As dealerships reopen, making sure customers — on edge due to the coronavirus — are confident their serviced cars are clean and germ-free has become a top priority.
Antimicrobial treatments for vehicles have become increasingly popular at dealerships. In many instances, dealerships provide the cleaning for free. But in the past two months, antimicrobial treatments as F&I offerings have experienced a 20 percent market-share gain compared with last year, according to F&I product provider Portfolio.
When dealers needed a product to sanitize cars in their service departments, Cilajet — a supplier of aviation-grade paint and metal sealants — started manufacturing an antimicrobial solution. The product, which was offered as a free service to front-line workers in some stores, is making its way into the F&I department.
"We are working with major administrators to ensure that there are some good and valuable F&I benefits to be added. That's currently in progress," said Brady Jones, executive vice president of Cilajet.