Clive Sutton is the Chairman of Clive Sutton Ltd, a luxury London-based car dealer which puts a significant focus on the imports of American market models. Recently the dealership has expanded to include luxury electric options which aren’t usually sold on the UK market, starting with the GMC HUMMER EV – which is proving popular with environmentally-conscious prestigious car buyers. We sat down with Clive to talk about Clive Sutton’s future plans, and his views on the current state of the EV market – particularly when it comes to higher-end vehicles.
You’ve spent more than three decades at the top end of the luxury and performance car market. How has the arrival of electrification changed what your most discerning customers ask for, and what still hasn’t changed?
“The honest answer is that most discerning customers are not yet ready to fully embrace EVs. They can see the technology improving every year, with longer range, lower prices and faster charging times, but that progress is a double-edged sword. For buyers of high-value cars, the worry about steep depreciation driven by those very improvements is real. You only have to look at the Porsche Taycan, which has had reliability questions of its own, or the Lotus Eletre, to see how quickly values can fall at the top end.”
What EVs have you personally driven, and which one genuinely surprised or delighted you?
“I’ve driven the Tesla Model S, Model Y and Model X, the Porsche Taycan Turbo S and the Cadillac Lyriq. The Taycan has immense power and a surprisingly good ride, but the depreciation and running costs are huge, and I’d say an extended Porsche warranty is a must. The one that really impressed me was the Cadillac. The Lyriq is a super impressive package: the screen and tech are easy to use, and the SUV layout works brilliantly for a car of that size.”
Clive Sutton was appointed as an LEVC Authorised Converter, creating the ultra-luxury Sutton VIP Class electric taxi. What did that project teach you about where electric vehicles and true bespoke luxury can meet?
“To be frank, it’s not the powertrain that makes this a great partnership. The real attraction for high-net-worth buyers is being able to be chauffeured in complete luxury while travelling incognito. The electric drivetrain is part of the package, but discretion is what sells it.”
You brought the first GMC Hummer EV pickup into the UK: a 1,000hp electric supertruck. What does demand for vehicles like that tell us about the emotional side of the EV transition that policy debates often miss?
“The demand for the Hummer EV comes from it being a green, zero-emission version of a very macho 4WD. It says: I have a supremely capable truck, but I care about the environment. That emotional combination is something policy debates rarely capture. We import them to special order, and the appetite is there.”
You’ve been refreshingly candid about the pace and practicality of the UK’s zero-emission targets. Where do you think the industry and government have got the transition right, and where does reality still need to catch up with ambition?
“The government got this wrong by setting unrealistic ZEV timelines for political benefit, and regrettably that has caused the industry huge cost. Politicians simply don’t stay in post long enough to take responsibility for their actions. The time needed to create a credible charging network is years longer than was properly considered. Now that a growing number of faster charging options are coming through, the government needs to allow the networks to mature, and the ZEV thresholds need to be reduced.”
The OEMs have been racing towards a premature EV-only timetable of 2030, and now even 2035 doesn’t look tenable. Hybrids should be seen as the longer-term halfway house, with petrol allowed as a smaller percentage of production and other fuels, such as hydrogen, kept as an option.”
From a dealer’s vantage point, how do you read the used EV market right now: residual values, customer confidence, and what needs to happen for the second-hand market to mature?
“Time, and a leveling-out of the technology. Right now, 800-volt systems and solid-state batteries are the latest developments. If those become the norm and the tech stabilises, the market will stabilise with it. But if there’s continued rapid development in charging speeds and voltage architecture, buyers will keep worrying that today’s car is tomorrow’s old news, and the used market won’t mature.”
Operating from St John’s Wood in London, you’re right at the heart of London’s ULEZ. How has clean air policy reshaped buying behaviour among luxury customers in the capital?
“We’re seeing customers adapt in two ways. Many are putting their prized cars into storage and saving them for longer trips outside the capital, while running a cheaper EV for their urban commuting. The luxury cars haven’t gone anywhere; they’re just being used differently.”
Looking ahead to 2030, what does the luxury and performance segment look like, and what role do you want Clive Sutton to play in it?
“We’ll continue to operate across our various luxury niches. Our American cars will in due course offer more EV options, but the truth is our customers still want the ICE versions. I expect more hybrid versions of cars like the Porsche 911. We may consider taking on a quality EV brand alongside our current business at some point, but for now we are mostly ICE and hybrid dealers, because that’s what our customers are asking for.”
Thanks to Clive for taking part in our interview series. You can view our other recent interviews from individuals across the EV and automotive space, here.
