Nigerians bought more brand new cars in 2003
23 January 2004, Foster Obi, Snr. Transport Correspondent, Lagos, Daily Independent Online

The year 1993 has been described as a very good year for car dealers in Nigeria as the purchase of brand new cars grew in leaps.

Marketing Director, Stallion Motors, marketers of Volkswagen, Skoda, Hyundai and Honda cars, W. Singh, said that unlike the previous years, 2003 hit an all time high in the sale of brand new vehicles probably because of the interest shown by banks in car financing.

Contrary to the opinion of some individuals about economic downturn affecting car purchases, Singh said that more people can afford to buy brand new cars now than before as they could easily secure the support of banks with a longer grace period.

"It was a little bit difficult before because some individuals due to some reasons could not put money together at once to buy a brand new car but they have that opportunity now" he quipped.

However, Singh said this does not in anyway suggest that the previous years have been bad. "I was simply making a comparison".

According to him, the Nigerian car market is not a bad one. Compared to many countries, the Marketing Director of the company with highest car sales volume said that the market is doing extremely well and with time it will compete with the European market.

Asked why he thinks that some dealers stock a lot of brand new cars only to end up not selling them at the end of the day.

He said people should do their research well because few dealers may have had that experience. "But if anybody is experiencing that may be they are not doing some things".

Explaining that excessive profit may not be too good a marketing strategy all the time, Singh said that those people may have kept their car all that long because they want to make all the money in the world from just one car. "it doesn't work that way".

Besides he noted that the customer should always be the first thing. "When you treat people well the first time, they will come bank".

For stallion he said that the company has done quite well having properly understood the Psychology of the market.

Our customers have found us invaluable because we give them what they want. We don't just market any kind of car but the type that Nigerians want and that is talking about value for money which keep them coming back".

Stallion Motors one of the front line car dealers in Nigeria came to the country about 10 years ago. Their entry into the scene made it glamorous and very competitive.