Britain’s car dealerships reopened this week under strict social distancing rules so they can cope if crowds of buyers descend upon showrooms.
If the first few days of business in St Albans are anything to go by, those concerns are looking misplaced.
A handful of customers were browsing forecourts in the city north of London on Wednesday morning. Evans Halshaw Vauxhall was dealing with a customer visiting the showroom on their first trip out after weeks of self-isolation. At a Honda Motor dealer, a couple were paying for a Jazz hybrid hatchback they’d decided to buy before the lockdown. Elsewhere, salespeople were waiting at their desks for buyers to show up. There was no risk of anyone being turned away to enforce distancing rules.
It’s a far cry from China, where dealerships were swamped with visitors after restrictions on movement were eased. Sales there have already returned to the same level as late last year, helped by government measures to stimulate the market.
British sales are set to grow this month, if only to satisfy the pent-up demand accumulated over two months of national lockdown. Fewer cars were sold in April than at any time since the Second World War and demand last month was still around one 10th of the level a year earlier.
Yet it’ll be tough for the UK car market to match China’s V-shaped recovery. Millions of jobs are at risk in an unprecedented economic slump, and many people have eaten into their savings as incomes fell. So consumers are less likely to load up on credit for a new car. That points to hefty price cuts to shift inventory that could hammer the profits of manufacturers.
“For those in a position to buy, dealership discounts and special offers are likely to be widely available, providing consumers with an incentive to purchase now,” said James Fairclough, chief executive of AA Cars.
Pendragon, one of the country’s biggest car dealers, said it’s had an encouraging start to the week with a mix of customers either looking at new and used vehicles or picking up cars they’d put down deposits for before the lockdown began.
“It is too early to predict how sales will fair coming out of this unprecedented situation, but the demand is out there,” said chief marketing officer Kim Costello in an email. “Many customers we speak with are eager to purchase a vehicle as a safer alternative to public transportation.”
Job Lost
There are questions over whether normal business will resume even when the economy recovers. Car-sharing has begun to challenge private vehicle ownership. And a sharp drop in air and noise pollution during the lockdown has boosted campaigns to discourage car use.
Some dealers are bringing back sales staff only gradually, both to gauge demand and to ensure their social distancing measures are enforceable. Some will never return: Lookers, one of Britain’s biggest car dealer networks, said on Thursday it’s cutting about 1,500 jobs and closing 12 sites, as trading resumes “at lower than normal capacity levels.”
What happens at dealerships in coming weeks will have big implications for manufacturers from Nissan Motor to Tata Motors’ Jaguar Land Rover. They were forced to shutter factories for weeks during the height of the pandemic, and are starting to manufacture small numbers of vehicles that will need a home. British carmakers Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings and McLaren Group are now cutting jobs to cope with the fall in demand for their premium cars.
Test Drives
Measures to stop the spread of coronavirus are making selling cars a more cumbersome process. Customers are often asked to make appointments before showing up. Visitors must follow one-way signs around showrooms and perspex screens separate customers from sales staff.
On the upside, buyers get to enjoy a test drive alone. At the Vauxhall dealership in St Albans, owned by Pendragon, the customer is monitored via dashboard cameras and the dealer gets a notification if they go off a pre-approved test route.
Ford Motor Company said it will require pre-authorisation on the credit cards of prospective buyers and ask them to leave the keys to their old car before they head out for a test drive.
With more car sales now happening online, the absence of big crowds at retail outlets doesn’t tell the whole story. And with the government encouraging people to return to work without using mass transit, some commuters may be tempted to buy their first car.
A South African couple living in St Albans plan to take delivery of a car from Evans Halshaw Vauxhall this week as a way to avoid public transport, said the branch’s head of business, who asked not to be identified.
Many of the new car buyers in China were also looking for a way to get around while staying off buses and trains. There are reasons why Britain might not follow the same pattern.
“I can’t see masses of people suddenly jumping from the trains, trams and buses into cars to go to work, especially since issues of parking and traffic jams are being made worse by social distancing measures and the reductions in the width of roads,” said Tim Urquhart, principal automotive analyst at IHS Markit.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
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French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
The biog
Name: Dr Lalia Al Helaly
Education: PhD in Sociology from Cairo
Favourite authors: Elif Shafaq and Nizar Qabbani.
Favourite music: classical Arabic music such as Um Khalthoum and Abdul Wahab,
She loves the beach and advises her clients to go for meditation.
Jawan
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
PREMIER LEAGUE STATS
Romelu Lukaku's goalscoring statistics in the Premier League
Season/club/appearances (substitute)/goals
2011/12 Chelsea: 8(7) - 0
2012/13 West Brom (loan): 35(15) - 17
2013/14 Chelsea: 2(2) - 0
2013/14 Everton (loan): 31(2) - 15
2014/15 Everton: 36(4) - 10
2015/16 Everton: 37(1) - 18
2016/17 Everton: 37(1) - 25
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
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The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
OPTA'S PREDICTED TABLE
1. Liverpool 101 points
2. Manchester City 80
3. Leicester 67
4. Chelsea 63
5. Manchester United 61
6. Tottenham 58
7. Wolves 56
8. Arsenal 56
9. Sheffield United 55
10. Everton 50
11. Burnley 49
12. Crystal Palace 49
13. Newcastle 46
14. Southampton 44
15. West Ham 39
16. Brighton 37
17. Watford 36
18. Bournemouth 36
19. Aston Villa 32
20. Norwich City 29
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
