Outdoor car lots in Scotland can stay open under the country’s lockdown – but sales must be finalised electronically or outside with everyone social-distancing and wearing a face mask, it has been confirmed.
There was confusion when the Level 4 lockdown was brought in for the entire mainland as of midnight last Monday (Jan 4) as to what that meant for car dealers, as reported by Car Dealer.
At the time, Sandy Burgess, chief executive of the Scottish Motor Trade Association, told Car Dealer that their fallback position was click-and-collect until told otherwise.
Non-essential retail including showrooms were ordered to close, although it subsequently became apparent that deliveries were allowed, as was the collection of orders made and paid for via a website or otherwise online, by phone, text and post, so long as Covid-secure measures were in place.
The Scottish government has now updated its guidance to say that outdoor car lots in Level 4 are being allowed to stay open.
However, any vehicle sales ‘should be concluded electronically or outside with physical distancing and face covering mitigations in place’.
It means that completing the paperwork can’t take place inside anywhere – including, for example, a portable building.
In addition, the Scottish government has said that test drives can take place but only with the driver – accompanied test drives have to stop ‘for the time being’.
Burgess told Car Dealer this afternoon (Jan 11) that the trade body would now be digesting this development and issuing guidance to members tomorrow.
Garage services and MOT test centres plus the supply of parts have always been allowed to continue.
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