Worrying times but we are all in this together

These are worrying times for us all. The personal, social and economic impacts of coronavirus on retail businesses and their suppliers spell big commercial challenges for everyone.

And ‘social distancing’ will inevitably affect the very ‘people-focused’ nature of dealers. Motor Trader readers face a very difficult time.

But amid the anxieties the fact is that motor retail is in a stronger position to weather the COVID-19 crisis today than it would have been just a few years ago.

For example, while there have been reports of dealership footfall reducing by up to a half we are seeing real indicators of continued strong demand for cars.

And thanks to the ongoing rapid expansion of the online motor retail sector there are now more opportunities than ever before to sell cars to people in their own homes.

As this is not the time for ‘dog eat dog’ competitive posturing I have been pleased to see the likes of Peter Vardy stepping up to support dealers with free installation of an online retail platform.

For our own part I am delighted to see that conversions are up on BuyaCar.co.uk as consumers focus more on buying online and website traffic is higher than a year ago.

Demand for cars is there and dealers are better supported to take advantage of it with distance selling, via more online channels today than at any other point in motor retail history.

Andy Oldham is CERO of BuyaCar.co.uk