Speakers at the maiden
‘Ghana Auto Beach Dialogue’ have observed the need for a radical revival of the
country’s automobile industry which has great potential for wealth creation and
to become an economic driver for national development.
The speakers confirmed
that players in the industry are presently interested in only selling their
various derivatives leaving buyers with less excitement and lack of attention
and satisfaction.
This, they agreed, is impeding
the growth of the sector which has been identified as a strong economic trigger
with high employment generation capacity.
The country’s automobile market has
grown rapidly in recent years thanks to economic growth and a developing middle
class.
Latest figures from the Ghana
Shippers Authority indicates that liner export trade from January to December 2014
shows that the two ports of Tema and Takoradi recorded a surge of car/vehicle export
of about 2,396 in 2014’s maritime trade,
as compared to 1,506 car/vehicles exported in 2013. This figure represent a
surge of 59.10 percent during the year under review.
Again, car sales increased in 2006
when real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate hit a high of 6.4%.
And according to the African
Development Bank, car ownership is expected to grow 81% over the next five
years. Economic and autos growth in 2012, presented a forecast for GDP growth
of 7.9% should contribute to a 28% rise in vehicle sales, to 10,688 units.
Experts forecasted that good annual
growth in GDP per capita during the period of 2016 financial year should
benefit vehicle sales in the country.
“The industry is
dwindling because the gap between the dealership and customers are increasing
and the moment the customer keep moving away then the industry loses money.
“Dealers need to go
beyond the limits of just selling cars and rather strive to satisfy customers,
the customer deservers more.
I think what the
industry is lacking now is the sincerity and the honesty that comes with it
because the customer must get value for money,” Mr. Tony Torsu, the Chief
Executive Officer of Torque Logistics Limited told audience at
the maiden edition of the ‘Ghana Auto Beach Dialogue’
held at the Sakumono Beach Resort, a suburb of Accra.
The initiative, which
was spearheaded by Torque Logistics Limited in collaboration with the Ghana
Auto. Com, brought together audience and participants to dialogue and chart a
new path of reviving the country’s automobile industry which according to some
experts have become dormant in recent times.
The main
goal of the dialogue was to provide the basis for costumers to build knowledge
to help remedy long-standing challenges they are being confronted with in the
automobile industry.
It was also meant to equip and empower customers with
additional information about automobiles so as to enable them make informed
decisions when buying new cars as they were taken through processes required to
maintain and prolong the lifespan of a car.
Participants comprised
of students, experts, budget car dealers, transport business executives, spear
part dealers, car owners/users, enthusiasts, policy makers, engineers as well
as organisations who long to know about the automobile industry.
The event featured a
comprehensive car talk, free car advise and a segment dubbed “Your Personality,
Your Car”; a segment designed to assist consumers know if their cars suits
their lifestyle and pocket.
Mr. Torsu, underscored
the need for car buyers to get value for their money as he indicated that “people
go to the automobile market and return unhappy with their purchase due to the numerous
problems which crop up after purchase.
“What we want to do is
to equip the customer with a lot of information so that when they go into the
market they will know the right step to take because they have the knowledge.”
According to him the
automobile industry has positioned itself better in the areas of car sales, dealing
in accessories or auto insurance, but the service aspect has not been packaged
well enough to make the customer excited.
This, he said, has
called for Torque Logistics to assist customers make the right choices rather
than getting they being ripped off on
the automobile market.
Touching on used
vehicles, he said many people buy cars just because they long for them but there
is more to the car than seen, adding that customers need to get understanding
of what they are buying including the features which constitutes the automobile
itself to know if its favourable to their pockets.
“If you are going to buy
a car you cannot see the car and think that it best fit you. You have to
understand it. It means that an expert should come and assess the car and
properly value the car.
“Torque Logistics will give
you detailed information about the state of the car, electrical report; we give
you mechanical report, suspension, engine and do a compression test to even
tell whether your car has lost compression.
We will take into
consideration the mileage, the age of the car so you know what you are buying. We could even go into the
legitimacy of the car to know whether it has the appropriate documentation.”
“As part of the
consultancy’s culture, we looks forward to giving advice to premium and luxury
car drivers who are the main target of the organisation.
“This new package is
seen as the sure way to excite a customer in a bid to revive the automobile
industry. Our mandate is to reconnects car buyers to the industry and bring
back the excitement for Ghanaian car lovers to embrace the industry,” Mr. Torsu
said.
He disclosed that the
consultancy has identified first class service firms for partnership deals to
help provide support to customers and repair servicing as well as advice users
on technical basis.
This will include
offering comprehensive car body works, engine change, car wrapping, wheel
changing, and anything hardware to push the performance envelope of customers’
cars forward.
As part of the services
the two firms will collaborate to provide periodic checks to ensure long-term
sustainability of a car’s strength to ensure satisfaction and boost industry confidence.
to four times above the
ground hanging on a base to make more space for more cars to be parked
perfectly underneath.
Mr. David Ampomah Bamfo,
Director for Scandic Motors, observed that having fleet of cars sometimes does not
satisfy people as the appearance of the car makes it lovely to own and for
keeps.
Mr.
Bamfo, with over 23-years’ experience in car wrapping and upgrading business
said: “Car wrapping is something new to most Ghanaian car users.
According
to David the wrapping expert, many people love to get new designs for their
cars and one of the best ways to get this done is by car wrapping.
“The niceness of car makes it cool for people to
always appreciate what kind of personality a person portrays and this goes a
long way to tell how a person will relate.
“A person’s relation with cars at its best defines how
best he or she will relate with people. In that when the relation with the car
is good then the tendency of having good relationships with people might also
be good.
“The color, texture, tyre, wheels and all the
accessories come to play to make a car look very nice and new as that is the
new trend, although wrapping comes a little expensive yet customers get value
for their amount spent.”
Torque Logistics is the nation’s
automobile ‘think-tank”, with the sole mission to drive the potential of
the country’s auto industry. Its main focus is to offer up-to-date training of
personnel and champion sales executives and managers in the up-scale niche
market of the auto sales dealership market.
Having
been active in the country’s media industry, ‘The Ghana Auto’ (www.theghanaauto.com)
website is an online media platform on the automobile industry that allows for expert
car reviews.
It
serves as the most comprehensive source of information and trend analysis about
Ghana’s vehicular industry and its related businesses.
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