“It’ll be a big slug of money for us because we have five dealerships, but the products coming will definitely sell. If we can have five years like the last five years Land Rover has had then it will all be very worthwhile and Jaguar will be back up there as one of the really great franchises to represent.

“There’s a real sense of anticipation and excitement when you talk to people at Jaguar. As dealers you’re always slightly sceptical because we live very much for today rather than living for tomorrow, but for the first time in a long time as a Jaguar dealer, you can see it will be very different for us in two years’ time.”

But won’t those strong relationships Hatfields has with its customers suffer when it is required to ramp up the volume?

Williams plans to have a larger staff to get the Jaguar experience across to a broader spectrum of buyers. He put it bluntly: “While we may be envious of the Germans and their product range, there’s no point trying to replicate the German service offering. We need to maintain the Jaguar service offering and try to deliver comparable volumes.”

He said Jaguar franchisees have been kept well aware of the plan for phased growth so have had time to prepare.

Hatfields’ philosophy over the years has been to re-invest its profits. Williams said it is in a strong place to invest for the Jaguar expansion and has good support from its bank, RBS. With strong brands and a record of repaying previous borrowings, a sensible operator can get funding for growth at present, he said.

The family-owned group is deliberately managed directly, made possible by owning eight sites less than two hours apart at their furthest point. Williams, his brother, Justin, and his father, John, now in a non-executive chairman role, are the shareholders and directors, alongside Stuart Baldwin, a director responsible for customer service. Beneath them are general managers responsible for each individual site. These are typically local people who will best understand their part of the world and have empathy with the local community.

Concentrating the group along the M62 corridor also helps Hatfields to promote its brand cost-effectively. Williams said he has no interest in marketing to buyers nationally – he wants local touchpoints and local customer referrals.