Showrooms out of action
Marques have swung their alert level four plans into action after the country was plunged into a snap lockdown following the discovery of a positive Covid-19 community case.
Toyota New Zealand has announced all its stores and service centres are closed except for urgent repairs to essential service vehicles, following the shift to tough coronavirus restrictions at midnight on August 17.
It adds that staff will follow strict rules around distancing hygiene and sanitary processes to keep them and customers safe.
Neeraj Lala, chief executive, has posted a message on the company’s Facebook page to reassure customers it was “doing everything we can to minimise the impact to our local communities that we operate in”.
“My greatest priority at this time is the health and safety of all our team members and ensuring ongoing business continuity and job stability for all of Toyota’s people in New Zealand,” he says.
“We support the New Zealand government with their need to move quickly in order to contain the delta Covid variant and will comply with all heath and travel regulations as we are required to do so.
“We ask for your patience as we work through what this latest lockdown means regarding your vehicle delivery, or servicing needs and your local Toyota store will be in contact with you to rearrange these in due course.”
Ford New Zealand says all normal services at its dealerships has temporarily ceased until further notice because of the nationwide lockdown.
It notes it can only provide services or repairs to essential service vehicles while the level four restrictions remain in place, but it will continue to support other consumers through its 24-hour customer care hotline.
“We have dedicated teams closely monitoring the coronavirus situation, including the latest directives from New Zealand authorities, and will continue to plan and act accordingly,” the Ford NZ website says. “Once government advice allows, we will restart services.”
Hyundai New Zealand’s dealer network is closed and only offering contactless servicing options for essential workers at alert level four.
“The safety and wellbeing of our customers, staff and community remains our highest priority,” the company says. “We are following the Ministry of Health’s guidelines and have implemented stringent measures to ensure everyone stays safe.”
