The motor industry is ready to at least partially re-open its doors under Alert Level 3 lockdown restrictions with service workshops expected to be busy from the moment the alert status changes.
Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford says new vehicle distributors and their franchised networks will initially be looking to distribute vehicles sold in March that were not delivered before lockdown, partially open workshops to undertake vehicle servicing and establish safe procedures for new vehicle sales.
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"The Motor Industry Association endorses the Government’s position that New Zealand needed to shut down to save lives, and that moving to Level 3, when it happens, remains a necessarily constrained way of operating our businesses," Crawford said.
"While we expect to provide some servicing under Alert Level 3, we will be asking the public to be understanding if a request to service or repair your vehicle during this time is declined.
"The sooner we can stop the spread of the virus the sooner New Zealand can reopen for business."
Mr Crawford said the industry would be able to re-engineer its operations to achieve contact-less operations.
"Distributors and their franchise dealers should be able to operate their workshops with the necessary sanitation, distancing and other health requirements and complete contact-less delivery of vehicles which had were sold in March but could not delivered before level 4 lockdown came into effect."
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Retail new vehicles could be possible if there is no face-to-face customer contact throughout the sale and delivery process and vehicles are properly sanitised.
In Tauranga the multi-brand Farmer Auto Village dealership is ready to hit the ground running with contact-less vehicle servicing and repairs.
"For the motor industry all efforts have to be on after sales," said Group Managing Director Mike Farmer.
"After sales will be the keel that keeps the ship on course. The dealerships that focus on that will have the best chance of prosperity."
Farmer says his business is awaiting some clarification about how contact-less vehicle sales could operate but is ready to extend servicing work and parts support beyond those vehicles used in essential industries.
"We have a fully contact-less servicing operation with the correct sanitising and protective equipment for staff already in place which is ready to go and awaiting the government announcement," Farmer told Driven earlier today.
"It will be mainly a pick-up and delivery service. A lot of thought and planning had gone in even before we went into lockdown.
"We have 70 cars booked in for service on Thursday if that is the first day of Level 3 operation and we are in constant communication updating those customers."