Ford confirms Coscharis as sole distributor in Nigeria

Ford Motor Company has consolidated its dealer representation in Nigeria, ending its association with local distributor RT Briscoe as of 30 June 2016, while 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, said: “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.

  Explaining further in a statement, Johnston said: “Our long-term strategy is to focus on Coscharis and continuously improve our sales, service and parts network within Nigeria. We would like to thank the RT Briscoe team for the dedication to the brand over the past 11 years, and wish them all the best in their future endeavours.”

Ford has invested extensively in developing the Nigeria market in conjunction with Coscharis Motors, which includes the launch of a semi-knockdown vehicle assembly plant for the Ford Ranger, and the opening of three Quick Lane centres and a Quick Parts outlet.

“The local Ranger SKD assembly operations and Quick Lane centres are in line with the global One Ford approach to deliver product and service excellence for our growing customer base, particularly in the important Nigerian market, while driving innovation in every part of our business,” Johnston added.

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.

“The expansion Quick Lane franchise reinforces the commitment of Ford and Coscharis to improving aftersales support to customers in Nigeria through improved parts and service availability,” Johnston said.

The Quick Lane facilities are manned by qualified and highly trained Ford-certified technicians and Master technicians. The centres service and offer light repairs on Ford vehicles as well as most other popular brands, and also fit and rotate tyres, perform wheel alignment and replace shock absorbers.

Linked to the Quick Lane Tyre and Auto Centre, the Ekiti operation also opened a Quick Parts facility, which is the first of its kind in Nigeria.

Quick Parts provides over-the-counter parts and accessories sales for Ford vehicles and a wide variety of other brands. It operates on the same high quality and professional basis as the Quick Lane centres, but allows car owners convenient access to top-quality service parts should they chose do their own vehicle maintenance and repairs.