
Show Notes
In this gear change episode of Drivetime, Jacqui is joined again by Peter McDonald from Ohme to dig deeper into the practical realities of EV charging, smart tariffs and the myths that still shape customer confidence. Peter McDonald explains why retailers do not need to become energy experts, but do need enough confidence to talk about the potential cost savings of home charging. The conversation covers why EV charging should be kept simple for consumers, how smart tariffs can reduce charging costs, and why reliability matters more than optimisation when customers need their car ready for the next day.
The episode also explores rapid charging, public charging in different markets, plug-in hybrids, energy independence, AI tools, and Peter McDonald’s childhood road trips across Australia. A practical, myth-busting episode for anyone helping customers make sense of the EV transition.
Drivetime is the global auto tech podcast powered by Keyloop. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Drivetime
In this gear change episode of Drivetime, Jacqui continues her conversation with Siddharth Kashyap, Consulting Partner at Tata Consultancy Services, exploring how technology, data and empathy can reshape automotive experiences for retailers and customers.
In this episode of Drivetime, Jacqui is joined by Siddharth Kashyap, Consulting Partner at Tata Consultancy Services, to explore the systems, processes and data behind the modern automotive customer journey. Drawing on 15 years in the automotive industry, Siddharth explains why transformation should begin by identifying where the journey breaks, rather than immediately blaming the technology. They discuss the growing problem of “system spaghetti”, including retailer groups navigating around 27 applications across OEM and retail environments. Siddharth stresses that poor processes can’t be fixed by sophisticated technology alone, and why businesses need to address process first, then data, and finally architecture. The conversation also explores why change management is often the greatest hurdle in a transformation programme. Going live is only the beginning. For technology to deliver value, the people using it every day must be involved early, understand what it offers them and see how it removes administrative friction from their roles.
In this Gear Change episode of Drivetime, Jacqui continues the conversation with James Crouch, Marketing Communications Director at Mazda UK. They dive deeper into his experience helping drive digital adoption across Mazda Europe and what marketers can learn from the industry's ongoing transformation. James reflects on his time as part of a specialist European team tasked with shaping Mazda's digital future, from building data infrastructure and defining use cases to creating the foundations that support modern customer journeys today. The conversation also explores the growing importance of influencer marketing, why retailers shouldn't overcomplicate creator partnerships, and how data is becoming the engine behind every marketing decision. Plus, James shares the technology he can't live without, the innovation he's most excited about, and his dream automotive road trip.
What does it take to evolve a heritage automotive brand through 15 years of digital disruption? In this episode of Drivetime, Jacqui sits down with James Crouch, Marketing Communications Director at Mazda UK, to explore how automotive marketing has transformed from dealer magazines and TV campaigns to influencers, AI, streaming partnerships and digital customer journeys.
What does successful AI adoption actually look like in practice? In this week’s gear change episode of Drivetime, Jacqui Barker is joined once again by Caz Moore, AI Centre of Excellence Director at Keyloop, for a fast-paced conversation packed with practical advice, leadership insights and actionable AI tips.