Car Dealer Podcast

How are car dealers actually using AI in their businesses right now – and is it really saving them time and money?
In part two of our special AI Week podcast – The AI Revolution: Will it change the motor trade forever – James Baggott speaks to dealers who are already using artificial intelligence to buy cars, improve vehicle adverts, handle customer complaints and communicate with leads 24 hours a day.
Steven Douglas, owner of Really Easy Car Credit and co-founder of Dealerway, explains how he used Claude to build a tool that analyses auction catalogues, identifies the cars he is likely to buy, values them and recommends how much he should bid.
George Manning, director of Hilton Garage, reveals how AI is being used across its 1,000-car operation – from stock sourcing and advertising to checking vehicle adverts against Auto Trader best-practice guidance.
Michael Bell, chief executive of Available Car, discusses how the business uses Impel to communicate with customers around the clock and support its contact centre team.
Car Dealer editor-in-chief and @CleverCarCollection founder James Baggott also explains how he has used AI to help build and run his own used car dealership – and where the technology has caused problems as well as solving them.
This is part two of The AI Revolution: Will it change the motor trade forever?, our special podcast mini-series produced for Car Dealer AI Week.

Artificial intelligence is changing the motor trade faster than any technology we’ve seen before. But is AI really going to transform the way car dealers sell cars... or is the hype getting ahead of reality?
In this special Car Dealer Podcast for AI Week – which takes place from August 3-7 – James Baggott speaks to some of the biggest names in automotive technology to find out where AI is already making a real difference, where it’s falling short, and what the future of the motor trade could look like.
From AI-powered customer conversations and lead handling to smarter vehicle buying, admin automation and the changing way consumers search for their next car, this podcast explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping every part of the dealership.
On Wednesday, we’ll be publishing Part 2 of The AI Revolution: Will it change the motor trade forever? where the dealers tell us what they’re doing with AI in their showrooms.

Weekly Briefing: Is the Stock Market really the right place for car dealers?
Ford and Geely to create new cars at Valencia factory through new joint venture
Former Stellantis UK boss Maria Grazia Davino joins Ford to lead European sales
Autotrader ‘paused’ Deal Builder roll-out and is tweaking price flags following dealer feedback
Blue Motor Finance collapses into administration but immediately sold in pre-pack deal
Funder behind car finance legal claims collapses following FCA redress scheme delays
Family car dealership shares £170,000 bonus pot with every employee

Dealers perplexed as Carwow radically shakes up its daily auctions removing reserve prices
Government confirms pay-per-mile charges on EVs as plans get mixed response
Arnold Clark profit hits £112.5m as Chinese brands help drive new car growth
Car Dealer Power Cars of the Year – dealers pick their winners of 2026
Car Dealer Power 2026: Who won what at this year’s awards?
Ford criticises ZEV mandate as boss calls for ‘urgent review’ of eco targets

Volkswagen to cut models by up to 50% and reduce ‘complexity’
Denza electric supercar set to become UK’s most expensive Chinese car
Skywell dealers left in limbo as UK importer collapses with immediate effect
Weekly Briefing: What is Carwow planning for its used car advertising site?