Asset Finance Connect (AFC) is delighted to announce that this year’s opening auto finance keynote address for its June 13 event will be delivered by Toby Marshall, managing director of GWM ORA UK. He will be interviewed by Asset Finance Connect’s head of content, David Betteley.

GWM ORA is an international electric car brand, launched in the UK in November 2022. The brand is known for its stand-out styling, quality and innovative user-centric technology. GWM ORA UK currently sells one model, the ORA Funky Cat First Edition, which is the first of a number of models designed to compete with traditional western brands in the UK and Europe.

All the signs are that Chinese brands have much to recommend them including high quality infotainment systems, which are thought by many to outperform western alternatives, and better cameras and sensors, an increasingly vital differentiator for auto OEMs seeking to lead the way on semi-autonomy and in-car services. The design and build quality is great too.

The word on the street at the recent Shanghai motor show was that Chinese players may already be well on the way to outperforming many established, western brands. Their arrival creates a range of opportunities and challenges for UK and European dealers and finance providers in addition to challenges for western OEMs.

The data underlines the scale of change that is underway. China is already the world’s biggest market for electric vehicles; Chinese OEMS exported more cars than Germany in 2022 and is set to knock Japan off its top spot later this year.

The battle to dominate the electric vehicle market is key for auto OEMs worldwide as the EU and UK have not backed down on ambitious plans to drive a transition from ICE to BEV.

The EU ratified its timeline for the ban on manufacture of ICE vehicles, albeit with a carve-out for bio-fuels negotiated by Germany in April. In doing so it closed the door on a greater reliance on hybrids during the transition. The consequence of this, as Professor Jim Saker, president of the UK Institute of Motor Industry noted at the December AFC conference, may be that the car industry will be increasingly dominated by Chinese companies, who already control of 85% of BEV raw materials.

Toby Marshall is managing director of GWM ORA UK and a director of International Motors. International Motors with Lloyds Banking Group as their finance and leasing partner, announced in November 2022 that they had signed an agreement to bring the electric vehicle brand GWM ORA to the UK market. The joint venture business is called International Motors Finance. Retail customers will use International Motors Finance for HP and PCP products. Lex Autolease will provide PCH and BCH products.

International Motors are recognised as the industry pioneer for Chinese brands. It will be interesting to hear from Toby what else IM may have in store!

Lloyds Bank funded over £1 billion for BEV and plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2022. The pace in growth in BEV sales is expected to continue to grow rapidly.

Nick Williams, managing director, transport, Lloyds Banking Group commented at the announcement: “As the UK’s market leader in automotive funding and leasing, supporting the transition [to BEVs] is central to our vision, helping motorists and businesses make the switch to electric in a way and at a time that’s right for them. This exciting new partnership will help us bring electric motoring to even more people.”

The Asset Finance Connect Summer Conference 2023 will take place on June 13th at etc.venues at 155 Bishopsgate, beside Liverpool Street Station in London. The event attracts in excess of 450 delegates and is the largest auto and equipment finance event in London.

The event will consider how finance companies are leveraging partnerships to enable the transition to low carbon assets. A critical contribution that finance organisations make in enabling the transition to net zero will be from mitigating the effects of increased costs and risk associated with new, green assets with uncertain residuals. Organisations like Lloyds Banking Group will be keen to create products that enable all of the population to afford electric motoring and not just the wealthy. Government subsidies, designed to reduce costs for company BEVs, have driven increased uptake of BEVs among the better off. Salary sacrifice schemes have extended the effect of this among more junior employees. The key challenge will be in extending BEV uptake among all segments of consumers, including the less well off.

Tickets for the event are available until the end of May at a discounted “early bird” rate by visiting the Conference website at https://afcconferenceuk.com/afcuk/en/page/book-now

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