It could be appointments only as JLR boss predicts May 18 for reopening

5:49 pm, May 6, 2020

Guidelines car dealers will need to follow to get back to work have been signed off by the SMMT Car committee today – and are likely to mean appointments only for customers.

In an exclusive interview with Car Dealer Magazine (which you can watch above), Jaguar Land Rover UK managing director Rawdon Glover revealed the meeting to sign off the documents took place today and that the proposals were agreed.

He also said that he thinks car dealers will be allowed back to work on May 18, but dealerships will have to offer on an appointments-only basis for now.

He said: ‘I was hoping it might be the May 11, and ultimately the government will decide and clearly it is their decision, but I think it’s looking likely to be the 18th of May at the earliest, if you push me for a date.

‘The guidance we are developing is saying that wherever possible within sales and aftersales we would be looking at appointments only.

‘Clearly we need to make allowances occasionally for when customers do come in, but it is about making sure customers do understand that and it’s for their safety.’

Prime minister Boris Johnson is set to unveil a road map for the economy to get back to work on Sunday and has asked ministers to gather the thoughts from different industries on how that can take place.

The car industry met with representatives from the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) on Friday to discuss the guidelines that would be issued to all dealers to enable them to get back to work.

Leaked documents – which you can read about here – have given dealers some idea of what to expect, but so far no one has revealed exactly what they will advise.

Now the guidelines have been ratified by manufacturers and it is thought a select group of dealers have done the same.

Glover, who has been involved with the discussions from the start, said it was important the guidelines were suitable for all dealers and said this wasn’t a short-term solution.

He said: ‘There are a raft of things that will inevitably change probably for the medium term – this is not something that we’re going to be living with for weeks or single months, this is definitely with us for the rest of the calendar year and quite conceivably well into 2021.’

The JLR boss said there were still question marks over what PPE the government and Public Health England would expect dealers to use, though.

He added: ‘We [the car industry] felt it was really important to put our best foot forward, so we devised [the guidelines] in lock-step with retailers and OEMS, rather than either do it in isolation.

‘We believe they are able to be implemented across the industry. They are in the final throes of ratification as we speak. I sat on the SMMT Car section today and it was ratified there. I think the NFDA are similarly doing that.

‘The approach taken was this is how we as an industry think we should operate. There will be elements of that which are to be confirmed, which includes the use of PPE and exactly how social distancing will work. We need clear guidance on that from government and Public Health England.’

Car Dealer reported earlier today that dealers across the country were spending hundreds of thousands in preparation for the restart.

One large car dealer group told Car Dealer Magazine it was close to spending £1m on PPE, perspex screens and signage to enable the group to open as soon as the government gives them the nod.

More: Leaked guidelines give a hint to what is coming