Mobility has been a key industry talking point for over a decade. While consumers have more transportation options than ever before, it’s hardly the seamless journey that we were promised.
For UK dealers, this shift raises urgent strategic questions. If mobility in the coming decade is less about individual ownership and more about access, service, and digital platforms, how should traditional retailers position themselves to remain competitive?
It’s the retailers that seamlessly blend physical and digital channels, manage complex customer journeys, and deliver ongoing services that will capture value as mobility becomes increasingly fluid.
Financing, insurance, charging solutions, and aftercare can all be integrated into new propositions. Dealers are well-positioned to deliver these, but only if they act decisively now.
Affordability is a challenge. Even as EV adoption grows, many consumers remain priced out of new technology.
Dealers can help bridge the gap by innovating in used EV retailing, offering warranties, battery health checks, and finance solutions that give customers confidence in the second-hand electric market.
This will be critical as the flow of ex-fleet EVs gradually improves supply. The shortage of used young vehicles today will ease, but dealers who establish trust and expertise in used electric vehicles early will be better positioned to capture future demand.
The winners will be the retailers who adapt fastest: who digitalise their operations, embrace partnerships, and remain close to their customers.
For UK car dealers, the challenge is to evolve from gatekeepers of metal to orchestrators of mobility. Those who grasp that opportunity will not only survive this period of turbulence but will find themselves at the heart of a more dynamic, customer-centred, and sustainable mobility ecosystem.
Mike Allen is managing director of Cambria Private Capital.