value-adding roles. As Ian notes, “AI and automation aren’t about reducing headcount, they’re about allowing people to do more meaningful work.”

Empowering customers with more control, such as real-time test drive booking, service scheduling, and seamless digital onboarding, has demonstrable impact. Auto Trader and Tomorrow’s Journey have seen test drive completion rates jump 50% by digitising the process and offering actual vehicles/slots, akin to booking a doctor’s appointment. Resilience to digital change has grown post-pandemic, and adoption of true omni-channel models now defines leading retailers.

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Retention & New Business Models

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True, sustainable growth now depends on customer retention, not just for new sales, but throughout the vehicle lifecycle. While new car customers often remain loyal for aftersales in the early years, used buyers frequently “disappear” after purchase, taking future sales and service revenue with them. With EVs generating roughly 40% fewer service interventions, maximising retention is business-critical.

Industry leaders must treat used vehicle aftersales loyalty as both the biggest weakness and the greatest opportunity in their portfolio. Embedding service plans, up-selling maintenance, and creating pathways for re-entry into the retailer’s ecosystem are essential strategies for maintaining share and profitability as mobility models shift from transactional sales to ongoing, flexible, customer-centric relationship management.

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Key Takeaways

• EV Momentum: Traction is building, price gaps are narrowing, and policy plus innovation is driving broader access—but meaningful adoption requires continued work and policy support.
• Innovation Acceleration: China sets the pace, and tech is now the main competitive lever—from infotainment to autonomy.
• Retail Resilience: Automotive retailers are adaptable, but face new hurdles with the shift to EVs, changing distribution, and reduced aftersales opportunity.
• Tech and Retention: Success will hinge on digital simplification, data-powered experiences, and maximising customer retention across both new and used markets.

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Thank you to Ian Plummer for his insights, to Tomorrow’s Journey and Asset Finance Connect for their support, and to all of our listeners.

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