6 days ago
Serial award winning supercar dealer Acklam Cars has thrown open its doors for a behind the scenes video tour.
The Middlesbrough-based dealership specialises in luxury and performance cars and features in the latest episode of our Selling Supercars video series, sponsored by Mann Island Finance.
The dealership has built an incredible reputation online, stacking up thousands of five star reviews on TrustPilot and Auto Trader.
And the business has also won a series of accolades in our annual Used Car Awards – most recently for its Use of Video at our 2024 event.
In this special video, which you can watch above, the team show us around their impressive site where they sell supercars costing up to £500,000 under studio-style disco lights.
From the outside, nestled next to an Esso petrol station in a middle of a busy housing estate, the Acklam Cars showroom looks relatively unassuming. However, inside the team have built a stunning showroom to display their cars.
Launched by Chris Andrews some 20 years ago, the firm focusses on turning over high end cars quickly. Andrews explains in the video that he has targeted his team on selling stock as fast as they can.
He says on average it takes them just eight days to sell a used car. It’s worth bearing in mind these aren’t Kia Picantos – these are Ferraris, Rolls Royces and impossible-to-buy-new Lamborghinis.
Andrews started on the shop floor selling cars until he was presented with the opportunity to buy Acklam – and he’s built a team of talented sales staff around him to help the dealership continue to perform.
‘We probably had, I don’t know, maybe £100,000 worth of stock when we started,’ explains Andrews.
‘I’ve got cars now which are worth more than what the whole business was at the time.’
Andrews says his showroom is unlike any other and was built with one clear aim: To look good on social media.
Acklam has more than 80,000 subscribers on YouTube and nearly 60k followers on Instagram where the outfit showcases their stock in unique and engaging videos.
‘Everything is becoming social media driven,’ said Andrews.
‘We got a great design team in to redevelop the showroom, went over it again and again, and put it all together over about a year.’
Andrews said the lights – which can change colour and patterns above the cars in three different photo areas – plus the dealership fit out, cost more than £1m.
Andrews has also enabled his staff to become stars on social media. They often get recognised thanks to their viral TikTok and Instagram videos.
He said: ‘I think we’re the pioneers of video in the motor trade.
‘I couldn’t see anyone doing it properly, putting it into people’s homes. That’s what we’ve done – and we’ve got smart guys who come across really well.’
One of those is head of sales Liam Martin. He has worked at Acklam for more than two decades and believes the showroom design plays a key role in selling cars.
‘I absolutely love it,’ he said.
‘The lighting system, the cars we get – you can show off our stock as well as possible. What better place than this?’
Martin and his team now sell around 150-200 cars a month, mostly thanks to the videos. In fact, while we were filming Martin posted a video of a Rolls Royce Cullinan and when we returned from a half hour test drive he’d already sold it to a viewer on social media.
Andrews tells Car Dealer how he buys all his cars from private sellers and doesn’t put huge margins across them.
‘We want to sell our stock quickly for a good price, the right price – it’s what makes us stand out,’ he tells us.
Salesman Joe Khan, a father of six, also features in the Selling Supercars video taking a Ferrari Purosangue for a drive and talks candidly about what motivates him.
‘Honestly – my six kids,’ he says. ‘I want them to be proud of me. I want them to say, “Dad, you’ve done great”.’
Accounts for the business, published at Companies House, showed that last year the firm turned over £116m and made £3m profit before tax.
The latest episode is available to watch now on the Car Dealer Magazine YouTube channel under the Selling Supercars playlist where you’ll find five other episodes.
- Join our breaking news WhatsApp group
- Sign up for daily email Car Dealer news bulletins
- Listen to the latest Car Dealer Podcast
- Read the latest digital issue of Car Dealer Magazine
The post Inside Acklam Cars: How the bright lights of a Teeside supercar dealer has led to sales success appeared first on Car Dealer Magazine.
