Driving Automotive 2025
25 April 2025 by Curtis Hutchinson
Pinewood’s Bill Berman and Kia’s Paul Philpott head NFDA Driving Automotive 2025 speaker line-up
Senior automotive leaders from Pinewood.AI, Kia, JudgeService, Grant Thornton and Auto Trader feature in the speaker line-up for the National Franchised Dealers Association’s Driving Automotive 2025 conference.
Hosted at London’s Central Hall Westminster on 1 May, the morning of the AM Awards, Driving Automotive 2025: Driving Profits and Unlocking High Gear Success will address managing change and using artificial intelligence and people to drive profitability.
Bill Berman, the former head of US giant AutoNation and Pendragon, now CEO of DMS supplier Pinewood.AI, will discuss the changes, challenges and opportunities facing dealers in 2025 and beyond.
Paul Philpott, President and CEO of Kia UK, this year’s top performing brand in the NFDA’s Dealer Attitude Survey, will talk about how OEMs and retailers can work together to build long lasting and profitable partnerships.
Neil Addley, Managing Director of JudgeService, co-organisers of the event, will present the findings from the review platform’s latest State of the Nation consumer research.
Owen Edwards, Grant Thornton’s Head of Automotive, will assess the economic headwinds facing dealers, the ramifications of global tariffs and analyse emergent Chinese car brands.
Auto Trader’s Marc Palmer and Bex Kennett will share the marketplace’s latest insights, while leading AI consultant Duncan Anderson will assess the practical opportunities the technology offers car dealers.
“This year’s Driving Automotive conference will explore the big themes impacting franchised car dealers and how technology and people can drive profitability,” said Sue Robinson, chief executive of the NFDA.
“Following the success of last year’s sold-out event, this year’s conference is set to be our biggest yet with our speakers sharing their thoughts and insights on how dealers can prepare for change,” she said.
Talking about the event JudgeService’s Addley said: “We’re delighted to be collaborating once again with the NFDA for this year’s Driving Automotive and look forward to welcoming colleagues from across the sector ahead of celebrating our industry’s achievements over the last 12 months at the AM Awards.”
To book a place at the NFDA Driving Automotive conference, or find out more about the event, visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/driving-automotive-2025-driving-profits-and-unlocking-high-gear-success-tickets-1280514115189?aff=oddtdtcreator.
Further details and comments available from Neil Addley on 07795 665927 or neil@judgeservice.com.
About JudgeService
Launched in 2011 by Neil Addley, JudgeService is the UK’s only customer review platform developed exclusively for the car retailing sector. By ensuring all reviews are verified and genuine, JudgeService builds a solid foundation of trust and respect between customers and sellers enabling car retailers to actively manage their online reputations.
JudgeService shares granular insight reports with dealers to help them identify opportunities to improve customer satisfaction levels, with many achieving 100% recommendation scores.
Based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, JudgeService has published over 1 million customer reviews and is used by over 1,000 franchised, independent and car supermarket sites across the UK.
Issued by Curtis Hutchinson Communications
