How Highfield Motors increased web sales 2.6x with AIME
Industry
Retail
Challenge
Highfield motors had felt the pain of using legacy live chat options. They needed a solution that lived up to their expectdations.
Results
AIME made a significant impact to the groups bottom line, driving £21.45 ROI per £1 invested.
Most tools cost you money, AIME makes us money. It’s one of the best investments we’ve made as a business. It’s freed up my team, capturing leads we would have lost and directly contributing to us hitting our sales targets every month."
Scott Jeffs
Managing Director @ Wheatley Car Centre
About Highfield Motors
Highfield Motors Group is an independent used car dealer trading since 1973, operating as Wheatley Car Centre in Oxford and Sturdys Castle Car Centre in Kidlington. Stocking around 150 vehicles at any one time, the group has built a strong regional reputation for quality and customer service.The Challenge
Highfield Motors Group was losing potential customers outside of opening hours, especially on Sundays when the dealership is closed. Staffing shortages meant sales staff were tied to their desks waiting for web enquiries, limiting their ability to carry out other tasks such as test drives or follow-ups.
Previous live chat solutions the group tried had delivered inconsistent, poor-quality responses that generated customer complaints. Generic web forms yielded low conversions with vague enquiries, while unfiltered enquiries wasted salespeople’s time on calls with buyers whose budgets or requirements were misaligned. Capturing quality lead data – including mobile numbers and email addresses – remained a persistent hurdle, making it difficult to hit their monthly sales targets.
The Solution
Highfield Motors Group adopted AIME – an AI-powered chat assistant – to transform how they manage customer interactions. AIME provides instant, accurate responses around the clock, enabling customers to book test drives and appointments even when the showroom is closed.
Unlike previous chat solutions, AIME intelligently filters enquiries, ensuring the sales team receives only qualified, genuinely interested leads. It handles repetitive initial questions, helps customers with search criteria, and – crucially – captures contact details naturally at the right moment in the conversation. Setup was straightforward, and the quality of responses was immediately on par with, or better than, what the team would deliver themselves.
Most tools cost you money, AIME makes us money. It’s one of the best investments we’ve made as a business.
The Results
Across a six-month analysis period, from September 2025 – February 2026, AIME delivered measurable impact across profitability, efficiency, and customer experience.
AIME made a significant impact to the group’s bottom line, increasing web sales by 2.6 times with a £21.45 ROI for every pound AIME costs them. AIME generated leads now account for 10% of the group’s total sales. AIME also saved the sales team 41 hours per month – equivalent to five full working days – freeing staff to focus on high-value activities like test drives and closing sales. Enquiry volumes from AIME are now comparable to those from Autotrader, and the dealership has not received a single customer complaint about interactions handled by AIME.
