Level three coronavirus regs are a favoured route that nonetheless demands driving with care.

 NEXT week’s diminished national lockdown status will allow car dealerships to entertain a broadened level of sales and servicing, but it isn’t a signal for a return to pre-coronavirus state and showrooms will remain shut.

“It’s nowhere like business as normal and that won’t even start to be until we at least we get to Level Two,” says David Crawford, chief executive officer of the Motor Industry Association, which speaks for new vehicle distributors, in respect to Government’s decision to drop out of the current Level Four condition on midnight of April 27.

The country will remain in that status for a fortnight before another review, on May 11.

The key word during Level Three will be ‘contactless.’ Says Crawford: “What we cannot do is allow customers on sites.” 

Don’t see that as a sign of disappointment: The industry understands why a full lockdown was required and backs the Government. “New Zealand needed to shut down to save lives.”

So easing into Level Three is an important step toward restarting an industry battered by a month of closure. It at least allows “the cash flow to start moving again which will be a great relief.”

Yet he says it is just that, a step and one that demands a high degree of care and responsibility to ensure contactless and interactions to ensure no chance of coronavirus contagion.

“In a Covid-19 constrained world, operating at Level Three will not be business as usual. 

“It is a careful step towards restarting businesses that have put in place adequate steps to limit the transmission of Covid-19.”

Everything comes down to achieving necessary sanitation, distancing, and other health requirements.

It also allows for the sale of new vehicles, but without face-to-face customer contact throughout this and the delivery process, with the onus on the retailer to ensure vehicles are properly sanitised.

“So, for instance, even if the sale is largely done on line they (product) have to be delivered carefully and there are challenges around that.”

Customers will be asked to be patient. “It may not be possible to respond immediately to all requests. We ask the public to be understanding if a request to service or repair your vehicle during this time is not possible or is deferred.” 

There’s good news in respect to parts supply. “The moving of freight and parts under Level Three is unrestricted so that supply will begin to move, which allows us to consider serving of what would be called non-essential vehicles in a way that remains safe.”

Crawford reminds that, in terms of imports, the new vehicle sector is second only to the importation of oil in its contribution towards the New Zealand’s gross domestic product.

“Getting these businesses operating again in a safe way is vital to allowing New Zealand’s economy to begin to recover. 

“The sooner we can stop the spread of the virus the sooner New Zealand can fully reopen for business.”