Pub. 1 2019-20 Issue 3

What are your thoughts about the auto industry and COVID-19?
I’ve been in the industry for the lion’s share of my career. No one has seen anything like COVID-19 before. It has been an unforeseeably trying time and has changed us in a way that I think is forever. Many of us expected to see a move away from traditional brick and mortar stores towards more digital engagement on what we thought was a horizon of 12 or 15 years. This pandemic and the absence of a vaccine during this Carmageddon has forced us to leap forward three or four years into that future as we wait for a vaccine to feel truly safe.

As dealers prepare for the day that they can reopen their showroom doors post COVID-19 shutdowns, many may feel uncertain about where to begin. As a follow-up to our 36-Point Checklist If Your Dealership is Mandated to Close, we have compiled a comprehensive checklist to run through if you receive approval to open your showroom back up for business. We encourage you to create your own action plan using these suggestions now, so that you will be ready to take quick action when the time comes.

Although the U.S. economic climate is now far different (and far worse) than anyone expected at the beginning of the year, the ability to pivot and adjust to the current situation has never been more critical. Restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are loosening up in the U.S., but the crisis is still fluid. If states see an increase in diagnosed cases, then the country could go back to shutdowns across the continental U.S. In the fall, experts are warning people to expect a second wave of disease. Although scientists are working hard to create a vaccine, no one knows when (or if) they will succeed.

Now that it appears that we are reaching some semblance of the new normal, let’s look at some of the critical legal issues facing franchised motor vehicle dealers over the remainder of 2020.

As COVID-19 uncertainty spreads around the world at an exponential pace, the global community is finding out that reacting quickly to the societal and economic disruptions that the virus creates, no matter how agile a reactor you are, is not good enough, and quite frankly, is simply not working.

These are undoubtedly unprecedented times.
What are you doing, as a small business, to weather the storm?
We are looking at opportunities within our processes to strengthen our financial position in the current market. With the shortage of new vehicles being delivered to dealerships right now, we are looking at the used car market and making sure we have the right preowned inventory on hand to supplement due to the shortage of new inventory.

These are undoubtedly unprecedented times. What are you doing, as a small business, to weather the storm?
This is going to sound strange, but we are just trying to keep things as normal as possible at a time when nothing is normal. We are working to keep everybody safe and sane. The media creates fear and panic in people, so when we run into that, we talk people off the ledge, encourage them and get them back in the game. If someone gets sick, we get them tested. Other than that, we are not really doing anything special.

Do you remember the power of a handshake? The uplifting sense that comes from a smile? The warmth you feel when you get a hug? With COVID, it seems like those times are gone. We have to wave from afar, smile behind a mask, and hug in the air. For me, this is strange.