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The car industry is being rebuilt from the ground up. Most dealers don't see it yet.

Margins are tightening. Chinese OEMs are landing in Europe with their own software stacks. Electric vehicles are reshaping the service revenue model dealers have relied on for decades. And somewhere in all of this, AI is quietly doing things that nobody is talking about publicly — yet.

Hélène Lanssens has spent over 20 years inside the machinery of automotive retail. She started her career as a dealer network trainer at Volkswagen France before moving through JATO Dynamics, where she mastered automotive data across 50+ markets, and Solera, where she led product strategy connecting repairers, adjusters, and insurers. That journey across OEMs, data intelligence, and aftersales gave her a panoramic view of the industry few people hold. Today she leads Partnerships and Product Marketing at Nextlane, one of Europe's largest automotive retail software groups.

In this conversation, we go deep.

• Why the dealers who survive the next five years will be the ones who treat data as infrastructure, not an afterthought
• Why the biggest risk with AI isn't adoption, it's stopping too early
• Why "we pick up the phone" is no longer the competitive advantage dealers think it is
• Why one-third of customer questions are already arriving when the showroom lights are off

We also get into the Nextlane open ecosystem model, the real story behind their platform connecting seven DMS systems across Europe through a single API layer, and what their new partnership with NOVACO actually unlocks for dealers on the ground.

This is not a conversation about what might happen someday. This is what is happening, explained by someone who has spent two decades building the systems behind it.

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Most dealers think the problem is the price. It's not.

Rolf Westgeest is the founder of EuroStocks.com and one of Europe's most experienced voices in automotive digital retail. He has spent 20 years inside the European automotive marketplace, building platforms, advising hundreds of dealerships, and watching millions of euros get quietly wasted on price cuts that never needed to happen.

His conclusion? The car was never the problem. The listing was.

In this episode, Rolf breaks down why dealers are losing deals before a single buyer ever sees their inventory, how classified portals actually rank and distribute vehicles, and what separates the dealerships quietly outperforming the market from those constantly chasing their tail on pricing.

He also gets into:

• Why 20% of EV listings are essentially invisible to buyers right now
• The cross-border trade opportunity most dealers are leaving on the table
• What AI is actually changing in automotive retail and what it isn't
• Why the first hour after a lead comes in decides everything
• How a €50 decision can outperform a €1,500 price cut

Rolf is also releasing a book on exactly this, and the ideas inside it are ones the industry hasn't put into a single place before.

If you work in automotive, manage inventory, run a dealership, or just want to understand how online car marketplaces actually work under the hood, this one will change how you think.

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What if the biggest problem in your dealership isn't your tools, your leads, or even your team but the conversations you're not having?

That's the thread running through my chat with Stefanie van Dijk, and it might just be the most honest conversation we've had on this podcast in a while.

Stefanie has spent over a decade in automotive, starting on the dealership floor, then spending eight years at DCDW helping dealers across the Netherlands and Europe get better at converting online interest into actual showroom visits. She knows the gap between what dealers think is holding them back and what's actually holding them back. Spoiler: it's usually not the tech.

In this episode, we get into:

• Why giving a trade-in estimate upfront can quietly cost you the deal, and what to do instead
• The real reason customers drive past four Mercedes dealers to buy from a fifth one an hour and a half away
• How to sell the appointment, not the car, and what that actually sounds like on a call
• Why so many digital initiatives in dealerships die on the floor
• Stefanie's Power Women in Automotive podcast and what she's learned after two and a half years of conversations
• Drive Together, her new movement pushing for real cultural change in automotive, not just diversity as a buzzword, but diversity as a business strategy
• The tension between AI and the human connection, and where she believes the line should be drawn

This one goes beyond the usual sales tactics. Stefanie is someone who's spent years in the rooms where dealers make decisions, and she's watched enough good ideas fail because of people problems disguised as process problems. She's direct, thoughtful, and genuinely trying to move the needle on something bigger than lead conversion.

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What if the real problem in automotive retail isn’t too little technology, but too little purpose?

In this episode of The Car Dealership Podcast, I sit down with Bart Pellis, a marketing strategist, advisor, and keynote speaker working with dealerships and national sales companies across Europe. Born and raised in the south of the Netherlands, he now lives and works along the Mediterranean coast. With a background rooted in creativity and automotive retail, Bart helps dealer groups shape marketing strategies, build strong teams, and rethink how people and AI can work together in the future of the automotive industry.

This conversation goes way beyond marketing tactics or the latest AI tool. We talk about people, profit, purpose, and why so many dealerships are busy doing more while earning less.

