7:51 am, June 1, 2020
Car dealerships across England are opening their doors this morning for the first time since March.
Showrooms have been empty since the lockdown kicked in at the end of March, some 10 weeks ago.
Now, in line with Boris Johnson’s speech on May 28 where he announced phase two of the easing of the lockdown, dealerships can reopen along with other non-essential retail businesses.
The businesses reopening today must adhere to strict social distancing rules, though, to protect staff and customers. And it’s only showrooms in England – car dealerships in Northern Ireland have to wait another seven days and can reopen from June 8, as reported by Car Dealer, while businesses in Scotland and Wales have no confirmation when they can open their doors.
The news will be welcome across the industry, especially after the SMMT found that the lockdown was costing the Treasury £61m every day.
Daksh Gupta, CEO of Marshall Motor Holdings, told Car Dealer Magazine: ‘I am delighted to be back. It is ironic that when people are at work they usually wish they could spend time at home – but over the last 10 weeks everyone has realised just how much they miss working.
‘Our friends and relationships we have at work have been sorely missed and this is the start of getting back to normal.’
https://twitter.com/MarshallGroup/status/1267350333577191424?s=20
Marshall issued a trading update to the Stock Market this morning which stated all 117 of its car showrooms will reopen today.
It said the group was ‘trading significantly ahead of the market in the period prior to the lockdown’. During the closure it has focussed on cost management and preserving cash.
Gupta added: ‘The initial signs we are seeing are encouraging in sales and aftersales, however it is difficult to understand what the underlying demand will be or whether this is pent up demand from the last few months.’
Vertu Motors CEO, Robert Forrester, has said there’s a ‘big job to do’ now with the group’s dealerships reopening.
‘On March 24 we effectively had 133 dealerships closed,’ he told Sky News this morning. ‘We employ around 6,000 colleagues and well over 80 per cent of them have been on furlough. We’ve been bringing them back over the course of the last few weeks as demand has returned, while in our servicing departments we’ve been open pretty much throughout. I expect to be back at 100 per cent capacity this week.’
Despite the Vertu’s dealerships being shut since March, Forrester revealed there has still been a demand for new cars.
‘Last week we sold over 700 cars – some we haven been able to deliver but 1000s haven’t,’ he said. ‘We have a big job to do – customers want to come in. The experience will be very different, though, with unaccompanied test drives and the cars in the showroom will be locked.’
Forrester warned in a live Car Dealer Magazine broadcast last week that Vertu’s business may never be the same again, looking different in the short, medium and long term – you can catch the full interview here.
Meanwhile, Hendy Group is excited for its showrooms opening today. Paul Hendy, Chief Executive, told Car Dealer Magazine: ‘We are delighted to see our ‘physical’ showrooms opening for the first time in many, many weeks, following our workshops opening two weeks ago and after a successful period of online selling. All best endeavours and effort has been put in to ensure the safety of both colleagues and customers. There is a real sense of anticipation and genuine excitement amongst the teams.’
He added Hendy Group is expecting demand, particularly from customers whose finance deals have come to an end.
‘All those customers who have reached the end of term on their finance agreements during the lockdown will create a significant opportunity,’ he said, ‘plus those families who not be able to enjoy a holiday this year might consider changing their car.
‘We are ready, willing, safe and able #TeamHendy.’
Wessex Garages told Car Dealer Magazine all of its four dealerships in England are open today with social distancing measures in place and an appointment-only system.
However, with its three remaining businesses in Wales staying shut, the firm’s managing director has ‘mixed feelings’.
‘Enquiries and sales have double over the past 10 days and web traffic has increased so we are certainly expecting to be busy,’ said Chris Wiseman, Managing Director. ‘However, some sales staff are still furloughed until we can quantify demand.
‘The division between England and Wales will no doubt cause more confusion for customers as well as our colleagues which will need to be carefully managed.
‘We are diverting some resources to deal with pure online lead management and end-to-end transactions, as I see this as the biggest change to our previous customer journeys. I would like to think this puts the dealership back in control and expect conversion rates to be significantly higher.’
The huge steps car dealers are taking to safely reopen
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