What Does a Typical Automotive Consulting Project Look Like?

Key Insights

• Automotive consulting projects often begin when something in the network doesn’t quite add up - whether that’s changing demand, underperforming sites, or wider market trends.
• Even a few core inputs, like sales targets, market definition, and viability thresholds, can be combined with industry data to create a network plan based on evidence rather than guesswork.
• The process usually follows a clear structure: starting with a fresh “greenfield” view, overlaying the existing network, and then factoring in aftersales coverage.
• The outcome is practical, commercially grounded guidance: showing where to open, close, or adjust sites, and the likely impact of each decision.

Most automotive consulting projects start with the same question…

“How many dealers do we need, and where should they be?”

It’s a simple question, but rarely a simple answer. There’s usually a reason it’s being asked:

• Maybe the network’s grown organically over decades, and nobody's quite sure if it still makes sense. 
• Maybe the brand is entering a new market and needs to start from scratch. 
• Maybe current market trends in the automotive industry are making the existing footprint feel increasingly out of step (no pun intended) with where demand actually is.

Whatever the trigger, the concern we hear most often from clients before a project starts is less about the answer and more about the process. How long will this take? What do you need from us? How disruptive is it going to be?

Fair questions, and ones that impact how the whole project feels from day one. So to give you a sense of what to expect, here’s a look at what working with GMAP actually involves - from the first conversation through to the point where you’ve got clear, practical recommendations in your hands.

What usually triggers an automotive consulting project?

Most projects start with something feeling off. Sometimes it’s obvious, sometimes it takes a bit longer to spot - either way, there’s usually a clear trigger once you take a step back and take a look at the data.



The obvious triggers

These are the situations most people recognise straight away:

• Entering a new market and needing to build a network from scratch
• Expanding an existing network and trying to pinpoint where the gaps actually are
• Reviewing a dealer group and figuring out which sites are performing - and which are dragging things down, or relying too heavily on a handful of locations
• Uneven sales distribution across the network, where performance is concentrated in certain areas, while others fall behind
• After-sales demand starting to outpace capacity, creating clear coverage gaps that need addressing
• Running a network performance review, now that better data in the automotive industry makes it much easier to see what’s really going on 

With the level of data available today, there’s less room for guesswork. You can see how customers move, where registrations are growing, and where after-sales demand is starting to outpace capacity. That tends to force the question.



The less obvious (but increasingly common) triggers

This is where it gets interesting (well, for us anyway). Some of the most valuable projects start with a different problem entirely:

• A brand strategy that’s moved on, while the network hasn’t - whether that’s a move towards premium, EV, or a different audience, with a footprint that still reflects the past
• Changing customer behaviour, where more of the journey happens online, but the network is still set up around physical footfall
• Local demand changing due to demographics, economic factors, or the vehicle parc
• EV demand growing in different places, with legacy assumptions no longer matching where customers actually are
• Uneven adoption across regions, creating pockets of demand that only show up when you properly dig into the data
• A move to an agency model, where the dealer’s role changes and raises new questions around how much physical presence is needed, and where
• Managing franchise complexity, where multiple brands share space and the network ends up not being fully optimised for any of them
• Fragmented data across regions or dealer groups, making it difficult to get a clear, consistent view of what’s actually happening



These are often the more interesting projects, because the issue isn’t immediately labelled as “network”. But once you dig into it, that’s usually where the answer sits.

What data is needed, and where does it come from?

Getting started with GMAP doesn’t need to be complicated - we can do a lot with surprisingly little. 

What we ask clients for

1) The sales target

How many vehicles do you want to sell? That number drives everything else. After all, there’s no point planning thirty dealers if your target only justifies ten.



2) The market you’re aiming for

Most clients work from a competitor basket - the makes and models you see as direct rivals. Every brand slices the market differently, but the principle’s the same: define the set, pull the registration data, and you’ve got a clear view of the total addressable market.

Sometimes, a target demographic is a better starting point - who’s most likely to buy your vehicle? That’s where geodemographic data comes into play, providing insight that influences not only network placement but also the sales and marketing strategy behind it.

3) Commercial viability 

How many cars does a single dealership need to sell to be commercially sustainable? Franchise rules, manufacturer incentives, and finance can make things complicated fast, and every client has a different threshold for what makes a location viable. That’s why you need a practical target - because without it even a site with genuine demand could end up being a recommendation that simply doesn’t make commercial sense.

