VDA, VDIK, ZDK and IG Metall: Allow stationary car sales again as soon as possible

The stationary sale of cars to customers should be permitted again as soon as possible. This proposal was submitted by the automotive umbrella organizations VDA (German Association of the Automotive Industry), VDIK (Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers) and ZDK (German Federation of Motor Trades and Repairs) as well as the IG Metall trade union in a joint letter to Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel. Their common goal is to ensure that economic activities are revived as quickly as possible and in a manner that is responsible for health.

In the letter, signed by VDA President Hildegard Müller, IG Metall Chairman Jörg Hofmann as well as VDIK President Reinhard Zirpel and ZDK President Jürgen Karpinski, the top representatives point out the increasingly threatening situation at manufacturers, suppliers and dealerships with a total of around 1.3 million employees in Germany: “Production lines have come to a standstill, salesrooms have to remain closed, and vehicle sales have come to a virtual standstill.

The trade, he said, was confronted with an almost unmanageable amount of pre-financed stock vehicles which could no longer be sold in stationary stores because of the ordered closure of its sales outlets. “The companies cannot take on any more vehicles. This means that supply and production also come to a standstill or cannot be restarted. Our request is therefore to permit the stationary sale of motor vehicles to customers again as soon as possible and in coordination with the health authorities and the federal states after the next meeting of the Federal Government with the Minister Presidents of the states,” the letter states.

This would minimise the risk of insolvency of a large number of companies in a key sector in Germany, with all the economic consequences that would entail and the financially and socially serious consequences of job losses for the employees concerned and their families, the undersigned said.

Especially in the automotive trade, the protection of customers and employees against infection can be guaranteed to a special degree, the letter states. The situation was characterized by comparatively large areas and a small number of customers present at the same time. The minimum distances between individual persons of 1.5 to 2 metres can be maintained much more easily than in grocery stores, DIY stores, pet shops and flower shops. Queues at the checkout, crowds at shelves, changing shopping carts from customer to customer and the constant exchange of goods for cash in personal contact would not occur in the automobile trade. Especially in times of crisis, occupational health and safety in the interest of employees and consumers is an indispensable asset. “The undersigned will of course fully commit themselves to the observance of the specified measures for health protection”.

Contact person:
VDA: Eckehart Rotter, @, mobile 0179/4712154
VDIK: Peter Mair, mair@, Mobile 0179/4819575
IG Metall: Hartmut Steiger, @, mobile 0160/5331254
ZDK: Ulrich Köster, koester@, mobile 0173/5498750