…As Coscharis Reveals Why It Ventured Into Truck Segment
ROTIMI ASHER
One of the high points of this year’s Lagos Motor Fair, which ended on Saturday, was the launch of the 2021 Ford Explorer, courtesy of Coscharis Motors, Nigeria’s exclusive franchisee of the Ford brand.
The Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Mr. Jelani Aliyu, who witnessed the Explorer’s unveil, also inspected the exhibition of the brand’s newly launched truck variants that cut across construction, waste management and logistic.
Speaking at the event, Jelani, who lauded the design, power, safety and equipment features of the Explorer and other locally assembled vehicles at the fair, stressed the importance of the automotive industry to the nation’s economic growth.
Jelani appealed to Nigerians to patronize the locally assembled vehicles, adding such moves would add value to many people as well as open doors for thousands of jobs in the country.
He said: “These are the types of development that the federal government through the NADDC and the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment would continue to focus on and continue to support because we strongly believe the only viable future for Nigeria is the one of industrialization and the automotive sector plays a significant role in any nation.
Jelani lauded the local vehicle assemblers for believing in Nigeria, despite low patronage.
“There is infrastructure on the ground,” he said. “When you look at the vehicles here, these companies and more have invested over N500 billion in their plants and factories. So, they believe in the Nigerian market.”
According to him, while the industry and stakeholders are ready and able to manufacture vehicles in Nigeria, the challenge has been patronage.
“So if we can unlock the local demand,” he pointed out, “I think we would be going a million miles an hour.”
Speaking exclusively to Motoring World after the launch, the General Manager, Corporate Communications, Obadina Babarinde, described the choice of the motor fair as a platform to launch its latest cars and trucks as a well-thought-out marketing strategy.
“If you ask me,” he said, “where best to showcase your new offers is a platform that has competing brands under the same roof.
“Also always and traditionally in our favour is the fact that we back up all our automobiles with aftersales. That is very key and strategic to the survival of every automobile business if you want to thrive. We do not sell for the sake of selling. We give a 360-degree experience and peace of mind to our customers. And for the newly introduced Ford trucks, we already have in place the backup of aftersales.’’
On the newly launched Ford trucks, Obadina said Coscharis ventured into the truck segment to delight its stakeholders, especially those who are into construction, waste management and logistics.
He explained: “So, you can see the four variants on display, which cover these sectors mentioned. Like you may know, there are constructions going on in every part of the country and of course, they use tools like these trucks to move materials from one end to the other. When it comes to waste management, the disposal trucks come in very handy and again, you could see for logistic movement.
“These are strong Ford trucks with a strong pedigree. Ford truck has played a very significant role globally for over 60 years. We have done well with Ford over the years and Ford truck is excited that we are the chosen partner. We are in it to delight our customers. Value for money remains in our DNA and we are set to revolutionize the truck business in Nigeria.’’
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