What we get into in this episode

• Why “more leads” has become a dangerous default strategy
• How profit is leaking out of dealerships even when volumes look healthy
• Bart’s simple but powerful way of rethinking sales teams, inspired by football
• The growing gap between central marketing departments and the showroom floor
• Why purpose matters more than perks when it comes to retaining talent
• The real role of AI in dealerships, not as a gimmick, but as a teammate
• Which tasks should clearly be automated, and which must stay human
• Why dealerships that over-automate the experience risk becoming replaceable
• A few surprising, very human moments from real AI conversations with customers

Bart also shares stories that stick with you. From living in a mountain village with snow on one side and the Mediterranean on the other, to customers bringing chocolates for an AI they thought was human, this episode balances big ideas with very real-world examples.

If you’re running a dealership, advising dealer groups, or simply trying to make sense of where automotive retail is heading, this episode will challenge some comfortable assumptions. It’s honest, sometimes uncomfortable, and ultimately hopeful.

Hit play if you want to think differently about growth, technology, and what really makes a dealership sustainable in the years ahead.

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Every dealer wants more leads, more trust, and more sales. But here is the uncomfortable truth. Many still treat their website like a digital brochure instead of the online version of their showroom. And in 2025, that gap is costing real money.

In this episode, I sit down with Ysai Laumen, founder of Morgen Internet, to talk about what actually makes a dealership website convert. Not theories. Not wishful thinking. Real insights from running more than 600 dealer sites in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Here is a taste of what we dig into in this conversation

• Why so many beautiful physical showrooms fall flat online
• The hidden habits of today’s buyers that dealers still overlook
• The three call to actions that outperform everything else on a used car detail page
• Why your first five photos matter more than your camera
• How subscription based websites stay fresh while one time builds slowly decay
• What dealers can actually learn from e-commerce and where the comparison stops
• How conversational AI will reshape the online showroom long before most dealers are ready
• A personal story of how I ended up buying something I never planned to buy and what it taught me about buyer psychology

This conversation will make you look at your website differently. Not as a brochure, but as the first salesperson every customer meets. And once you hear Ysai’s insights, it becomes very clear why some dealers convert and others unintentionally chase buyers away.

If you want practical ideas that can improve your online results this week, this episode is worth your time.

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In this episode, my guest is Derek Verpooten from Autotelex Belgium. Derek Verpooten is a father of three with a lifelong passion for cars, motorsport, and cycling. With more than 25 years in the automotive industry, and the last decade focused on digitalization, he now works as a business developer helping dealers tackle the challenges of fast-changing processes. Derek believes the right mix of well-trained people and smart digital tools is what drives lasting success in today’s automotive world.

In this episode we dive into what it really takes to build a career in the automotive world while keeping pace with how fast the industry is changing.

Derek shares his journey, from selling cars as a teenager, to working in the high-pressure world of GT3 and Lamborghini racing, to now leading Auto Telex’s expansion into Belgium. Along the way, we talk about the challenges dealer groups face with consolidation, how culture and regulation differ between Belgium and the Netherlands, and why speed and flexibility matter so much when it comes to car data and digital tools.

You’ll hear why passion still plays such a big role in this business, how AI and automation are changing the way dealers work, and what Derek believes will set the most successful groups apart in the years ahead.

This conversation blends story, strategy, and straight talk about the realities of automotive retail today. If you want to see where the market’s heading, and how passion and adaptability can shape a career, you’ll want to press play.

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In this episode my guest is Jacqui Barker, Global OEM Strategy Director at Keyloop. Jacqui’s career path has taken her from the early days of car magazines, through AutoTrader’s shift from print to digital, and now into helping OEMs and retailers adapt to the fast-changing world of tech and customer experience.

We talk about the big lessons she learned at AutoTrader that still apply today, how OEM strategy connects (or sometimes disconnects) with the reality of the showroom floor, and why partnerships with startups are shaping the future of automotive retail. Jacqui also shares her perspective on the bubbles in EVs and AI, and how leaders can bring their teams along when change feels overwhelming.

What I love about this conversation is how practical it is. Jacqui doesn’t just talk theory—she shares insights that dealers and industry leaders can actually use. If you’ve ever wondered how to bridge the gap between big-picture strategy and real-world customer experience, this episode is worth your time.

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In this episode, my guest is Paul de Vries, founder of DCDW (Digital Car Dealer Workshop) and a familiar face in the European automotive industry. Paul has worn just about every hat in the business—from pumping gas at a Volkswagen station, to running a dealership, to building and selling the first online new car platform in Europe to eBay.

We get into some powerful lessons about what it really takes to win with online leads. Paul shares why speed is everything, what happens when you miss the “first response” window, and how tools and processes can double conversion rates without spending more on marketing. We also explore the changing role of BDCs, where AI fits in (and where it doesn’t), and what European dealers can learn from their American counterparts.

What I love most about this conversation is how real Paul gets. He even admits to losing a deal because he wasn’t quick enough—and that honesty makes his advice all the more practical.

If you’ve been frustrated with “bad leads” or wondered why your digital marketing isn’t paying off the way it should, you’ll get a ton of insight here. This isn’t theory. It’s about what’s working right now and how you can apply it in your dealership today.