As the world was gripped in uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic, almost every sector took a hit. Car sales saw a decline of nearly 10% in India, while vehicle sales across categories declined by 30% during the pandemic. This dip in sales and as companies continue the work from the home model have contributed towards the decline in the number of cars visiting the authorized car service centers.
The majority of vehicle owners who work in the IT sector have decided to continue working from home and moving back to their hometown until the situation becomes better. This has eliminated their need to drive to the office on a daily basis and hence their cars are idling in their parking lots.
Now, talking about the cab drivers, they too are deferring from service as they are finding it difficult to make ends meet with their bare minimum income over the pandemic. “We’re getting calls and emails from different authorized car service centers. We’re not running our vehicles because of poor business, so we’ll give them only for service when the demand goes up,” Karnataka State Travel Operators Association president K Radhakrishna Holla told TOI. Similar statements were made by business owners in Chennai.
Now, as the second wave passed by and the lockdown was lifted; life was getting back to normalcy. Experts believe that there will be a shift in mobility choices in the post-pandemic world- people will opt for personal vehicles over public transport, which eventually will increase the demand for car servicing. Hence, the business is expected to flourish for authorised car service center in terms of maintenance services.
Long queues of cars were spotted outside authorized car service centers in Chennai. “During the lockdown, we were getting three or maximum four service calls. But now we’re getting 15 orders every day,” Dhanapathy from Maruti Suzuki Service Center In Adyar told TOI in an interview. Most of the calls made to Hyundai, Maruti, and other authorized car service centers in Chennai revolved around issues pertaining to their car batteries, lights, brakes, and wires bitten by rates; most of which were a result of the cars rusting in their garages for over a year.
Many things have changed during the pandemic, from how we order our food to how we shop for groceries to cope with the pandemic. As people are expected to forego public transport and stick to their personal vehicles, car servicing too has seen a budding need to change the way they function by focusing more on hygiene and sanitation, be it authorized car service centers or Multi brand car service centers. The renewed focus is on limiting human interaction, rigorous safety precautions, and regular disinfection to tackle the spread of the virus.
Numerous authorized car service agencies have introduced at-home car servicing, online booking, and contactless payment to further reduce any possibility of contact between the customer and workers to ensure their safety. Apart from this, people are now learning to fix their cars at home for basic issues like tire punctures and dead batteries by watching youtube tutorials and speaking to the mechanics over calls.
Caution with DIY
The DIY method by car enthusiasts has given more spotlight to Multi Brand Car service, which is equipped to handle the mistakes done during the DIY process. A common problem faced by DIY car enthusiasts is ordering and buying second-hand parts disguised as Genuine or OEM equipment, this can be avoided effortlessly with the help of Multi Brand Car Service.
Change is a part of life, and in this case, it was absolutely necessary. Car servicing will never be the same again; the contactless payment options and other new features introduced by authorized car service centers are, without a doubt, here to stay and are being adopted by the local garages too. Multi brand car service centers have also taken utmost dedication in following all the COVID protocol and sanitation methods to establish passenger safety and car sustainability.
Physical interaction in all sectors has come down to the bare minimum and is expected to stay that way in the near future. Therefore, this calls for a major digital revolution in the car servicing sector too where customers might request for online assistance instead of visiting the garages.
Evolve Automotive is a leading Multi Brand Car Service center in Chennai with over 4600 happy customers across the city.
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