DASHBOARD
Joy and relief as showroom doors reopen to public Dealers talked exclusively to us about what the easing of lockdown meant to them. James Batchelor and John Bowman report.
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ar dealers across England and Wales have thrown open their showroom doors again after months of pandemic-enforced closure. Restrictions eased across England and Wales on April 12 and non-essential retail – including car showrooms – was allowed to welcome people back indoors once more. It came a week after car dealers in Scotland were allowed to resume trading after lockdown restrictions eased there. There was no change in guidance for retailers in Northern Ireland, with people still being told to ‘stay local’ where possible. However, contactless click/phone-and-collect was being allowed for all non-essential retail businesses from April 12, and outdoor businesses such as vehicle retailers were also able to reopen then. The news of showrooms reopening was met with widespread joy and relief across the industry. Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders chief executive Mike Hawes said: ‘After one of the hardest years in living memory for everyone, reopening showrooms today takes the handbrake off UK Auto. ‘As the automotive sector counts the cost of £22.2bn lost in turnover during the pandemic, we hope today marks the start of that recovery, as well as giving consumers ever more choice for their motoring needs.’ Paul Philpott, Kia Motors UK president and CEO, said: ‘The first months of this year have been tough for the industry as a whole and March stood in stark contrast to previous years. ‘Our dealer network has worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic, coming up with new ways to give customers the tools they need to complete a purchase remotely and in line with the latest guidance and the evolving expectations of buyers. ‘That said, we are excited about the prospect of our showrooms across the rest of the UK opening their doors again for the many customers who prefer to purchase a car in person.’ BACK TO WORK Meanwhile, Chris Wiseman, managing director of Wessex Garages, is pleased his dealerships in both England and Wales are reopening at the same time – something that hasn’t always been a feature of the past 12 months, with different restrictions in each country. ‘We are obviously delighted that we will be open in England and Wales at the same time and have spent the last couple of weeks booking in test drives, particularly for new product and conquest business,’ he told Car Dealer. ‘March proved to be very successful, particularly with used cars, where we achieved over 90 per cent of our budget and exceeded last year, albeit we lost the end of the month in 2020. ‘With new cars I think it will be a case of March in two halves, so a much better April performance than normal but not to the same level as a normal March. 08 | CarDealerMag.co.uk
We are obviously delighted that we will be open in England and Wales at the same time. Chris Wiseman
As a dealership we are ready, prepared and excited but there is an air of nervousness around. Andrew Iveson
