AM Live’s full agenda is now available to explore with over 20 industry professionals ready to share their views on the biggest challenges facing the automotive retail industry.

The event, brought to you by AM and the National Franchised Dealer Association (NFDA), is being held at the NEC, near Birmingham on November 9 and is free to attend for franchised and independent dealer professionals. The show offers four dedicated seminar theatres and an exhibition hall packed with the latest innovations from the UK’s leading automotive retail suppliers.

The seminar content across the day will be split between Digital, Sales, Aftersales and Strategy, covering all the biggest industry topics including the agency retail model, disruptor EV brands entering the UK market, used car data science, electric vehicle profits and more.

Leading UK automotive retail experts from Arnold Clark, Pendragon, CarShop, Carbase and Wilsons will all be sharing case studies and their expertise at the show.

Innovative digital transformation specialists from CitNOW Group, Keyloop, Marketing Delivery, Phyron and Reputation will all offer their support and advice on the latest thinking on topics like omnichannel retailing, AI and automation, marketing and more.

Not only will the event offer a packaged schedule of seminar content, there will also be over 50 innovative suppliers under one roof for delegates to explore the latest innovations and benchmark the best solutions for their business.

Key seminar session highlights at AM Live:

Cybercrime: Plan your digital defence

• Eddie Hawthorne, Arnold Clark chief executive
• Mark Rodbert, Idax Software chief executive

AM100 dealer groups are being increasingly targeted by cybercriminals looking to hold their businesses to ransom. Eddie Hawthorne, Arnold Clark chief executive, will share his experience of the business being attacked at the end of 2022 and how the company worked to recover and prepare its defences for the future. Mark Rodbert, chief executive at Idax Software will also provide advice on reviewing a company’s internal processes and systems to make sure they aren’t caught out.

The big agency model debate

This session will examine the desire of many prestige and mainstream brands to control the new car sales process and have closer relationships with consumers while moving their retail partners onto agency-type agreements. Automotive retailers will have to carefully navigate the split between franchised and agency models within the next 12 months. This session will examine the benefits of agency, but will also prompt some healthy debate on the challenges it creates for the sector too.

• Kristian Elvefors, Volvo Car UK managing director
• Steve Young, ICDP managing director
• Miles Trowe, TLT partner & NFDA retained legal advisor

Place your bets: Emerging OEMs

Emerging Chinese brands are entering the UK en masse and seeking to be the new Kia and Hyundai for the 2020s and 2030s. Successful franchised dealers can see through the charm offensive and bet on brands with the most potential. This session will explore all the opportunities and disruption new entrants will bring to the UK market over the next 24 months.

• Tony Whitehorn, T Whitehorn Consultancy consultant
• Owen Edwards, Grant Thornton head of downstream automotive
• Mike Dean, Bloomberg Intelligence global head of automotive research

Reasons to attend AM Live 2023

• Benchmark your business and check your strategy and trajectory against others in the industry through fireside chats with other automotive retail leaders
• Join in the debate on the biggest topics in the industry like the agency model, disruptor EV brands, omnichannel retailing and more
• Reaffirm and build on your existing knowledge by seeing the latest systems and technology available from the UK’s leading motor retail suppliers
• Network with motor retail peers, manufacturer and supplier partners