Across forecourts and showrooms in the UK, automotive retailers are contending with a simple but pressing truth: expectations have changed faster than the systems designed to meet them. It is no longer enough to have the cars, the team, and the finance offers — because when the digital and physical journey breaks, the customer walks.
In 2025, the UK dealership is under pressure from every direction. Operational costs are rising, the EV transition is in motion, and cyber threats are becoming front-page risks. Yet too many showrooms are held back by legacy infrastructure, siloed systems, and tools that can no longer carry the weight of the sale.
At Six Degrees, we call this the tipping point. And we believe the right response isn’t revolution — it’s refinement. That’s what RE:geared. is about.
The Systems Behind the Sale
The dealership experience has always been about more than the vehicle. It’s about trust. Speed. Precision. Yet in showrooms across the country, friction is creeping in:
- CRM records are patchy or out of date
- Sales platforms freeze at the final step
- Customer finance journeys stall across disconnected apps
- Showroom Wi-Fi fails, killing momentum and confidence
These aren’t technology issues in isolation. They’re lost sales, lower margins, and reputational cracks.
Modern customers arrive informed, connected, and time-sensitive. When your tech makes them repeat details, or your systems don’t speak to each other, you risk losing both the sale and the perception of competence.
The EV Question No One Can Fully Answer
EV adoption is happening, but the customer journey is fractured. Sales advisors are often undertrained in the specifics. Online-to-offline experiences rarely align. And infrastructure can’t keep pace with the questions being asked:
- What’s the charging timeline?
- Can I see live total cost of ownership?
- Does your finance portal reflect EV incentives?
Staff feel unprepared. Systems are unconnected. And prospects, particularly first-time EV buyers, are walking away unconvinced.
With RE:geared., Six Degrees helps dealerships connect data from web lead to test drive, through to quote, finance, delivery and follow-up — powered by Microsoft tooling for customer journey intelligence.
Cyber Risk Is Now a CX Issue
The 2024 ransomware attack on CDK Global showed the industry what’s at stake. Thousands of dealerships ground to a halt. Digital systems locked. Sales pipelines stalled. Customers confused.
Cyber security is no longer an IT concern. It’s a customer confidence issue.
Shared logins, unpatched endpoints, flat networks — these are not just internal risks. They are doors to disruption, and every dealership is a target.
RE:assured., our cyber foundation, embeds Microsoft security tooling across every layer — from kiosk tablets to HQ data centres. Because today, protecting operations is protecting brand.
Digital Retail Requires Infrastructure Retailers Can’t See
The best dealership tech is invisible. It powers without obstructing. But too many retailers are layering customer tools onto old infrastructure, creating a brittle digital surface with nothing solid beneath.
Our work with UK retail groups has shown that the core problem isn’t ambition — it’s architecture. Without hybrid cloud, without unified identity, without real-time data — you can’t scale the experience that customers expect.
RE:connected. isn’t about replacing what works. It’s about underpinning it. Azure cloud, hybrid tenancy, unified identity, scalable network design. The boring stuff that protects margins.
Frontline Friction = Fewer Closures
Your advisors are your asset. But when their tools slow them down, their confidence follows.
We’ve seen showrooms where:
- Teams share tablets across desks
- Salespeople can’t access live stock status
- Delivery confirmations take days, not hours
RE:equipped. puts Microsoft 365, frontline workflows, and depot-to-HQ connectivity into the hands of every advisor. So they can serve, not struggle.
Why This Matters Now
Every dealership is feeling the squeeze. EV turnover isn’t where it needs to be. Buyers are more cautious. Online experiences are outpacing in-store capability. Cyber insurers are tightening their terms. And every lost lead, every delayed delivery, is a risk to revenue.
But this isn’t the time to panic. It’s the time to RE:gear.
Modernise what matters. Secure what’s vulnerable. Equip who delivers. And do it with a Microsoft-aligned partner who knows the retail automotive playbook.
Six Degrees has helped retail groups across the UK improve resilience, cost predictability and operational integrity — without disruption.
Final Word
You don’t need to overhaul but you do need to act. Because your next buyer isn’t asking what’s in the lot. They’re noticing what’s under the surface.
RE:geared. means being ready for them.
Download the whitepaper Retail’s Big RE:think. and gain learnings from our retail roundtable held at Lord’s.
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