Mike Allen, the managing director of Cambria Private Capital which invests in and provides advisory services to automotive start-ups and scale-ups, shares his thoughts on what dealerships will look like in 2030.
The transformation of UK car dealerships is well underway. Once purely transactional spaces focused on car sales, they are now evolving into multi-functional hubs that offer a blend of experience, service, and convenience.
The shift is not a short-term trend but rather a necessary adaptation to the seismic changes affecting the automotive sector. The growth of the electric vehicle car parc, changing consumer expectations, and new real estate opportunities are reshaping how dealerships operate.
The future will see dealerships serving as experience centres, service hubs, and strategically located charging stations, creating new revenue streams and enhancing their role within the automotive ecosystem.
The transition to experience centres.
The traditional dealership model has relied heavily on footfall and in-person transactions. However, consumer behaviour is changing. Online research and digital transactions have reduced the need for customers to visit physical showrooms simply to gather information.
Instead, the dealership’s role is shifting towards providing immersive experiences that build trust, educate buyers, and differentiate brands.
Dealerships are increasingly becoming experience centres where customers can interact with vehicles meaningfully. Rather than just displaying cars, these spaces allow prospective buyers to explore features, test-drive different models, and gain expert insights into emerging vehicle technologies.
The need for such experiences is essential in the EV market, where consumers seek reassurance about charging, range, and long-term ownership costs. As EV adoption grows, dealerships will become knowledge centres, with staff trained to address concerns about battery life, charging infrastructure, and cost comparisons with internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
Urban showroom spaces are also growing in significance. With real estate constraints in city centres, smaller, high-footfall showrooms are emerging as an alternative to large, out-of-town dealerships.
These urban spaces allow brands to maintain visibility while catering to a customer base that increasingly values convenience and accessibility.
The service hub model.
As the automotive industry transitions towards electrification, dealerships must rethink their approach to aftersales and service. Over time, traditional revenue streams from servicing ICE vehicles, such as oil changes, engine repairs, and exhaust replacements, will diminish. Instead, dealerships must focus on new areas such as battery maintenance, software updates, and diagnostic services.
Fixed operations are already a major contributor to dealership profitability, with gross profit from service departments increasing. The trend will continue as dealerships reposition themselves as customer service businesses that happen to work with cars, rather than solely sales-driven entities.
Customers will still require servicing and maintenance, but the nature of these services will evolve.
Software-defined vehicles will need over-the-air updates, and technicians will require expertise in diagnosing and repairing complex electronic systems rather than traditional mechanical components.
The growing complexity of EVs also means that dealerships can play a pivotal role in ensuring battery health and longevity. Concerns about battery degradation, resale values, and replacement cost remain barriers to EV adoption.
By offering transparent battery health checks and certified refurbishment programmes, dealerships can instil confidence in customers and create new revenue opportunities.
The power of dwell time.
One of the most compelling dealership opportunities lies in integrating ultra-rapid EV charging infrastructure.
Research by BT Group found that 60% of people believe the UK’s EV charging infrastructure is inadequate, and 78% of petrol and diesel drivers cite charging inconvenience as a barrier to switching to EV. Dealerships, often strategically located and equipped with ample space, are ideally positioned to become key charging hubs.
The potential of dwell time should not be underestimated. Unlike traditional refuelling, which takes only a few minutes, charging an EV can take anywhere from 20 minutes to several hours, depending on the power output. It presents a significant commercial opportunity that dealerships can capitalise on by providing retail, food and beverage options, and additional services that encourage customers to spend more while they wait.
Dealerships that integrate such infrastructure can generate revenue from charging and use this as an opportunity to engage customers, upsell services, and strengthen brand loyalty.
The future of dealerships
The physical footprint of dealerships is evolving. With the increasing adoption of direct-to-consumer sales models, it’s clear the industry will need fewer dealerships over the long term. However, what is clear is that those that remain must adapt their real estate strategies.
The reallocation of space is already underway. Some dealerships are shifting towards smaller, strategically located retail spaces in urban centres. Others are repurposing parts of their premises for EV charging, servicing, and customer engagement.
There is also a significant opportunity to repurpose dealership sites into mixed-use developments, combining retail, charging, and service facilities.
The shift towards the agency model has slowed, allowing traditional dealerships more time to adapt. However, the underlying trends driving change remain. With Chinese EV manufacturers such as BYD, Nio, and Xpeng entering the UK market, new retail footprints and dealership layouts are being explored.
These brands are focused on affordability and innovation, further intensifying the need for UK dealerships to modernise their approach.
The transformation of UK car dealerships is not about their decline but their evolution. The real estate opportunities in charging infrastructure and service-based business models are vast.
As the automotive landscape shifts, the dealerships that prioritise innovation, customer experience, and strategic site development will emerge as leaders in this new era. The challenge is significant, but the opportunity is even greater.
Author: Mike Allen, managing director, Cambria Private Capital