Sales department goes virtual at Erne Motor Works
Toyota is the top selling make in Cavan in 2020
New Toyota car sales have always been very strong in the month of January and, while sales are continuing online and over the phone at Erne Motor Works, they do not have quite the same momentum as other years, according to Dara Fitzpatrick, dealer principal.
“We should now be in the middle of a very busy month for new and used car sales - the market is going to be well back for January,” he told the Celt.
Toyota was revealed in recent weeks as the top selling car make in County Cavan in 2020 - with 170 new cars sold or 17% of the market share. The Toyota Corolla was the most popular model (selling 67 new cars), while the Yaris came in at fifth place (selling 36 cars).
“We are delighted to be the number one selling brand in Cavan in 2020 with 17% of the market share, with four of our hybrid models making the top 10 cars sold in the year in Cavan. We are also seeing the benefits in the Budget in relation to WLTP changes - some of our road taxes reduced in price, while some diesel cars have went up in price,” remarked Dara.
“The Toyota Corolla has been the best selling car for the past two years in Ireland and it has low road tax and lower emissions,” he added.
Dara Fitzpatrick is hopeful that, despite current restrictions, they can maintain and grow their popularity in 2021.
He said that the deadlership had a busy period prior to Christmas with people pre-ordering their new Toyota vehicles.
The new tighter Level 5 restrictions announced on January 6 last mean that customers, who pre-ordered cars, are still allowed to visit Erne Motor Works to collect their new car.
“We are confident that our ‘click and collect’ system is safe for customers and staff. However, if you order a new car today from Erne Motor Works, you are not allowed to collect it until the current restrictions are lifted. The car has to be delivered to you by the dealership and we are providing that delivery service. All the paper work and finance is also being done virtually on-line and is proving very seamless,” explained Dara of current trading arrangements.
He concedes that it has been a difficult start to the new year. “Unfortunately, for now, our physical showroom has to remain closed. However, we will continue to use all our virtual tools to sell and would like to reassure customers that we are open and car buying can be done in a safe environment,” noted Dara.
“If a customer wants their trade-in valued, we can do that virtually as well. Customers have adapted well to the new way of transacting and are sending us Whatsapp videos and photographs of their current vehicles,” he added.
Toyota is continuously developing their hybrid/electric technology, which can be seen with the introduction of the all-new generation Hybrid haris, which can be driven in electric mode up to 80% of the time.
Dara also wanted to reassure customers that the service and parts departments at Erne Motor Works continue to be considered an essential service and remain fully open for all service and repair work. Under Government regulations, people are allowed travel outside the 5km radius for vehicle repair/maintenance.
Aftersales is fully open six days a week and closes at 3pm on Saturdays.