Neil Smith
Neil Smith (owner of Motorvait) is one of the UK’s most respected automotive retail innovators, especially in the used-car sector.
He cut his teeth at Imperial Car Supermarkets, joining in 2010 when the company was operating just one site with ~80 used cars per month. Over the next decade under Smith’s operations leadership, Imperial expanded to many more sites (21 by 2020), scaled sales to ~2,200 cars/month, and established a reputation for technological integration, transparency, and customer-centric retailing.
After Imperial was acquired by Cazoo in 2020, Neil Smith oversaw the integration of Imperial’s infrastructure into Cazoo’s customer service and retail operations model. He led the transformation of Imperial sites into customer handover and service centres, bringing together his operational experience and a digital mindset.
Post-Cazoo, Neil founded his own consultancy, Motorvait Limited, working with technology providers, lenders, start-ups, and all sizes of vehicle retailers to deliver performance improvement, digital transformation, and profit-first operational excellence.
He also played a performance director role for used-car operations at Hippo Motor Group, showing he brings value not just in strategy but in hands-on improvement & growth execution.
Why engage Neil as your consultant?
Dealers should consider engaging Neil Smith as a consultant because he has a proven record of driving growth and performance. At Imperial Cars, he helped expand the business from a single site to a nationally recognised retailer, gaining rare insight into both independent dealer challenges and large-scale operations.
Neil’s expertise spans operations, digital transformation, marketing, pricing, and customer experience. He understands how to connect traditional dealership strengths with the demands of today’s digital marketplace, helping businesses modernise without losing the personal service customers value.
He also brings a strong industry network and supplier knowledge, knowing which tools and partnerships deliver real value. His approach is pragmatic: auditing, identifying bottlenecks, and working directly with teams to implement lasting improvements.
In short, Neil offers dealers hands-on experience, forward-looking strategy, and a results-driven mindset. Engaging him means gaining a consultant who delivers practical change, improved profitability, and long-term success.
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