Car dealers have been given the all-clear to open their showrooms for car sales as well as their workshops and service bays.

As of Monday May 18, as long as they meet the requirement for social distancing idealerships can open all sectors of their garages including showrooms.

There had been widespread confusion as to whether dealers could open their showrooms as part of Phase 1 of the Governments roadmap and now it has been made clear that car sales along with servicing and repairs has been given the go-ahead.

SIMI director general Brian Cooke says: “We welcome the clarity and understand the decision was only made in the last couple of days. I’ve no doubt that our members will meet all the requirements in relation to protecting customers and staff.”

Steve Tormey CEO, Toyota Ireland said, “From the day that we closed dealerships in line with HSE and Government advice we have been working on a plan to enable us to reopen in a manner that would ensure safety for customers and staff, and are happy to report that we have now put all the requirements in place to be able to operate social distancing while still providing the high level of service Toyota is renowned for. From May 18th we welcome customers who are interested in buying a new or used car, or have car servicing requirements, to our dealerships."

Speaking on the return to operations, Niall Phillips, Brand Director at SEAT Ireland said "We look forward to welcoming customers back to our retail network across the country from Monday 18th May and catering for their needs. The health and safety of our customers and staff is of great importance to us and we hope the introduction of the complementary cleaning service and warranty extension will provide our customers with peace of mind during this challenging time”.

Nissan will fully open for sales, service and repair on Monday, May 18. Customers will also be able to avail of a variety of remote services where they would rather not visit their local dealership in person.

“We are doing everything we can to keep our staff and customers safe, to follow and comply with Government guidelines and we look forward to reopening on Monday,” said James McCarthy, CEO of Nissan.

“We have also redesigned our dealership to meet all social distancing guidelines. We will have protective screens in reception areas, as well as customer sanitisation stations,” he continued.