Steve Fowler’s Post

An interesting take on the automotive banking market. Car makers and retailers are missing out on millions of pounds of revenue. Worth a read.

Great video showing what Omoda and Jaecoo showrooms look like in the UK. Mind that drone 🦆

News journalism is where my heart is and I love a good scoop! Many years ago, I revealed to the world the name of the new Tesla Model 3 - Elon Musk wanted to call it Model E, but Ford owned that name so Elon couldn't have the line up of Tesla Models S, E and X! And earlier this year, after a chat with brilliant DS Automobiles and Fiat boss Olivier Francois, I revealed the future for DS was going back to its aerodynamic roots for new models. So, it's great to see today that DS has come good on that promise with the beautiful DS SM Tribute - pretty close to our scoop image, I reckon. What do you think (scoop on the right)? Lots more scoop stories to come from me, but sadly not for Auto Express anymore. I wonder if they'll miss them...?! #automotive #news #scoop #journalism DS Automobiles UK Stellantis UK MariaGrazia Davino Jules Tilstone Jeremy Townsend Vince Clisham Krystyna Perry Danilo Coglianese

Another week and another Adrian arrives at Aston Martin – the second of two masterstrokes from Lawrence Stroll. It's great to see the Aston Martin F1 Team in the news today with Adrian Newey joining the team as Managing Technical Partner. I don't understand the job title, but I do know Newey will make a difference - as he has done everywhere he's worked. This is barely a week after Adrian Hallmark joined Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd as CEO - Hallmark will make a big difference to the road car business, too. I greatly admire what Stroll has done with the F1 team, bringing in some of the best people in F1, top technical partners and excellent sponsors. But if there's one weakness in his leadership, it's nepotism. Does anyone really believe Lance Stroll is the best driver to have alongside Fernando Alonso? How much better could the team's performance be with someone else in the second (or joint first) seat? Stroll Senior's legacy in Formula One should be a multi-championship winning team. And to do that you need to have the best two drivers you can possibly get on the grid. Stroll Junior may be an okay racer, but for Aston Martin in F1 okay isn't good enough. Leadership means making difficult decisions. And maybe Lawrence Stroll can't or won't make the most difficult one of all...

If Elon Musk is turning you off Tesla (and he is for many), here are ten alternatives. Great to be working with The Guardian on this. https://lnkd.in/eQBwbtiz

It's hard not to be impressed by Victor Zhang and the business he's set up at OMODA UK and JAECOO UK in just over a year. I drove the Omoda E5 last week and - for the money (starting at £33k) – it offers a decent range (257 miles WLTP), impressive kit, family-friendly space, a great warranty and excellent quality. It's exactly what's needed to get retail buyers thinking positively about EVs. But it's not just about EVs - Omoda and Jaecoo are hedging their bets with a range of petrol, plug-in hybrid and all-electric models coming. Zhang's comments to me, in this exclusive piece for Car Dealer Magazine, highlight the important role dealers will play in telling UK buyers about Omoda and Jaecoo. And again, from the way many car makers are rowing back from the agency model with dealers, it seems Zhang has made a smart move, understanding how the majority of the car-buying public want to buy cars. With Omodas 3, 7 and 9 joining the Omoda 5 in showrooms over the next couple of years and posher Jaecoo J7 and J5s arriving within the next 12 months, it's an exciting time for his brands and provides a huge challenge to the legacy car makers. Will Omoda and Jaecoo hit the circa 80,000 units per year target in the next "three to five years"? I wouldn't bet against them. https://lnkd.in/eSP4Zvrx

Coming soon from Volvo Cars… the all-electric ES90 saloon. Think all the tech from the EX90, but in a saloon. And Volvo CEO Jim Rowan tells me all the software will be finished before it goes on sale. Unlike EX90. No current plans for estate EV90, though ☹️

Last week I was invited to drive the new Volvo EX90 - my walk around video below will let you have a good look at it. I've always really liked Volvos and the little EX30 is one of my favourite cars right now. So I was super-excited for the EX90. And it's a lovely thing with a great interior, a nice drive, super-quiet, efficient for a big car, a great touchscreen and it's well made. The highlight (for this geek) was the incredible Bowers & Wilkins Dolby Atmos audio system – the best I have EVER heard in a car (and I like my car audio systems). It's so awesome I can't wait to try it again - A-Ha's Take On Me never sounded so goo. I'd buy an EX90 just for the audio system! But the car is not only late (confirmed by a Volvo representative on the launch) there are eight key features the car has listed that are not yet operational - from the lidar system (that's a lidar sensor on the roof) to Apple CarPlay. They'll all come as software over the air updates, but maybe not until well into next year. Tomorrow I'm with Volvo in Gothenburg to see the first customer take delivery of their EX90 - without lidar, Apple CarPlay, some ADAS features, bi-directional charging and more. If they've got the car on a three-year lease, they could be missing those key features for a third of their time with their car (although all customer with orders have had it all explained to them, I'm told). However, the biggest shock to everyone responding to my post on X is the price - the car I drove was over £100,000. A cheaper version will come eventually, but this is Volvo pushing into a new market and a new era. Is it a big jump too soon? Maybe our fixation on list prices is a problem, but that's the way it is – I'd rather talk monthly payments. For me, I'd wait for a cheaper one, add the Bowers & Wilkins audio and make sure all the kit is fitted and works! Then it'll be the car I and Volvo want it to be and one that I'd rate higher than 6 out of 10 currently. #automotive #EV #electriccars #Volvo #EX90 Volvo Cars Jim Rowan Nicole Melillo Shaw Ian Tonkin Tom Lynch