4:39 pm, November 3, 2020
BCA has said it will be business as usual during the new lockdown, with sales staying online and longer opening hours to collect vehicles.
All non-essential retail in England has been ordered to shut to the public from November 5 to December 2, and Stuart Pearson, BCA’s chief operating officer for UK remarketing, said today (Nov 3): ‘All sales at BCA remain online only.
‘As we move into the second lockdown, we are keeping abreast of the fast-changing and evolving government guidance in order to protect our people, customers and suppliers.
‘Having the experience of successfully managing the significant challenges placed on the industry during the first lockdown stands us in good stead.
‘BCA will continue to utilise the wider resources of the group to provide our customers with choice, scale and efficiencies to support their businesses during the weeks ahead.’
He added: ‘Our extensive programme of real-time online events and multi-channel buying options will continue as we aim to meet the demand for stock from our buyer base.
‘The wholesale marketplace is performing very efficiently and this is good news for all professional operators in the used vehicle sector.
“During this week, our vehicle collection periods will be extended to 8pm Monday to Friday to provide our customers with the additional opportunity to collect vehicles at a time that suits their needs.
‘This will remain under review during the forthcoming weeks.’
Pearson said: ‘Our online click-and-collect service is currently handling over 10,000 requests weekly and we are developing new functionality within our Buyer app to allow customers to book BCA Click and Collect slots directly from their mobile device.
‘BCA’s significant transport resource will continue to be fully available to support our customers bringing vehicles into and away from our centres.
‘Our Decision Intelligence team is keeping close to the current evolving picture in the wholesale sector, and is providing customers with real-time data to inform remarketing decisions.
‘BCA Valuations is delivering an immediate and detailed view of market performance based on actual auction prices to help customers to value their vehicles in line with market sentiment.’
He added: ‘We continue to develop functionality for the new digital buyer audience, enhancing the wider user experience for customers using both the BCA Buyer app and bca.co.uk.
‘Our online sales programme will adapt to meet the changing needs of our buyers, utilising the connectivity and efficiency across the BCA Group to provide more of the right vehicles to the marketplace at the right time.
‘BCA will continue to work behind the scenes to ensure our professional buyer-customers and broad range of professional fleet, lease, finance and dealer vendors can trade safely, efficiently and profitably through this second lockdown period and beyond.’
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