Automotive Business Magazine – Q2 2026 – Digital edition - Magazine - Page 3
From the editor...
here’s nothing that will put your
cortisol levels to the test quite
like attempting to put together
a forward-looking magazine at
a time when the world seems to
be falling apart.
It’s the job of trade journalists across
every sector to try and coax industry
experts to give us their insights into
where the market will be in six months to
a year, when in reality, we have no idea
if the world will look the same tomorrow.
This might sound melodramatic,
particularly as, in many ways, life does
continue as normal. The coffee brews,
the emails ping, and it’s easy to slip into
the comfort of the mundane.
But that doesn’t change the reality –
from world leaders and titans of industry
under fire for their presence in certain
damning files, daily news of war and
atrocities happening overseas and the
threat that they will impact our shores, to
the climate crisis and human rights being
eroded before our eyes… but I digress.
‘What does this have to do with cars?’ I
hear you ask. So, let’s pull this back from
a general sense of existential panic to
our everyday realities. Fuel prices are the
obvious fear factor, with events in Iran
leading Barclays, Goldman Sachs, and
JPMorgan to warn of potential spikes in
The Team
the price of crude oil, which will impact
the average UK driver at the pumps if
nothing is done to mitigate the problem.
Meanwhile, the climate crisis is the
backdrop for the push to electrification,
but at the same time, a shuddering
economy means the Government is
trying to recoup tax losses. Even if
the ZEV Mandate represents a move
to sustainability, the advent of AI and
its widespread adoption across the
automotive industry – and for good
reason, I am no luddite – brings with it
the looming question of data centres
sucking the very water out of the planet.
It is, to say the least, a complex and
confusing world out there. Enter, the
humble trade journalist.
Here at ABM we are continuing our
work to understand the world, and how it
affects you, the individual working hard
to make a living in automotive. Within
these pages you’ll find everything from
legal and warranty tips to in-depth tech
explorations and marketing advice, as
well as vehicle reviews, features and
interviews with key stakeholders.
At a time when everyone is unsure
what’s coming over the horizon, we’ll at
least be here to help read the map.
Jessica Bird
Contributors
Jessica Bird ....................................................... Managing Editor
Andy Bland | Chris Dalton
Adrian Simpson ................................................. Editor-At-Large
Colin Brooke | Derren Martin
Milly Standing ................................................................ Reporter
Emma Bysouth | Frances Dennis
Dylan Robertson ........................................................... Reporter
newsdesk@astormedia.co.uk
Gaurav Gupta | Guy Pigounakis
HERITAGE IN MOTION
Jake Matthews | James Powell
HISTORIC BRANDS IN A BRAVE NEW WORLD
Jens-Peter Sjöberg | John Jaddou
Brian West ................................................ Group Sales Director
John Kushnick | John Mizzi | Lee Brown
Stuart Wakeling ..........................................Head of Sales, Automotive
Mike Thompson | Naomi Nye
stuart.wakeling@astormedia.co.uk
Caroline Mason.................... Business Development Manager
caroline.mason@astormedia.co.uk | 0204 591 6904
Tom Watts ............................... Operations Director, Automotive
Orson McAleer .............................................................. Designer
ISSUE 2 Q2 2026
Neil Frost | Nyanya Joof | Peter McDonald
Phil Miskelly-Wise | Robbie Watson
Sam Varney | Steph Newbery
Susan Wells | Thomas Hale
Vicky Edmonds
FLEET,
RETAIL,
RANGE
ROVER SPORT
LEASING
& MORE
DOES THE NEW PETROL HYBRID STILL DEFINE THE LUXURY SUV BENCHMARK?
Laura Strolconoka .................................... Campaign Manager
Ryan Fowler ................................................................... Publisher
Felix Blakeston ........................................... Associate Publisher
Helen Thorne ..................................................................................... Accounts
finance@astormedia.co.uk
Astor Media Limited
31-35 Kirby Street
London
EC1N 8TE
United Kingdom
Q2 2026 AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESS
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