Strong after sales plan will see us through Covid-19 shock – CMC’s Mark Davidson

 
By Richard Kintu
 
Cooper Motors Corporation recently named Mark Davidson (MD) its new Country Manager. The appointment however comes in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic that has decimated many economies world over. This state of affairs means the challenge is bigger for the UK-born automotive expert as he has to ensure he pushes the sales of Ford, New Holland, Suzuki, Mazda and Eicher car brands in the country whose people are equally struggling to make ends meet. But insurmountable as the challenge may seem, Davidson has already hit the ground with a super successful launch of the Ford Ranger Raptor which has since sold out, with new stock now underway. The Second Opinion (SO) sought him out and below are the excerpts of insights into his challenge:
 
 
SO: Briefly tell us about Mark Davidson, the new Cooper Motor Corporation (CMC) Uganda Country ManagerÖ
 
MD: I've been in Africa since about 2006/2007. I started my journey in Nigeria where I was employed to set up and expand the Nissan, Renault, and Dacia business for a big global company. I got very good experience in that country. It ís a big market for the automotive industry and it was a great experience. I then came to East Africa in 2011, covering power generation, agriculture, automotive, and heavy equipment.
I was in South Sudan for a while and looked after Uganda, Rwanda. We were building strategies in DRC and Burundi as well but primarily Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan-focused.
 
SO: When then, did you come to Uganda and how have you found it?
 
MD: I've been in Uganda for about 8 years. I've been around the world on holiday but honestly you have the best climate in the world. People are very friendly and from a tourist and foreigner perspective itís very stable and safe here. The government has done a great job. Since H.E. President Yoweri Museveni came to power, heís kept it stable and safe; so that ís a very good breeding ground for business and investment.
 
SO: As an investment-oriented person, what are some of those quick fixes Uganda can do to attain faster development?
 
MD: First of all, there ís a lot of potential in the agricultural sector so there ís much to do there. And it ís good that there ís so much focus by government on the sector. So, I'm pleased that that ís a priority, as well as infrastructural development. But I think there ís need to focus a bit more on the transport sector. You know being a landlocked country, it ís extremely expensive to get goods here. I think getting the railway and maybe sea transportation going should reduce these (transportation) costs for everyone, significantly. I hope in my lifetime, I'll see that because I think that is a game changer for Ugandans. 
 
So: You mention agriculture passionately but it has generally remained largely subsistence despite heavy investment by government. What do you see as its major bottleneck?
 
 
MD: Well, you've got to go into mechanization. Government needs to find some kind of subsidy support for investors to come in. it ís not only about creating schemes for buying fertilizers and seeds and the like. But also, to lay down the mechanization you've got to have the routes to market the produce. So, I think there ís need to have more support for the farmers so that they can know how to market the food; not only knowing how to grow it. You've got to analyse the value chain right from the farmer to the retailer, not just focusing on how we grow things.
 
SO: Getting back to your job; what are your key priorities at CMC?
 
MD: Well, I've only been here like four weeks so Iím still getting my feet under the table. But Iíve been in this industry for about 30 years around the world and in every job Iíve associated with, Iíve learnt that if you have a good after sales network then thatís critical. You know, the sales people sell the car first then service and parts keep the customer for life; that ís their job. So, there ís no point selling the cars; tractors or buses or trucks if a customer has to drive a day just to get an auto spare part. I think we've got to get stability in the after sales network. At CMC, we have four centers around the country; Gulu, Mbarara, Kampala, and Mbale. I'm going to be investigating for increasing that footprint for next year; look at the existing sites to see if there ís any improvement required. But really, it ís about getting the parts closer to the end user. Of course, we need to make our business more solid as a whole because when the business is solid then you've got opportunity to keep growing. So, improving customer satisfaction is critical and paramount because the customers will trust you and they will want to come back and buy again. That ís why in everything we do we have the customer in mind; everything has got to be customer-centric. And then obviously for our investors and partners, we need to increase our market share, we need to run a sustainable business here in Uganda.
 
 
SO:  You recently had a very successful launch of the Ford Ranger Raptor at Busiika; whatís unique about it?
 
MD: The Ford Ranger Raptor is an amazing vehicle; the James Bond of pickups. It ís actually a sports car in the body of a pickup. It ís got market-leading ground clearance (of 283mm), so that ís perfect for some of these poor roads we have in Uganda. It has a 2-litre twin turbo. You know many people think you've got to have a bigger engine but with the Raptor it ís a smaller engine with more power and better fuel economy. And of course it ís greener for the environment as well. You know we need to be committed to climate change. At least manufacturers are starting to go away from these fuel-guzzling 3 and 4-liter engines and look at power displacement and fuel economy and emissions. I think the government has got to be behind all that climate-change philosophy. We see it a lot in the newspapers these days. So, basically the Ford Raptor will give you an environmentally friendly engine with heaps of power and amazing fuel economy. 
 
 
SO: The Raptor comes amid COVID-19 which has impacted on incomes of companies and individuals; won't this affect its sales?
 
 
MD: Of course, Covid-19 has affected everyone around the world. If we look at Uganda, the auto market is strong in terms of volumes and profitability but the struggles are there. We still got the curfew and around the world each time the curfew is lifted it (Covid-19) goes out of control again. A lot of companies are cutting revenues so they are not going to buy as many vehicles as they used to. So, it ís tough times but from a commercial point of view, we just have to ride in the storm, we've got to be innovative in how we do business now. We've got to look at the profit centres of our business. But I think going back to the basics; improving customer service will give us a bit more customer retention that later feeds into profit down the line. We for instance just launched a partnership with Ford and Stanbic Bank; so, customers will really find it easy now to get access to finance which has always been a huge challenge here. I remember when I came all here several years ago interests were so high and as of today, they're even higher. Somehow the Central Bank has a low rate of 7% but they're just not passing it down the commercial banks.  I think government should just come in and help the people so they can be able to buy better products. But the partnership we have with Stanbic Bank is one of a kind in terms of the automotive market. A customer can come in and buy a Ford today and give us just 10% deposit and then borrow up to 90% of the value of the vehicle you want to purchase. Like for the Ranger Raptor, you just have to pay $8000 then you borrow the $72000 from Stanbic Bank which will give you up to five years to repay the loan.
So, we are encouraging the banks to partner with us to give people these better finance deals so that they (people) are able to buy better, safe, greener vehicles than buying these old imports that damage the environment and don't have the safety technology we see in the cars of today. And quite frankly, they're in some cases more expensive than what one would think.
 
 
SO: what are the key challenges for CMC and the entre automotive industry?
 
MD: Well, the high imports of used cars. And, there ís a very slow implementation of the regulation of importation of old vehicles. We've talked a lot about this so they have to finish it. There ís also the disconnect between the Central Bank rate and the interest rates for commercial banks. Those are the two critical challenges.
 
SO: How do you intend to tune Ugandans to buying new cars since many are in the habit of buying used vehicles?
 
MD: I think it ís just education. We need to engage them on our social media platforms. We also need to lobby government so as to arm people with the facts; otherwise the picture is not so good; 30,000 used cars against 3,000 new cars purchased annually.