Monday, July 13, 2015

Sakumono beach hosts maiden automobile dialogue

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.
The services of the Torque will also encompass an electronic parking lot system, facilitated by computer software systems where automobiles could be electronically elevated three
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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