CITY NEWS Chinese cars steal show at Abuja motor fair
Cars manufactured in China are the centre of attraction at the ongoing Abuja Motor Fair at the Eagle Square, Abuja.
The fair, organised by Establishment Ltd opened Tuesday.
Hope Dandy Etim, Marketing Manager, Mansel Motors Limited who deals in Chinese cars said, “I can’t give you in figures but I can confirm that sales have been tremendous.”
She came to the fair with two types of Chinese cars — GS5 and GA3 models both automatic and manual models.
Cost of the two brands is from N3.5 million to N5.9 million. They are midluxury cars. They have PEPS-keyless entry and one touch ignition function. The cars, said to have 2.0 litre engine BKG
last are with minimal fuel consumption so the motorist worries not when the fuel is low, Etim explained.
“So far, the turnout has been impressive because there is improvement when compared to last year’s fair. We’ve done our comparison and we say this year has been a lot better — turnout is much because MTN has been involved and bulk text messages were sent out via MTN to prospective customers so we have so much turnout of people in the fair.
“Even for sales, we’ve made quite positive impact here. People are coming and have accepted the brand already. GAC has been just two years old in Nigeria. So far, acceptance has been good,” she added.
Assistant Marketing Manager, Toyota Nigeria Ltd. Alake Peter acknowledged that this year’s fair is better than last year’s in the area of publicity but lamented that many guests do more of window shopping. This he attributed to general economic down turn in the country.
One conspicuous thing about the fair is the absence of companies that control brands in Nigeria. Innoson Motors, said to be the flagship of Nigeria’s indigenous auto manufacturing groups, did not mount a stand. The likes of Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) and Coscharis were absent.
An official of the firm that organised the fair who declined giving his name said this year’s event is better in terms of participants’ presence.
He said about 20 exhibitors are present but attributed the absence of some brands to harsh weather. “Some product sellers are unwilling to come expose their wares to the inclement weather,” he said.