Following the recent increase in their demand in the auto market, there are indications that the importation of fairly used buses into the country may soon increase.
Auto dealers and importers who spoke with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos last week have said that the demand of buses by customers have increased tremendously compared to cars, they have also attributed the demand to the economic situation of the country.
Following the recent increase in their demand in the auto market, there are indications that the importation of fairly used buses into the country may soon increase.
Auto dealers and importers who spoke with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos last week have said that the demand of buses by customers have increased tremendously compared to cars, they have also attributed the demand to the economic situation of the country.
According to them, customers now prefer to go for buses because they can use it for profit- making purposes instead of luxury and comfort in the case of private vehicles.
Corroborating this, a Belgium based importer of fairly used vehicle, Mr. Nnamdi Achu told our correspondent that his company is about to engage more in the importation of fairly used vehicles in 2012 and that latest by March, there will be visible influx of buses into the country from Europe.
He mentioned some of the busses which includes; Vanagon (commonly known as LT) Volkswagen Transporter and Toyota Hiace. According to him, these are the commonly used buses that are imported into the country and that some of his colleagues in Europe are already making preparation to import thousands of unit’s of them into the country.
Investigation carried out by Shipping Position Daily at the Sunrise Motor Dealers Park along Apapa Oshodi expressway, shows that a total of 10 vehicles were sold in January, seven of the vehicles were buses while 3 cars were sold out of the park.
The director of the park, Pastor Andrew Uzor who gave the data of vehicles sold in January, said that buyers of the seven buses gave similar reasons why they prefer bus to car.
The director said that the buyers have business- oriented mindset as they want what can fetch them money at the end of every day, largely because of the economic state of the country.
According to him, an average consumer would like to buy one or two buses for commercial purpose in order to make money.
“The way people are interested in bus is very interesting. They will tell you pointblank that this is not the time for pleasure or comfort but the time to make money, due to the present state of the country” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Director of M.Olly Motors, at Mile 2, Mr. Olaitan Olayiwola also corroborated the fact that the sale of bus is common when compared to cars at the moment.
Olayiwola said that “some customers buy buses for business motive, then after making much profit from it, they resell to by cars of their choice. Everybody is taking a look at the situation of the country before spending unnecessarily” he said
He explained that most buyers are from the northern part of the country and that they travelled down to Lagos to buy at an affordable price when compared to those obtainable in the north.
Olayiwola said that smaller organizations make use of the fairly used bus to do their business as they cannot afford to buy a new bus. He said that even private schools in the state have also contributed to the high demand of buses at the moment.
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