Tata Motors reopens 200 dealerships and 300 service centres

Homegrown carmaker Tata Motors has started taking the first steps towards resuming operations post the COVID-19 lockdown. The company has begun limited operations at its Pantnagar and Sanand plants. Its other facilities in Lucknow, Dharwad, Jamshedpur and Pune are also at various stages of being readied to begin operations. The Pune plant will initially only be used to manufacture ambulances.

To ensure this graded approach is executed smoothly, Tata Motors has put in place dedicated 'Restart' teams at each location. These teams have curated detailed guidelines and conducted intensive training for maintaining social distancing at all workplaces, shop floors and canteen facilities. Enhanced sanitisation measures are being implemented and only limited, operationally required staff is being asked to come to work in personal vehicles or company transport.

Every employee re-joining the workplace is required to download and use the mandatory 'Aarogya Setu' app. Employees are also required to periodically check-in and declare the status of their own, as well as their family's health on the Tata Motors in-house health track portal. In addition, all employees and visitors entering and exiting the plant premises are also being subjected to temperature checks.

On the retail front, nearly 200 dealerships and 300 workshops for passenger vehicles and over 400 sales outlets and 885 workshops for commercial vehicles have begun operations with a new set of standard operating procedure (SOPs). This calls for minimal interactions and maintaining social distance while engaging with customers. Over the last few days, customers have placed new bookings, deliveries of passenger vehicles have commenced and workshops are seeing an increasing inflow of vehicles for servicing.

All discussions with customers are being done virtually using digital tools and any meetings, if necessary, are being conducted with prior appointments and post verification of all requirements. Documents for vehicle insurance and registration are being collected via mail or specially installed drop boxes and vehicle deliveries are being done only after all formalities are completed. Customer vehicles arriving at workshops for repairs and servicing, too, are completely sanitised before being handed over post service.

Test drives are being offered on request and with prior appointment at the customer's preferred location. Only one person drives the vehicle with a dealer staff member sitting in the rear seat to avoid any physical contact. Following every test drive, the vehicle is fully sanitised including replacing protective covers shielding the interiors of the vehicle that come in contact while driving.

Tata Motors has also recently launched 'Click to drive', an end-to-end online platform to select and buy cars.