Ducati Cares head up UK dealerships reopening

DUCATI has launched a new Ducati Cares programme across its global dealership network to prepare showrooms for reopening to the public.

Showrooms across the UK have been closed since the government-issued lockdown in March, with the current guidelines permitting online vehicle purchases and deliveries.

As the UK begins to wait in anticipation for the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions to ease, the Ducati Cares programme provides its dealers with a series of precautionary social distancing and hygiene measures they can take to allow them to re-open, as soon as government guidelines allow.

The guidelines include; indications on safe distances, disinfectants, masks, and ‘other precautions’.

While details of the ‘other precautions have yet to be confirmed, we believe they are likely to include scheduled time slots for customers, revised layouts of showrooms, and an increased focus on the digitalisation of Ducati’s services – including online retail.

The news comes after Ducati announced it was to resume production at its Borgo Panigale plant in Italy, with staff gradually returning to work.

Francesco Milicia, VP Global Sales and After Sales at Ducati, said: "It is now clear to everyone that the virus won’t disappear from our lives any time soon, we will have to learn to deal with it, putting in place all possible actions to protect ourselves, allowing us to return to live our lives again.”

With factories restarting production and governments slowly easing restrictions, we expect other brands to establish similar programmes and guidelines over the following weeks in anticipation of opening the showroom doors and reviving the industry.