Creative thinking vital for dealers

Car dealers are having to think creatively to get back to business as the Covid-19 alert levels are eased and buyers start returning, according to Enterprise Motor Group’s boss.

Chief executive Chris Stephenson, pictured, says his company has been “pleasantly surprised” at the number of sales since the shift out of lockdown.

While showrooms have remained closed, dealers have been able to trade providing they can meet rules around social distancing, contactless transactions, enhanced safety measures and contact tracing methods.

“We opened our doors on Tuesday [April 28] and it’s gone well,” Stephenson told Autofile Online. “Happily, we’ve had sales beyond what we expected and there are definitely people interested in buying cars.

“We have been pleasantly surprised. The big unknown was how are customers would react to a new way of buying a car. Most people are accepting and understanding of the rules in place. At the moment, it’s regular consumers we’re seeing, those who have needed to replace cars during lockdown but haven’t been able to until now.”

Dealers across the country have been encouraged by the early interest in purchasing vehicles since level three came into action. Automotive technology business AutoPlay was also seeing positives in the market, with reported lead volumes since April 29 up to about 700 a day – the equivalent of about 70 per cent of the levels before Covid-19. 

Enterprise has branches at Gisborne, Hamilton, and New Lynn and Manukau in Auckland, and Stephenson admits the speed with which the business had to get grips with how they could operate post-lockdown was a challenge.

“The first hurdle going into level three was identifying how we could trade and trying to interpret what some of the rules meant for us as a business,” Stephenson says. “At Enterprise, we’ve spent the past few years investing in technology to enable a paperless and contactless way of operating, so we were reasonably happy with that. 

“The hard part for us was the systems, processes and protocols we knew we had to put in place so we could open safely. We were confident that every one of our branches would operate to a level that met the WorkSafe standards. The challenge was creating rules and inducting almost 110 staff into those rules in about five days.”

Stephenson is part of a steering group overseen by the Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (VIA) that has been identifying potential problems for the industry during the coronavirus pandemic and coming up with recommendations for government to address those areas. 

It has also sought clarity around what businesses can operate at the different Covid-19 alert levels. The group is now examining how the industry will look at level two, which may come into force from mid-May.

“It’s been interesting working with VIA and the taskforce we put together because we have had some good ideas and a good mix of people to bounce them off,” he says.

“Covid-19 has also forced car dealers to think creatively. Dealers are loosely retail but not how everyone else imagines retail. 

“The general feeling is we will have more freedom to operate in a retail environment at level two. There will still be enhanced sanitisation and contact tracing, but there’s likely to be more freedom for people to visit dealers and browse.”

He hopes with customers being able to visit yards it will, in turn, lead to a further pick-up in trade for dealers.

Stephenson explains that while many Kiwis have adopted the online buying process, cars are still an “emotive process” for a lot of people.

“Many New Zealand consumers want to see two or three cars together, to be able to touch and feel them, drive them and spend some time with them before they make a purchasing decision.

“We’ve had to step up our game over recent weeks in how we handle online inquiries. That will now only add to the finishing touch of the service we provide when we get someone in to show them a car.”

Despite the disruption to the economy from the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent lockdown, Stephenson remains optimistic. “I think the country will bounce back but industries aren’t going to be quite the same. There’s going to be a shift in the market in terms of consumers and the price-points they want to purchase cars at.

“Enterprise turns 50 this year and we got our first trusted brand award [from Reader’s Digest] and we’re planning on being present for another 50 years. The recent challenges we’ve had will make us get better at what we’re doing and makes you think a bit more about how you operate. You’ve got to adapt to new consumer trends and demands.”