A Snapshot of the EUROPEAN EV Market
Episode 13
This week, my good friend from Italy, Luca Montagner, is on the show! Luca is one of the founders of Quintegia, a research, training and event organization company for the automotive industry in Europe. He also plays a key role in the research activities of the ICDP (International Car Distribution Programme) and has been the Associate Director since 2007.
Luca’s decades of experience in automotive research brings an unparalleled level of expertise to the show – plus, you’ll get a behind the scenes look at what Europe is doing in terms of EV adoption, some background behind Automotive Dealer Day in Verona Italy, EV predictions for the future and more!
Episode Highlights:
(0:00) – Introduction
(0:36) – Episode beginning
(0:56) – What is Quintegia?
(1:49) – How do the workshops at NADA compare to what Luca’s seen in Europe
(3:00) – Some best practices that have helped dealers in Europe
(6:14) – Predictions for the coming year
(8:14) – Episode wrap-up
Transcript
Elena: So we are at NADA, and I’m here with my favorite friend, Luca, how are you doing this afternoon? Thank you so much for being here with me.
Luca: Great pleasure to meet again, you Elena. And thanks a lot for all your support with us in Italy.
Elena: I love you guys. So just so the listeners know what Quintegia is, tell us why it is this so important and your role in the organization? So Luca, tell us more about your background with organization and also the mission around Quintegia.
Luca: I have been working in the automotive industry since 1999. And so around 24 years ago, I started with Leonardo Buzzavo, a partner and the founder of in Quintegia after some years as researchers in an international program which is a network which studies the European automotive market. We decided after coming to NADA to organize a similar event in Italy. And we created Quintegia. And so I think we have been able to fill the gap a little bit with the US dealers, which for us are surely a sort of a best practice.
Elena: Okay, so we are at NADA. So your thoughts on the workshops at NADA? How does that compare to what you’re seeing in Europe?
Luca: First of all, that the number of workshops here at NADA are much more compared to the ones so we organized in Italy for different reasons. And here, in many cases, the contents are more practical and operational compared to the ones we organize maybe in Italy, and another great differences in Italy. Usually the speakers are not only the trainers, but also car manufacturers or dealers which shows the best practice or some interesting ideas to share with the audience with the attendees. Here. Most of our workshops are instead managed by trainers and are very skilled and very well prepared. In some cases. I attended the NADA see as many as some of the contents that could be maybe some a little repetitive but in the end, they show how new technologies can help to manage better the basics of our industry of retailers.
Elena: Luca, don’t hold any punches on it like I can take it. So I know that in Europe, you’re much farther ahead than in the US on electrification, mobility in general, and which is why it’s so important to get some, you know, US dealers and US mobility enthusiasts over to Automotive Dealer Day in Verona, Italy, shameless plug for you over there, but the reality is, is that you are so much further ahead than us. So if you could tell us more about some best practices that you found from Automotive Dealer Day that have helped dealers in Europe.
Luca: Thanks a lot for your kind words, you are very kind and I am very honored to receive them. We have to say that, broadly speaking in Europe and in Italy, now dealers are facing some very important challenges linked to the new distribution model. Some manufacturers have chosen the agency model in Europe, which is becoming reality just this year and in the next few years. They are also facing the challenge of electrification because the European Commission said that within 2045 all vehicles sold in Europe will be only electric vehicles and so it is a great challenge for the whole industry. And recently, we have seen that the development of many mobility providers across different solutions that end up in different countries. And also there is more and more importance of digital tools, online channels, which can be used to attract customers but also to sell new and use a car as it happened. I know also in the US, we have tried to transfer and to share with the Italian but also we’re open dealers is the opportunity to see how now good business model in terms of retail business model must be balanced good among different activities in Italy 20 years ago, dealers were only care about new cars. We have tried to push them to invest more in used cars in finance and insurance solutions and inefficiencies. And now I have to say that many Italian dealers have invested progressively money and tools and resources to develop their different business areas. And now the overall business is far more much more balanced and not too much linked to new car sales. I think maybe in other countries like US or the UK market. This is a reality since many years in the Italian market instead I think we have been able to help dealers to create a new culture, a new organization to explain better different areas and also the opportunity to engage and to attract new figures new roles in the dealer activity in the detail activity.
Elena: So last question for you. I know that we will we will meet again in Verona in May which will be beautiful any predictions that you have in terms of EVs are electrification for the coming year? What’s kind of on your radar for this year?
Luca: The Italian market is not the best one for electric vehicles but we are growing fast and in Europe, and now around between 15 and 20%. of new vehicles registered our electric vehicles. In some markets like Germany, Netherlands, and Nordic countries, the registration terms of a share of electric vehicles is still higher. And so we expect a fuller and progressive growth of electric vehicles also because all manufacturers now offer not one more than often 345 models in the developing markets and so customers have in front of them much a wide choice to choose from. And clearly this helps a decision on whether these vehicles in Verona in May and I hope to have a lot of foreign dealers, especially the US one because we think there are a lot of opportunities to share and best practices and we have decided to translate all contents of our workshops. in English. And so every dealer could enjoy not only the atmosphere, but also the contents that we offer. And we will talk a lot about electrification not only for in terms of a different way also over selling this car because the mobility, subscription, leasing solution and so on are more developed for electric vehicles, but also the impact of electric vehicles enough to says we know that electric vehicles have completely different needs in terms of after sales services and dealers have to prepare to face also this challenge.
Elena: Yes, I wish you could repeat that over and over again. there are specific challenges in that aftersale Luca is a genius everyone should go and see Luca at Automotive Dealer Day, thank you so much for your time. I always love seeing you. I’m excited to see you in Italy. it’s always good to see you there.
Luca: Come, come, come!
Elena: Love it, go to Verona, Italy, you should be there.