Car dealers want Government support for motor industry following Covid-19.
A quarter (25%) of car dealers are keen to see a reduction in business rates as the UK recovers from the impact of Covid-19, one in five (19%) want to see current support measures phased out, rather than a hard stop and others are calling for motor-specific policies like changes to the diesel/petrol ban and support for manufacturers.
Some 95% of car dealers are confident their business will survive the impact of Coronavirus, according to new research by Close Brothers Motor Finance. The study, conducted in June as lockdown measures saw showrooms reopening, found that well over half (55%) of dealers felt ‘completely confident’ about the survival of their business.
But three in ten (29%) dealers admit they are worried about an economic downturn, made more pertinent by the UK going into recession. And 13% are worried about a second wave of Coronavirus.
To combat some of the challenges that lie on the road to recovery, the motor industry is looking to the Government for additional support. A quarter of dealers (25%) are calling for a reduction in business rates, and a fifth (19%) would like to see the current measures phased out rather than brought to a hard stop.
Despite almost a quarter of dealers (23%) being worried about stock availability, only 4% are calling on the government for increased support for car manufacturers. And beyond COVID-19, more than one in ten (12%) would like to see changes to the timeline on the diesel petrol ban, brought forward from 2040 to 2030 earlier this year.
The coronavirus crisis has changed how users are interacting with their fleet and workshop software over the last few months, says r2c Online.
The company reports that a number of noticeable trends have developed as a result of lockdown, furloughing and rapidly changing business priorities.
Managing director Tim Meadows said there had been a marked increase in the number of users on r2c Online’s system – up 37% – and that page views had also increased by 17%. Additionally, there had been a significant increase in the number of support queries.
“All indications suggest that these are developments being driven by furloughing. People are being asked to use our system who are not necessarily familiar with it and they have been requesting assistance in getting to grips with some of the fundamental functions.
“There’s also some anecdotal evidence that our users are juggling more roles than they would normally be undertaking, again showing that fewer people have been working.”
