Upmarket retail businesses that typically rely on “the personal touch” to sell have had to temporarily suspend their customer experience earlier this year due to Covid. But with the relaxing of restrictions and lockdown since September, retailers have been finding ways of re-engaging with customers in a safe and meaningful way, and one sector that made the first, bold moves was automotive.

In September 2021, Millennium Group Corporation (Asia), or MGC-Asia, launched a special initiative called “GoodwillDriving by Millennium Auto” for its customers and members of the press. “The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a lot of suffering across the country,” said Millennium AutoGroup’s deputy managing director of sales and marketing, Sompraj Bosuwan. “As a company, we feel that we have a responsibility to do our part and contribute towards society in combating the virus and its effects.” Allocating several of the latest models of BMWs and Mini Coopers—including the exciting all-electric Mini—MGC-Asia invited us to help drive necessities to Covid patients and medical personnel at Muang Thong Thani’s Busarakham field hospital (now shut due to reduced Covid cases). Such an attractive opportunity to lessen the burden off of both patients and frontline workers during the health crisis, how could we have resisted joining in?

The starting point for our Goodwill Drive was A Square, the open community complex between Sukhumvit 24 and26. Upon arrival to A Square at around 11:30am, every participant, whether a crew member, driver or passenger, was obliged to take a swab test to check for Covid. Being in the business of cars and experiential test drives, our hosts stressed that safety for all is always their top priority, pandemic or not. On the day of our Goodwill Drivethankfully no one tested positive for Covid and we were all able to commence to a socially-distanced lunch and debriefing at Savoey restaurant at A Square. After that, it was time to choose our vehicles.

We of course opted for the only all-electric model in theline-up, the Mini Cooper SE Electric, but there were plenty of Mini Electrics available for the other participants, as wellas new hybrid BMWs like the X3 xDrive30e for those whowanted to limit their carbon footprint. With a total of 15vehicles carrying donations of drinking water, toilet paper,alcohol sanitiser and dry and canned food in their boots, wewere ready to hit the road in the afternoon.

The drive to Busarakham field hospital from A Square was about 30 kilometres and typically took about 30 minutes on the highway without traffic, but since we would be driving in a motorcade of 15 vehicles, it understandably took much longer, which was great—more time to enjoy the features of our earth-saving Mini Cooper. For extra safety, MGC-Asia collaborated with local law enforcement to provide police escort throughout the commute and to make passing through multiple tollways a seamless experience.

When we arrived at the drop-off zone of the field hospital 45 minutes later, the gracious MGC-Asia crew members and hospital staff helped us unload the donations from our trunks and cart them to the designated area. There were a few photo-ops and exchanges of gratitude with frontline representatives before driving back to A Square and saying goodbye to the wonderful organisers and the vehicle we had grown rather attached to in just a few hours of activity. Our Goodwilll Drive was the first of such drives that was replicated later in the month in four provinces: Bangkok, Ubon Ratchathani, Phuket and Hat Yai.

[This story first appeared in Koktail Magazine Issue 1.]