Toyota Kenya is set to venture into the car trade-in business as a strategy to grow sales of its new vehicles. A motorist will be able to surrender his or her car and pay an additional amount to acquire a new model.
The dealer, which has changed its name to CFAO Motors Kenya Limited, will run the trade-in model by working with its affiliates that sell used cars.
The strategy is common among second-hand car yards which allow customers to hand in their vehicles and pay the additional sums that will enable them to drive off with a model of a higher price and/or specifications.
“We are venturing into trade-in of cars to increase sales of new vehicles in the country,” said Arvinder Reel, the managing director of CFAO Motors Kenya Limited.
Toyota is the biggest seller of new cars in the country, dealing in a variety of its namesake models including Land Cruiser, Fortuner and Rav 4.
Introduction of trade-in will make it easier for the company’s customers comprising private firms and rich households to upgrade their cars, helping to fast-track sales.
Mr Reel said the company is currently in the process of coming up with a check list that will guide on the value of a trade-in vehicle as well as other parameters such as year of manufacture and mileage.
The checklist may be designed to review the overall condition of the car and ensure the vehicle has not been involved in accidents.
The vehicle to be traded-in must also not have been stolen, must have proper documentation and the engine should also be in good working condition among other parameters.
The company said it will run the trade-in business through an affiliate called Automark and which deals in certified pre-owned vehicles.
Another division, AutoFast, offers services to the vehicles while Winpart sells second-hand genuine spare parts.
All the businesses are ultimately controlled by Japanese conglomerate Toyota Tsusho Corporation which also owns DT Dobie and the pan-African firm CFAO Group.
CFAO Motors Kenya is among the formal dealers that recorded higher sales last year as the industry recovered from the depths plumbed in 2020 as a result of the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Credit: Source link