UK: Car dealership motors out of virus lockdown
Businesses at the Vauxhall Car Showroom in Chingford, north-east of London, are pushing ahead of the UK’s lockdown limits this week in the area affected by the coronavirus.
Car dealerships in England have reopened as the UK government eases into the Covid-19 measures that have broken the industry and reversed the economy. “When we reopened, it was so refreshing and fun,” Chingford dealership manager Nick Lock told AFP on Thursday against the backdrop of shiny new vehicles.
Sales in the area were halted in April and May after a nationwide lockdown on March 23 to prevent the spread of the virus. Lockdown demand is now on the rise in Chickford for cheap mid-range cars from Vauxhall, owned by French automaker PSA Peugeot-Citroen. “It’s too busy” – “It’s back,” Locke told AFP when asked about the demand force after reopening Monday.
“We’re very busy with sales and services – we’re a lot busier than we are. “We sell three or four cars a day,” he said, adding that dealership sales temporarily cut staff.
Although usually a slow return, there are signs of stringent health measures to prevent life-threatening disease, which has so far killed more than 40,000 people in the UK. Face masks and sanitizer hand gel are available at the entrance. There are screens to prevent the virus from spreading in the sales office.
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), new car sales in the UK fell by 90 percent in April and May. Sales fell 51 percent in the first five months of this year.
The lock is still bullish, with the market predicting a return to the “four to six months” before the lockdown. Cheap cars attract customers who want to avoid public transit due to the new disease. “They want to buy cars for $ 7,000 or, 000 8,000 (about $ 9,000 to $ 10,000),” the car dealer said. “It will protect them and themselves and their families from danger.” “All Manufacturers Are Suffering” – Stephen Norman, Managing Director of Vauxhall Group, speaking to AFP reflects Lock’s optimism but warns the sector to be full.
“When you lose 90 percent of the market, Voxhall, like all manufacturers, will inevitably suffer,” Norman says via video link-up. “Without a government forlorn plan, I’m not sure we would be in a conversation today,” he said, referring to the Kovid-19 job retention program, which pays the state 80 percent of its monthly wage. He said online searches for all types of vehicles continued at an old pace during the two-month lockdown.
“So I believe the industry is rebounding – but it definitely takes time, and it doesn’t happen in a day, week, or month. “It takes months and days for what I call the natural running rate for the motor industry in the United Kingdom.”
Trade talks from Britain and the EU have been locked up this week in the fourth round of Brexit talks, but no one in London or Brussels expects a turnaround.