Good news for car dealers during lockdown

Last week, the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) issued advice and guidance in which they considered that car sales could continue remotely, away from the physical showrooms and that deliveries of sold cars to the buyers could be deemed as acceptable and inline with existing Government advice regarding online retail.

Many car dealers have continued to sell cars during lockdown by providing video walkthroughs in the place of test drives and offering to deliver the car to your home.

This advice has been confirmed by the Government today in a statement from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, that car dealerships can continue to sell and deliver cars during lockdown. Although their stance on the physical showrooms is that they remain closed as they are considered non-essential, except for providing urgent car repairs and services, dealers can continue to sell cars remotely.

Delivery can also take place as long as they follow clear guidance from Public Health England. We would encourage all businesses that are continuing to sell during lockdown to refer to official Government advice on social distancing practices and health advice.

With many businesses within the motor industry seeing an increase in online traffic in the past weeks, including Exchange and Mart which has seen site traffic increase by 19% over the past two weeks, backing from the Government has provided an extra boost to car dealers eager to continue selling.