Late last week, Ford down-under announced that it’s rolling out a specialist drop-off and pick-up service for vehicles that require maintenance work. The service aims to reduce human touchpoints and lessen the risk of Coivd-19 transmission. The free service will run until June 30, 2020. [Read: Coronavirus leads to global decrease in oil demand, air quality is on the up] Customers can book a vehicle service online or directly with their local dealer who will then go the client and pick up their vehicle and take it back to the Ford center for service. The vehicle will be returned directly to the customer after all the work is complete. Services like this have existed for some time, and generally serve to support time crunched drivers. But what really sets this apart from the regular service, is that Ford will clean and disinfect all key touch points in both loan cars and customer cars, and enforce contactless payments According to Carscoops’ report, an alcohol-based cleaner will be used to disinfect exterior and interior door handles, the steering wheel, center console, gear selector, hand brake handle, radio and air-con control areas, touchscreen, start/stop button, and key fob.
Reinventing business
Ford’s not the only company that’s having to adjust its business model to continue operating during the coronavirus crisis. In fact, many companies are actively pivoting to manufacture medical products to help healthcare providers tackle the outbreak. Today, engineers at Tesla published a video demonstrating a working prototype of a ventilator made mostly from existing car parts. Apple has also committed to make a million protective masks for frontline health workers. While self-isolation and quarantine policies recommend against unnecessary car trips, for frontline workers that need their vehicle servicing Ford’s service could prove valuable.
