BusinessLive reports that motor dealers will start reopening their doors to customers on Monday, even while unsure of the conditions under which they will be allowed to operate.
On Thursday, the government added dealers to the list of business sectors allowed to trade from 1 May at level four of the risk-adjusted Covid-19 strategy. But the latest gazetted regulations refer only to “car sales”. Dealer groups hope this includes bakkies and commercial vehicles, but by Sunday afternoon they were still awaiting government clarification. The same applied to the rule that sales may take place “under specific directions”. According to a leading dealer: “We don’t know what these directions are. We hope we will find out on Monday what we can and can’t do, so we can make our business plans accordingly.” There are about 1,600 franchised new-vehicle dealers in SA, employing about 60,000 people. The National Automobile Dealers Association has warned that dealers will start to close and jobs will be lost if the sector is not allowed to return to work this week. Vehicle licensing offices will be open from Monday, but testing centres won’t be. Dealers will be allowed to undertake emergency repairs on vehicles, but not routine work under warranties and service plans.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by David Furlonger at BusinessLive
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