Car Dealer Podcast

Jon and James are joined by Faheem Miah, one of Car Planet's three co-founders. Faheem, along with his brothers Taslim and Tamim, set up Car Planet in 2022, and the trio have since scaled the business from 30 cars to over 2,000 across several sites.

Faheem also touched on the difficulties of keeping customers happy, particularly in a business with such a large volume of sales.

Stories discussed include the reveals of the Paris Motor Show, Tesla's 'flying' car, and the latest results from dealer groups including Chorley, Lithia and Eden.

Links to stories:

Weekly Briefing: How the Chinese car invasion will hit the used car market hard

Tesla launches a ‘flying’ car as it unveils Roadster 2 with SpaceX thrusters 

Paris Motor Show 2026: All the biggest new cars and concepts revealed

Chery to launch another UK car brand as iCAUR confirms 2027 arrival

Lithia UK profits almost treble to £60m as dealer group hails turnaround in performance

Chorley Group shuts dealerships and focuses on core brands after posting another loss

Painful restructuring leads to profits surge at Eden Automotive Group

Renault’s UK finance arm plunges to £110m loss as car finance scandal bill hits £219m

£9.1bn car finance compensation scheme court battle pushed back to February

Graeme Potts, founder and CEO of Eden Motor Group joined James and Jon on the podcast this week, along with Autotrader's head of strategy and insights, Marc Palmer.

Potts chatted to us about the trends he's seeing in both new and used sales, across the group's plethora of brands, including MG and Leapmotor. Naturally, we also couldn't help but ask a few questions about his illustrious career too – and his plans for the future.

Palmer meanwhile was on hand to give a peek behind the curtain at Autotrader's latest data, including how consumer confidence may be stronger than we might have predicted.

Stories discussed include the new Jaguar Type 01, impending tariffs on Chinese cars in the UK, and what James picked up from a recent motor finance conference (aside from just some free pens).

Links to stories:

Weekly Briefing: Are diesels dead? And an economist on what’s next for car sales

UK government preparing tariffs on Chinese electric cars amid pressure from EU

Used car prices fall for first time this year – but EV values keep climbing

Oct 7: Asos hacked; Badenoch to give ‘tax-cutting’ speech; Renault revives MPV with E-Space

Freelander returning to Britain as new car brand with JLR and Chery backing

This is the Jaguar Type 01 – the 1,016bhp EV tasked with reinventing the British brand

Cazoo's Lucy Tugby joined Jon and Batch for this week's podcast, discussing the marketplace's recent consumer trust survey – which revealed some rather painful truths about the relationship between buyers and dealers.

Tugby, who serves as Cazoo's Chief Marketing Officer, also chatted to us about the platform's (relatively) recent brand name switch from Motors, and what effect it's had on the business and its customers.

Read the full results of Cazoo and Car Dealer Magazine's joint survey below:

Cazoo speaks out after two trust surveys show deep cracks in car buying process

Other news covered this week includes SMMT stats for September, why dealers don't want diesel part exchanges, and why Dodge is making a return to the UK.

Stories covered:

New car market surges 12% in September as private buyers return to showrooms

Soaring fuel prices spark rush for used EVs – but dealers don’t want diesel part-exchanges

Unity Automotive appointed primary UK dealer for new Dodge Charger

Nominate yourself for a Used Car Award (Nominations close Monday 28th September)

Weekly Briefing: I’ve driven 10 different Chinese cars this week – and learned a lot

Mercedes owner hit with £43,700 engine quote after catastrophic failure at 48,000 miles

Volkswagen slashes 2026 profit forecast after €10bn hit as China struggles deepen

Bentley unveils its first electric car as £170,000 Torcal takes aim at luxury SUV rivals

Unreasonable car buyer customer behaviour ‘has got worse’, reveals Car Dealer Trust Survey

‘Survival of the fittest’: Aion UK boss predicts brutal shake-up for car industry

Weekly Briefing: Why we’re all seeing more angry used car buyers

With used car margins under pressure, finding extra profit is becoming harder — but that doesn't mean the opportunities have disappeared.
In this special Car Dealer Podcast for Profit Clinic Week, James Batchelor speaks to Dealer Auction, Autoglym, Warranty Solutions Group and TekCor4 about where dealers can make more from the business they are already doing.
From buying the right stock and knowing when to move it on, to making more from added-value products, protecting margin after the sale and converting customers who slipped through the net, this episode looks at the practical ways dealers can squeeze more profit from every stage of the used car journey.

UPDATED: JLR confirms 4,000 jobs to be axed as part of £1.7bn cost-saving drive

Car dealer Lookers opens flagship Omoda and Jaecoo dealership in Battersea

Weekly Briefing: Why going behind the scenes of a Chinese car dealership worried me

‘The shape of the day has changed’: Why new plate day still matters

Car dealers among 660 firms named and shamed for failing to pay National Minimum Wage

Garage hits back at HMRC after being named and shamed over minimum wage breach

DVLA bans more than 500 ‘76’ number plates for being too rude or offensive for the road

Volkswagen Group set to axe Seat brand to focus on Cupra by 2029 – reports

Volkswagen Group announces plans to axe 50,000 jobs as it slashes model range

Subaru dealers to offer free prostate cancer PSA tests to men aged over 50

From Aldi supermarket to used car supermarket: Hilton Garage unveils used car collection centre

‘I’d seriously consider packing in MOTs’: Garage owners demand test fee increase

Interest in Chinese cars reaches record level as half of buyers say they are ‘open’ to switch

‘Pay us and we’ll remove them’: Car dealers targeted by fake review blackmail scam

BMW insists German agency delay will not derail wider rollout as UK switch remains on track

Agency sales three years on: What car dealer accounts really tell us about the model

Weekly Briefing: Car dealers reveal what business is REALLY like this summer

Mergers and acquisitions market ‘as difficult as it has been in 10 years’ for UK car dealers

Omoda and Jaecoo strengthen warranties after experts criticise level of cover

Chinese carmaker Chery opens new UK R&D centre as part of ‘long-term’ growth plan

Government launches review of ZEV mandate as car dealers call for lighter targets

Listers Group profits fall 15% as agency switch hits £1.3bn turnover