COVID-19 – General Update

DMV Dealer Unit Operations Status – The Division of Motor Vehicles Dealer Unit is continuing to operate with limited staff and intermittent closures. NCADA encourages dealers with April license renewal deadlines or other time sensitive business needs (e.g., temporary markers), to address such matters as soon as possible.

Legislative Committees Meet – The Economic Support and Continuity of State Operations working groups of the NC House of Representatives Select Committee on COVID-19 held remote committee meetings again today. As part of the presentations, NC Department of Transportation Secretary Eric Boyette provided an operations update outlining the various impacts on Department operations, revenues, as well as a general overview of legislative requests. Included in the requests is legislative authority for the DMV Commissioner to extend expiration dates for various licenses as well as to delay the upcoming move of DMV to Rocky Mount, currently scheduled for October 1, 2020.

NADA Dealership Lifeline Webinar Series Continues – NADA is conducting another series of webinars this week to assist dealers during the COVID-19 crisis.  All seminars noted below are from 1:00 – 2:00 pm, EDT.

Wednesday, April 8th – “Build a 60 Day Protection Plan"
Thursday, April 9th – “Managing Service Operations: Making it through the COVID-19 Pandemic”
Friday, April 10th – “The Best Ideas from NADA 20 Groups: In Times of COVID-19 Pandemic”

Information on the series is available here.

Governor Cooper Addresses Possible Additional Executive Order - During a press conference today, Governor Cooper announced that he expects to sign an executive order this week that would, "Put more guardrails on social distancing at our essential retailers.” The order would likely impose limits on number of people in a store at one time are mandatory, among other possible restrictions.

Paycheck Protection Program Loans - As noted previously, the application process for small business loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) began last Friday, April 3, 2020. All available reports show a significant number of applications already submitted with at least one major bank announcing that it cannot accept any further applications. NCADA encourages all dealers interested in applying for a PPP loan to consult with your lenders and submit your application as soon as possible. More information on the PPP is available here.  Please note, the SBA continues to update an FAQ for Lenders and Borrowers as various questions on the operation of the program arise. Also, an updated list of Franchise Identifier Codes for automotive manufacturers is available here.

Information from NADA on PPP Application Process - NADA’s Andy Koblenz and Doug Greenhaus have recently had a conversation with a key SBA affiliation attorney regarding two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) items. The following information includes NADA’s insights based on that conversation; please note that these are NOT official SBA positions.

• NADA has provided draft Addendum A language for potential use in responding to Question 3 on the Borrower Application.  It is NADA’s suggestion that borrowers also consider listing their businesses that are under common management and control. Further, NADA states that dealers should modify (or have your legal counsel modify) NADA’s draft Addendum A language as you see fit.
• NADA also notes that the language in Box G of the lender application is apparently accurate. However, SBA has approved some additional FICs and is continuing to do so.  An updated list of Franchise Identifier Codes for automotive manufacturers is available here.

LPA Operations Status Update – Updated status of License Plate Agency operations through April 6, 2020 available here.