Heels, Handshakes and Horsepower: getting behind the wheel
Episode 30 of the Autotrader podcast Women in the driving seat, hosted by Editorial Director, award-winning motoring journalist Erin Baker is released today. The series aims to rip up the rule book on the female-empowerment narrative by sharing personal as well as professional experiences, examining the space where both collide, and the challenges, fears and successes happen.
This episode reflects on an automotive industry that is as human as it is global, where hands‑on experience, lifelong learning and the confidence to say no are just as vital as innovation and AI.
All episodes in the series feature a Podcast Pit Stop – a quick fire round covering the professional and personal including; UK or China? Slippers or stilettos? Plug-in hybrid or pure electric? OEM or Retailer?
Join Erin as she puts two innovators in the driving seat.
Podcast preview
Sam Ward:
[On training] “You need to understand your learners. You need patience in order to let them learn at their own pace.”
“I have noticed - and I don't know whether it's just a particular age group - but I do find a lot of people do struggle with eye contact… It is so important”
“I'll always take the opportunity to drive a van. I just think there's nothing like trying the product for yourself and then of course when you're talking to customers or you're talking to suppliers or manufacturers, you've actually been hands-on with that vehicle.”
“We had some vehicles on site, some L4, so extra long wheelbase chassis vehicles, and we needed to deliver them about 40 minutes from the office. Some of the guys were happy to jump in and help, but some were like, ‘I'm not driving - that's too long.’ I was like, ‘Come on, I'll do it.’ So, in my heels, off I went to deliver the uh the vans myself.”
“I definitely think there's a place for electric. I'm driving hybrid myself at the minute because I wanted to dip my toe in it.”
“My husband's a builder and I've spoken to him about electric [vans] because there's some really good deals that you can get at the minute. But he said I just couldn't afford to have the builders you know off the tools and charging. So, I think there's a lot of work to be done but definitely opportunities and there's some really good contenders coming through the market now.”
“If you ever told me that one day I'd be as excited as I am right now about vans, I would never believe you. But here I am almost 10 years in.”
“What it's offered me is real variety. I mean, I've been 10 years, seven different roles, and I know that's a lot to do with me as a person, because the type of person that I am, I'm constantly looking to learn and grow and develop, but what Vans Direct and Vertu and the van industry has offered me is a career path.
“it's okay to say no… I really now ensure that my focus aligns with my priorities and I've learned that sometimes saying no is sometimes the best way of saying yes to yourself”
Yin Noe:
“The Chinese way of business is very different to western way of business”
“There is a term in China called Guanxi, which basically means relationships. That basically means that we want to build a friendship… to assess trustworthiness, to assess your values… and if I know your values I can do business with you – a handshake is all that’s needed to solidify that business relationship.”
“I definitely see a coexisting relationship. I think western vehicles - they provide that trustworthy element, that legacy and they have amazing cars and great design, and I think China also offers like a lot of innovation affordability so I see a world where both exist. I think that's where you know we have different solutions for different needs.”
[On AI] “it's both a blessing and a curse. I do see it can promote laziness - less of our own personal thinking… but I do think that AI has given us so much uh you know fast forward technology.”
“I would say the automotive community is just amazing… so when I would travel I would recognize people and I just felt like ‘oh you know I'm not I don't feel alone’.”
Erin Baker:
“I was just thinking about last night, my GCSE son is doing some coursework English and he was meant to have studied Macbeth. Of course, he hasn't read the play and he had to write a thing for his teacher on a moment of poignant tragedy in Macbeth. So, he just asked chat GPT and come on - I said, no, I'm going to get my copy of Macbeth - we're going to actually look at the printed version and find it on a page. He just looked at me like I was mad.”
“You're so right about the automotive industry is you know this massive global industry and yet sometimes it feels very small doesn't it? Like a village not a city.”
Notes to editors
ABOUT ERIN BAKER
Erin Baker is an award-winning motoring journalist and Editorial Director of Auto Trader. She writes a monthly driving column for Vogue, is a World Car of the Year judge, consults for Goodwood and hosts She's Electric, a national roadshow bringing women and electric cars together. Erin is passionate about narrowing the gender gap, both in the automotive industry itself and between car brands and female consumers, through more targeted language, marketing and experiences. She is a single mother of two boys.
ABOUT AUTOTRADER
Autotrader Group plc is the UK’s largest automotive platform. It listed on the London Stock Exchange in March 2015 and is a member of the FTSE 100 Index.
Autotrader’s purpose is Driving Change Together. Responsibly. Autotrader is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive culture, it aims to build stronger partnerships with its customers and use its voice and influence to drive more environmentally friendly vehicle choices.
With the largest number of car buyers and the largest choice of trusted stock, Autotrader’s marketplace sits at the heart of the UK car buying process. That marketplace is built on an industry-leading technology and data platform, which is increasingly used across the automotive industry. Autotrader is continuing to bring more of the car buying journey online, creating an improved buying experience, whilst enabling all its retailer partners to sell vehicles online.
Autotrader publishes a monthly used car Retail Price Index which is based on pricing analysis of circa 800,000 unique vehicles. The same data that powers the Index is used by the Office for National Statistics to make the UK’s official measures of inflation more robust, as well as the Bank of England to feed the broader UK economic indicators.
For more information, please visit: plc.autotrader.co.uk
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