With the Covid-19 pandemic setting all major industries into backfoot, the economy of the country has witnessed a battering. However, with restrictions being eased down in certain areas, various companies have been attempting a restart in a phased manner.
Honda Cars India Ltd. (HCIL), on 12th May 2020 announced that 155 dealership facilities have re-opened so far across the country after getting necessary approvals from local authorities to restart operations. This includes 118 showrooms and 155 service outlets cumulatively. The dealerships had started opening sequentially after significantly easing of restrictions on economic activities by the government last week. The company in a press release said that its top-most priority is the safety and well-being of customers and dealer staff and that it is closely working with all dealerships to ensure strict adherence to the comprehensive guidelines of sanitization, safety & distancing in line with government norms as well as specified by the company.
The Japanese manufacturer stated that the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the dealerships include preparation before restart of operations in terms of facility readiness, equipment fitness check, availability of personal protective and sanitization equipment, manpower readiness and sanitization. Once the operation starts, there is heightened focus on Contactless Customer experience with extensive use of digitized mediums for product explanation and online means of communication for all sales and service needs.
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The company also laid emphasis that specific protocols are to be followed for entry into dealership facilities, pre-sales customer test drives, sales activity, receiving cars for service, road tests, shop floor handling and finally delivering the car back to the customer. These safety guidelines are being applied across the facility including customer areas, back office, shop floor, parts storage and other areas.
On this occasion, Mr. Rajesh Goel, Senior Vice President and Director, Sales and Marketing, Honda Cars India Ltd said, “At HCIL, ensuring safety for everyone is paramount to us, for which we and our dealers’ partners are taking all measures of sanitization, safety and distancing at both showroom and workshops. We would like to assure our customers that our dealerships are geared up to welcome them and provide a safe, secure and contactless environment during their visit. With the gradual opening of dealerships in the coming days, our objective is to reignite the joy of buying for our customers at a time when personal mobility will gain extreme significance. The dealerships will increasingly be able to focus on servicing vehicles being used by essential service staff like doctors as also for breakdown vehicles.”
The Japanese car maker is currently waiting for the lockdown to be lifted so that it could launch the 5th generation of the new Honda City. The Honda City is the country’s most popular C-segment sedan currently and people have been waiting for the arrival of the new-gen model with abated breath.