For the last few years, the loudest conversation has been about cutting out the dealer. Direct to consumer. Online first. Own the relationship. Paul De Vries of Digital Car Dealer Workshop shared what actually happened in Europe. More than 30 new Chinese brands entered small markets like the Netherlands. Many tried the dealerless model. They went direct. They tried to control the entire transaction. And then they reversed course. They learned quickly that distribution is not just logistics. It is trust. It is service. It is local accountability. It is infrastructure that already exists. Europe has become a proving ground where new ideas get tested fast. Smaller markets. Lower downside. Real-world consequences. What breaks there shows up clearly. The insight is not that global competition is slowing down. It isn’t. The insight is that the dealer still matters more than many predicted. When a model fails in practice, the market corrects it. And in this case, the correction led r...