Unknown to many the Cold War between Mikano Motors and Geely, a Chinese automobile company has taken a dangerous turn as the latter’s multi-billion-dollar investment appears to be going down the drain.
It is no news that Mikano an industrial generator manufacturing company ventured into automobile manufacturing with the birth of its Mikano Motors arm which serves as a major distributor to Geely Motors, a Chinese Automobile manufacturer famous for its Geely brand of sedan cars that ab initio many Nigerians wouldn’t touch with a long spoon until recently.
ENigeria News reports that Geely re-launched itself in the Nigerian market in the year 2020 with the birth of its Geely EC7 Sedan and Geely X7 Crossover. This was subsequently followed by the launch of other Geely brands including Azkarra and Coolray, which are all of unique designs modeled to appeal to and quench the taste of high-class Nigerians whose desire for exotic and unique car designs appears unending.
However, three years down the line, the partnership that saw the introduction of modern exotic cars to the Nigerian automobile market is now suffering a major setback threatening the existence of the Chinese automobile brand Geely Motors.
ENigeria News reports that this is coming after Mikano Motors Ventured into distributorship agreements with rival car manufacturing brands, including Changan, which Mikano Motors recently took the distributorship. This newspaper understands that Geely is said to be sourcing for a new sole distributor in Nigeria without success so far.
Mr Ralph Haidar, Managing Director of Mikano Motors, who provided an insight into his company’s relationship with Geely stated that the auto manufacturer wanted Mikano to solely represent the Geely brands without adding other brands to its catalogue.
According to him, this would be against Mikano Motors’ business interest and vision of expanding in the automotive market through the sale and distribution of different brands and models of vehicles.
Speaking with Motoring Reporters at the weekend, the MD disclosed that while Geely is offering five brands, Changan on the other hand gives the company access to as many as 25 brands with 15 brands currently on display.
ENigeria News recalls that in February 2023 unveiled the Changan brands as the exclusive distributor in addition to Geely, Maxus, and ZNA pick-ups in its portfolio.
The Changan brands unveiled include CS15, CS35 Plus, CS55, CS85, Eado DT, and Eado Plus, among others.
Haidar explained that Mikano has nothing against Geely but its decision to add Changan brands to its portfolio is irreversible given the fact that Changan offers wider varieties.
He however said if Geely changes its position today, it would continue to distribute Geely brands, adding that the over three decades old reputation built by Mikano International in the Nigerian market had helped in convincing motorists to accept the Chinese auto brands.
Despite the issue with Geely, Haidar said Mikano has continued to be responsible with their customers in terms of providing the right after-sale support, including covering areas not in the warranty to give maximum satisfaction to the customers.
He said, “We have been in the country for the past 30 years. We are very responsible towards our customers. The issue with Geely has been dragging on since July or August 2022 and you know that we have not been importing any of their products but I have been catering to the after-sale of our Geely customers for the past year despite fighting.
“It is like you are fighting with the mother of your children but the children should not bear the consequences of the fight. That is what we have done so far. Whatever is going on between us and Geely on negotiation and others, our customers must not bear any consequence of that. They should get the best because they trusted us and we are there to give them the best experience we can.”
He added that there is nothing wrong with a brand leaving a distributor and going into another, and the same thing has happened with Toyota and so many brands in the market.
Explaining why Mikano brought Changan brands, he said, “I brought Changan because I was not satisfied with the number of models that are coming to me from Geely and there is no pick-up truck, no commercial line-up from Geely. Now I have Changan on board which gives me 25 models including electric vehicles.
Source: ENigeria News
