By Theodore Opara

The President and Managing Director of General Motors, Sub-Sahara Africa, Mr. Mario Spangenberg has described the CFAO Inter Motors facilities for Chevrolet and Isuzu in Lagos as outstanding, and world class.

The visiting GM president  who was amazed at the beauty of the CFAO General Motors showroom along Adeola Odeku Street, in Victoria Island, Lagos, said that he was impressed with the partership with CFAO.

“This is an outstanding facility. It is important to have a good representation and this shows the commitment of CFAO Group to the Chevrolet and Isuzu brands in Nigeria.

The Managing Director further explained that Nigeria is a very important destination for investors with its economic growth, the biggest in sub-Sahara Africa.

Dangers of importation

But he cautioned on the dangers of importation of used cars which he said will continue to affect the nation’s auto sector negatively.

“As long as used cars continues to come in, the market will be more complicated,” he said.

He however, disclosed that GM will be launching quite a number of exciting models in Nigeria very soon  including the new Isuzu pick-ups, Blazer SUV, etc.

According to him, General Motors has good range of  products that are suitable for the Nigerian environment. “We  decided to build left and right hand drive vehicles to accommodate markets like Nigeria which is very important to us, he said.

On the new federal government’s auto policy, the President of GM Africa explained that he will meet with the government representatives to know the details of the policy.

He noted that no manufacturer will make overnight decision to build an assembly plant, adding that one of their biggest challenges is stability and direction.

On the area of after-sales, the managing director said GM has invested over $30 million in spare parts depot in sub-Sahara Africa to ensure quicker delivery of spare parts to their customers. In addition, he said that training for their mechanics will be constant.

On how to recover their position in the Nigerian market, given the fact that the Isuzu pick-up was one of the number in its segment, Mario said, “we want to grow the business step by step. I am confident of the sales team and the products we are offering too.”

“The new Isuzu pick-up is very competitive product designed to match the African demand and it has done very well since its launch eight months ago in South Africa and other international markets.