Ford Motor Company has terminated its 11-year old partnership with local distributor, RT Briscoe in what it called a consolidation of its dealer representation in Nigeria.
The partnership termination which took effect from June 30, 2016 also saw the auto company reinforcing its partnership with Coscharis Motors Limited as the country’s sole official Ford distributor.
Regional Manager Sales and Marketing, Ford Customer Services Division for Sub Saharan Africa, Rob Johnston made the clarification in a statement made available to journalists in Lagos on Tuesday.
The company is of the view that having two distributors in Nigeria does not make “commercial sense”.
“RT Briscoe has been a Ford dealer since 2005 alongside the Coscharis Motors group, but having two separate dealer groups representing the brand in Nigeria doesn’t make commercial sense”, said Johnston.
Coscharis Motors currently has 11 outlets Ford dealers located in the major centres of Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Calabar, which will continue selling, servicing and maintaining Ford vehicles throughout Nigeria according to Ford’s stringent global standards.
Ford Motor Company and Coscharis have also opened three Quick Lane Tyre and Auto Centres in Nigeria, starting out in Lagos in 2013, with Calabar and Ado-Ekiti being launched earlier this year.
The Quick Lane centres are an initiative of Ford Motor Company, with facilities that offer motorists professional maintenance for minor service items in the shortest amount of time, with the emphasis on personalized care, quality and value for money.
