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| Karl-Johan Sturesson |
Karl-Johan Sturesson, Country Manager of Carmudi in Nigeria has revealed that the online vehicle marketplace would launch its mobile site before the end of the year or early next year. In an exclusive chat, he also revealed that Toyota and Honda are the most popular brands on the platform.
On the efforts that the marketplace is taking to ensure that stolen vehicles are not displayed on Carmudi.com.ng, he said the company visits the car dealers.
“We visit dealers by ourselves to verify that they are a legitimate dealer and up to the standards that meet the Nigerian Dealers Association´s conduct and guidelines. Then for individuals who list themselves, we contact them directly and require proof of identification and proof of ownership of the car,” Sturesson said.
On how the marketplace would be affected by the government’s decision to raise taxes on imported cars starting from 2014, he said both visitors and dealers would benefit from Carmudi’s premium services.
He said: “Our premium services will give both the dealers and the visitors an advantage when selling or buying their next car giving our broad selection of cars and visitors.” He added: “When prices will increase, it is even more important for dealers to have online presence to get connected to more buyers around Nigeria and West Africa.
“We will also contact our dealers and ask if they want to adjust the prices to the potential new price levels.”
He revealed the company is currently partnering with Nigeria’s major car dealers, and discussions are underway with West Africa’s largest car market.
“[Our partners are] the major dealers such as Coscharis, Lanre Shittu, Globe Motors among others. [We are] also working on a new partnership with the largest car market in West Africa, Berger Market Dealer Association, that will be up in full strength from the beginning of 2014,” he said.
The company announced its popularity has “exploded…just two months after launching, showing promising signs for Nigeria’s automotive industry.”
“Monthly visits to Carmudi Nigeria (formerly known as Carmido) have increased by a massive 35,000% since April 2013 making the Nigerian website the fastest growing business of all Carmudi brands,” the company said in a statement.
By Paul Adepoju
