Coscharis Mobility Limited, representatives of Sixt rent a car in Nigeria has concluded plans to commence operations in the heavy haulage business this month as part of its expansion programme.

General Manager/CEO of the company, Mr. Christian Chigbundu who discl    osed this to Vanguard Motoring recently in an interview said that part of their expansion programme include being in Ghana by first quarter of next year and later to other West African countries.

Chugbundu, a chartered accountant by profession and board member of Equipment Leasing Association of Nigeria, and a fleet management consultant, expressed satisfaction with the performance of the company in their first year of operation, having grown their fleet from five to over 200 vehicles within the period.

He said: “So far, we have done quite well in our first year but there is always room for improvement. We have grown our fleet from five to over 200 vehicles. We are in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja and will soon open an outlet at the Lagos International Airport.

The chief operating officer further disclosed that they are working with many multi-nationals and several individuals who desire quality service which is the hallmark of Sixt rent a car all over the world.

According to the Coscharis Mobility boss, their goal is to bring a positive change in the fleet management industry in Nigeria hence, they are offering an array of products aimed at customers satisfaction.

He listed their products to include: Airport pick up/drop off, car rental (short and long term), leasing haulage, staff/school bus scheme. Others are light truck rental, fleet management, armoured vehicle and protocol/escort service.

He explained that his company is the only one that offers luxury brand of automobiles to their clients such as Range Rover, Jaguar and BMW. Customers can choose to self drive like in Europe and America and return the car after use. This he said has stood them out among their competitors in the country.

Despite all these, Mr. Chigbundu said that Sixt is facing some challenges in doing business in Nigeria.

He identified the environment on which they operate as the major challenge. Due to the poor road condition, a lot is being spent to keep their vehicles in top form for quality service. The existence of unprofessional player in the industry is another challenge as well as absence of Leasing Law. “What we have in the country is hire purchase law which does not protect players in the leasing industry presently,” he said.

Another challenge, he said is the existence of illegal taxes from the states and local government which have placed a huge cost in the running of the business in this part of the world.

“Because, Nigeria is a developing economy, customers’ understanding of leasing business is limited,” he said.

According to him, some customers will query you when they rent a vehicle and have flat tyre on the way, but we are overcoming all these challenges because we believe that every challenge is an opportunity for us to grow and make our customers happy because the customer is the king in Sixt rent a car.

On future plans, he said that his target is to grow the fleet to 400 vehicles before the end of the year and one thousands in the near future. Currently, he said Sixt offers more products than Hetz, Avis and Eurocar, using luxury sedans, sport utility vehicles, as Ford products, MG and other vehicle brands marketed by Coscharis in Nigeria.

“We meet the needs of the customers by offering their choice of vehicles at all times.

On plans to get better, Chigbundu said: “We have what I can describe as super customer service programme. As at today, we get 80 per cent feedback from anyone who has tested our service (private and individuals).

“These feedbacks are reviewed, analysed and used to improve our services. We will continue to improve on this. We make sure that our vehicles are in good condition and that our drivers and other employees are highly trained and motivated.

What stands us out are the brand (Sixt), our customer service, our fleet of vehicles, our experience, our technology, and our spread and the goodwill of our parent company (Coscharis). Our best area of patronage is the long term rentals for now which contributes 80 per cent of our turnover.