The past six weeks have been very busy with the many events our industry has to offer! Whether it is the dealer seminar by AUMACON or the flagship event for independent car businesses, SuperCharge by BOVAG: they all serve their purpose. And that purpose is, as a rule, mainly networking with colleagues. Something that is extremely valuable, and of course important too. We all need each other.

Content-driven, not sponsor-driven

Now, it would be cheap to say that our #DCDW Event is different, because they all are in their own way. Our partners often have just one complaint, and that is that there are too few opportunities to network and too much content. And that is the finest compliment wrapped in a complaint that you can receive as an organiser. From the very start, the #DCDW Event was created for employees of dealers, car businesses, importers and leasing companies, not for our partners. They do, of course, make sure that participation is free for our core target group.

We have more than 100 participants in Antwerp: employees of dealers, independent car businesses, importers and leasing companies. The event grows a little bigger every year. And in Almere? There we will soon have more than 225 participants. Yes, we are back in Almere!

All participants come primarily for the content. Most ‘experts’ will tell you that you cannot put an audience through a two-hour presentation by one and the same speaker. But if the content is good, we are happy to listen. Just watch this presentation by Russell Richardson again: for two hours we listened with bated breath.

Once again we have a wide range of international guests from France, the UK and, of course, America. Alongside our own Belgian and Dutch contributions, naturally.

What can you expect? A short overview of the speakers:

Trevor Finn – former CEO of Pendragon PLC (keynote) Thirty years at the helm of one of the largest dealer groups in the UK. He shows how Pendragon doubled its used car volume in five years, with the same sites. No extra bricks, just a different approach!

Fred Lennartz & Lou Ramirez – Car Guy Coffee (keynote) Two American veterans on dealer culture, leadership and behavioural change. Because how do you build a culture that beats today’s digital dealer?

Lillian Melamedas – CallRevu Your phone calls do not lie. Lilly shows what call data says about the health of your dealership. Who dares to listen?

Hielke Ytsma – CarQall – Voice AI The most important communication channel in automotive is still the phone. Hielke explains how voice AI helps you stay reachable and follow up.

Reda Moujahid & Sonia Geay – eKonsilio Insights from ten million customer conversations. From lead generation to lead qualification, with AI and people in the leading roles.

Rolf Westgeest (EuroStocks) in conversation with Alexander Prinssen (Adevinta / Marktplaats / 2dehands) The used car market, the role of portals and what really pays off online.

Hans Blink – The Sharing Group (Almere) The CEO of the mobility division behind MyWheels, among others, on mobility, platforms and what they mean for the automotive industry.

Niels van der Linde & Marc van Venrooij – PowerKraut (Almere) The road to agentic AI: how AI agents are taking over tasks in automotive more and more independently.

Mats Bluekens – AMI For You (Antwerp) AI is only as strong as the marketing behind it. On how to turn digital visibility into showroom traffic.

Wim Verhelst – INDICATA / Autorola (Antwerp) Diesel or PHEV after all? What data tells us about used car prices and stock choices.

Want to register?

Participation is free and still open to our target group: employees of dealerships, independent car businesses, leasing companies and importers. Other interested parties are also welcome, but they contribute to the cost of the event (€595 excl. VAT) to keep it free for the core target group, as it should be.

27 October: Antwerp. 28 October: Almere. Register at www.dcdwevents.nl

Will I see you in Antwerp or Almere?