About Us

52 Years of Motor Trade Experience - and a New Chapter

I've spent 52 years in the motor trade. I started with Nissan, spent many years with BMW and also worked with Porsche, all within main dealerships. Around 35 years ago I moved into running my own businesses, both large and small.

For 24 of those years I concentrated heavily on the sale and maintenance of Smart Cars. For me they were close to the perfect small vehicle: economical, practical and remarkably reliable.

From 2019 Smart became an all-electric brand. I thought the idea was right, but the limited range of those cars was a genuine drawback for many customers. It did, however, draw me towards electric cars.

For a time we concentrated on the BMW i3 and we still sell them today. It was one of the first cars designed from the ground up to be a genuinely usable EV. From there we diversified into Tesla, Jaguar, Volkswagen, Polestar and other makes as our knowledge and experience developed.

I was a fairly late adopter personally, but living with an EV changed my view. The silence, instant response, regenerative braking, technology and ability to precondition the car are all things you quickly get used to. Long journeys require more thought, but planning ahead and understanding charging makes a huge difference.

EV Sussex is not a rejection of everything we've done before. It is the natural development of Andrew Shipp Autos as the market changes. We will continue to use the same principles: buy the right cars, prepare them properly, explain them honestly and look after customers after the sale.

I don't believe an EV is right for everybody. But I do believe that today's used EV market offers some remarkable cars and, for the right owner, a very persuasive whole cost of ownership.

Andrew Shipp
EV Sussex
Part of Andrew Shipp Autos Ltd