Motorpoint is now offering contactless collection at its branches in England and Wales with immediate effect. The UK’s largest independent car retailer, which has a network of 12 branches across both countries, has been adapting its vehicle handover process to minimise contact at the point of collection.

The new click and collect service, which will initially be available Monday to Friday, will enable customers to adhere to the latest social distancing guidelines and choose, buy and drive away without any physical contact with a member of staff. This includes test drives which can now be done without someone from Motorpoint being present in the car.

Motorpoint branches will continue to be closed on Government advice until advised with staff working on a strict appointment-only based system for collections. All vehicle handovers will be completed outdoors.

Mark Carpenter, chief executive officer of Motorpoint, said: “As a business that has openness and friendliness at the heart of everything it does, creating a buying experience that puts distance between our teams and our customers feels slightly unnatural, but it is absolutely necessary and the right thing to do.

“We’ve been working hard to redesign our processes in order to minimise contact, and with the tools that we have developed to move the whole buying experience online, we firmly believe our contactless collection system means customers can buy their new car from us not only with absolute confidence but also absolute safety.”

Motorpoint also continues to operate its home delivery service covering the whole of the UK mainland for those customers who aren’t in a position to utilise the contactless collection system in branch.

Launched in late March, it enables customers to have their new car delivered to their doorstep five days a week free of charge. In the light of the latest Public Health England guidance, all vehicles are sanitised both prior to, and at the point of delivery, while Motorpoint staff adhere to ‘social-distancing’ measures at all times when handing over the vehicle.

Mark Carpenter added: “With industry leading services such as free home delivery and now contactless collection customers can choose to buy and receive their new car from Motorpoint in a way that best suits them while equally importantly staying safe at all times.”