Covid-19 Looking Forward and Rebound Strategy for Auto and Mobility

As we have seen, this COVID-19 crisis triggered many changes to the norm. Sectors are dealing with fast-changing and vastly different environments with some companies dealing with sudden demand, while others faced the almost overnight stop of trading. Automotive and mobility brands are on the most worrying end of the scale, with a stop on production and assembly lines and almost all dealerships closed during lockdown. As the pandemic disrupts business as usual and throws the economic outlook into uncertainty, the automotive industry is on the front line.

In a new report, we set out the challenges for the automotive and mobility industry amidst this pandemic, and the questions brands need to be asking themselves. How do we ensure automotive brands will stay relevant and attractive to people in a context of mid-term disruption? How do we ensure dealers can be successful in sealing the deal when visitors will be back with more financial uncertainties than before the crisis? While hygiene will continue to grow as a critical factor for protection, trust and economic recovery, how can we redesign the customer journey, in dealerships, car service areas, taxis or ride-hailing, and obviously in public transport? When and how should brands communicate during and after the crisis peak, in order to be the first to bounce back in sales?

Besides presenting the international challenges for the automotive and mobility industry, we will compare the Belgian numbers with the international data to find out what lessons to be taken into account.