Learning from the lion
During his second month of work experience, Joshua de Wit discovered the importance of the commercial aspects of the car industry with Peugeot
Joshua de Wit, the 2016 Autocar Courland Next Generation Award winner, spent his first work placement at Jaguar Land Rover, where he got to grips with the engineering side of the automotive industry and researched future technology.
The next stop for the 21-year old University of Sussex student was Peugeot, where he has gained a deep understanding of what happens on the commercial side of the automotive business after the new cars have been produced and are ready to go to market.
“My first week was spent with the e-commerce team and a PR agency that works with Peugeot,” says Joshua. “A lot of the work I was observing was to do with Peugeot’s industry-leading online sales initiative. Being able to buy a car online is an amazing step forwards for the industry. I have no doubt it’s going to take off big time, and Peugeot is at the forefront and totally prepared for it.”
Joshua met the team behind this revolutionary online car buying service, looked at the complicated software required to build it, analysed data gathered from it and then examined how the website was presented to prospective customers.
Working with the commercial team highlighted a new aspect of the automotive industry to Joshua, who has an engineering background. However, he recognises the importance of understanding the business from all sides, and that’s the sort of valuable experience Peugeot was able to give him.
“Having experience of the commercial side of the industry and thinking about the customer is crucial,” Joshua says. “With engineering you don’t necessarily always have the customer at the forefront of your thoughts, but it should never be far away and my experience with Peugeot helped me to appreciate that.”
Joshua was also given the chance to experience some of Peugeot’s key models first hand, with the manufacturer loaning him a 208 to drive throughout his placement.
As well as the 208 hatchback, he took a drive in the new 3008 SUV, proclaimed the 2017 Car of the Year at the Geneva motor show in March.
“The interior quality has really stepped up in this model; it’s proven to be a big seller so far, and that’s no surprise,” Joshua says.
Away from Peugeot’s mainstream big sellers, he drove the Peugeot ion – one of the manufacturer’s early electric cars – and had the chance to compare it to the new Partner electric van. For a student whose winning Autocar Courland Next Generation Award idea centred around electric vehicle battery technology, this was a fascinating opportunity.
As part of his packed schedule, Joshua was invited to sit in on a
number of meetings with finance teams and marketing agencies. He also visited a Peugeot dealership in Banbury, Oxfordshire, to spend time with an aftersales team.
“It was a really friendly atmosphere, like it has been everywhere,” says Joshua of his time in Banbury. “The dealership is going to have some development work done on it soon, to keep pushing for improvement. That’s a mindset that I’ve noticed in every branch of Peugeot’s business, and it has been great to be a part of it.”
The next stop on Joshua de Wit’s Autocar Courland Next Generation Award journey is a month with Mclaren’s engineering department.