MELVILLE, N.Y. -

Automotive industry management consultant Max Zanan says that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many would-be car buyers worry that furloughs or illness will prevent them from keeping up with their payments.

Tough times call for bold action, the consultant said.

To help buyers and dealerships, Zanan is offering the Walkaway Vehicle Return Program. The program underwrites the return of vehicles when buyers experience a life-changing event such as involuntary unemployment, physical disability, or accidental death.

To address buyers’ fears, whenever unforeseen circumstances cause payments to become a burden, Walkaway can allow consumers to return any vehicle purchased at any participating dealership.

Zanan says that because the program removes the concern that causes many car buyers to delay their purchase, the program also helps dealerships increase sales and market share.

The consultant works in partnership with the company behind the Hyundai Assurance program, a program that Zanan describes as a “resounding success.” Hyundai Assurance addressed buyers’ and dealers’ needs during the Great Recession of 2008 to 2011. Walkaway “extends the legacy” of that program to anyone buying a vehicle at a U.S. dealership.

Zanan noted that vehicle sales are down 80% in some regions of the country.

“Dealerships have done everything they can to keep things moving, but even the most generous financing terms don't address the fear many people have that losing their job may turn a new car into an albatross,” Zanan said in a news release.

Zanan continued, “The most successful dealerships will be those who address consumers’ fears head-on. Walkaway does that and more.”

Hyundai Assurance showed that consumers respond when fear is no longer in the equation, Zanan said.

“With states beginning to re-open for business, Walkaway Vehicle Return Program is the right program at the right time,” Zanan said.

Walkaway is available to U.S. dealerships as a preload program.