Beyond those three, any extra data makes the output sharper - existing dealer data, after-sales performance, strategic limits, that kind of thing. We also factor in product mix where it matters (for example, areas with higher demand for certain models), so your network plan accurately reflects where demand will be and what each location can realistically deliver. 

But even with just the basics, we can get started and build a network plan that actually works.

What GMAP brings

You know your network, we know the rest. By combining your data with external datasets, including DVLA vehicle registration data, travel and catchment insight, demographic and socioeconomic profiling, and market benchmarking, we utilise the latest automotive market trends and data in the automotive industry to turn your insights into a network that performs where it counts.

How a typical project is structured

A standard engagement runs six to eight weeks. Internally, we call it an Ideal Network Plan (INP), and it usually breaks down into four stages.



Stage 1: Greenfield analysis

Whatever’s on the map already, we start fresh: if you were building the network from scratch, where would it go? This view is driven entirely by demand - sales targets, market definition, and viability thresholds. It gives a clean benchmark for everything that follows.

Stage 2: Brownfield planning

Then we look at what’s already in place. Which sites stay, which are underperforming, and where the obvious gaps are. This gives a clear picture of your current network and where it falls short.

Stage 3: Optimised network

Overlay greenfield and brownfield and you won’t get a perfect match - and that’s the point. This is where decisions get made: whether to open new sites, keep existing ones, or accept some overlap. Maybe the greenfield says you need a dealer in Derby, but you’ve had a profitable site nearby for decades. Do you open Derby anyway and risk cannibalisation, or are the additional sales worth it? The modelling gives you a clear view of what each option delivers site by site, rather than by assumption.

Stage 4: After-sales and servicing

Often overlooked, but this is where most dealer margin comes from. Customers will drive hours to buy a car, but rarely more than 20-25 minutes for a service. That means after-sales networks need to be denser and locally accessible. Overlaying this layer identifies where coverage is too thin and where capacity needs to increase.

The qualitative layer

Once you know where the points need to be, who are the right partners? Understanding the dealer groups operating in each area, their track record, scale, brand alignment, and existing footprint, is part of turning a network plan into a network that actually performs. Large dealer groups often own significant parcels of land in proximity to each other, which influences what's actually available and what's realistic to develop.

What outputs do clients receive?

Our reporting tools give you clarity and confidence, showing exactly what to do and why. We provide our clients with:

• Clear network maps and catchment models, so you can see exactly where demand sits
• Identified open points, along with closure or relocation opportunities where the network isn’t pulling its weight
• Side-by-side comparisons of your current network and the optimised version, showing what changes and why
• Financial impact estimates, linking location decisions directly to commercial outcomes
• Strategic recommendations that align with your goals, showing which moves matter today and which set you up for tomorrow
  
  

How projects differ for manufacturers vs dealer groups

The same four-stage process guides everything we do, but the focus changes depending on who we’re working with.

For manufacturer projects

For manufacturers, the work is about network design and strategy. The aim is to shape the network and define what’s expected from each dealer. Projects usually include:

• High-level INPs at a regional or national scale
• Territory design that defines sales areas and coverage rules
• Performance frameworks that set expectations for every dealer

For brands entering new markets or expanding internationally, we also model future scenarios: which cities to target, how demand varies, and where agency-style stores or brand hubs fit alongside traditional dealers. Many manufacturers use our reporting dashboards and tools to track performance and adjust the network as broader automotive market trends develop.

These projects are strategic and top-down, creating the blueprint for the network over time.

For dealer groups

Dealer groups already have a network in place, so our job is to make it work better. That includes:

• Deciding where to close, move, or open sites
• Identifying untapped opportunities or overlaps that hurt performance
• Testing what happens if changes are made before committing 

Dealer group projects are hands-on and commercial. The data and modelling are often similar to manufacturer projects, but the priority is on what matters for the group right now.

What happens after the project ends?

An INP is a working tool for decisions. Markets change constantly, and your network plan should move with them. GMAP keeps it live, giving you access to our datasets and location planning tools that give you the ability to test scenarios and respond to what’s actually happening on the ground.

Teams looking to bring network planning in-house can adopt our approach, using the same methods and tools to make informed choices on an ongoing basis.

If you've been sitting on a network question, whether it's about coverage, performance, consolidation, or getting ahead of where current automotive market trends are heading, the first step is easy: a conversation. 

Take that first step now, and see where your network can perform better - speak to our team today.