Carmart marks 62 year partnership with Peugeot, introduces new 408 to Sri Lanka
View(s):Carmart (Pvt) Ltd, agent for Peugeot and Mazda in Sri Lanka, is targeting a considerable growth in its vehicle sales volume this year even with the high taxes imposed on car imports by the government, officials of the company said.
A Peugeot 203 outside the showroom
CEO of Carmart Yasendra Amerasinghe told the Business Times that Carmart has drawn up plans to widen its target customer base by supplying them with more economical and diversified products from France.
He said that the company is paying fullest attention on customer service and infrastructure, maintaining the vehicle sales momentum despite adverse and worsening market conditions in the island at present.
The company has renovated its Peugeot showroom ‘Blue Box’ to comply with international standards and in addition to this, it will also be upgrading the workshop in Ratmalana and constructing a new workshop in Colombo, he revealed. The new Blue Box showroom concept is a global initiative by the French automaker which will see all its international outlets adhering to a new design template that encompasses a stylish and minimalist look focusing on customer comfort and blue aluminium tones to better highlight the vehicles. He disclosed that the high import tax is the biggest challenge for the automobile industry in Sri Lanka. Like most vehicle agents, Carmart has been making use of the duty free luxury vehicle permits of government servants to maintain sales volumes. The transferable income tax permits are applicable to Carmart’s entire vehicle range as all these vehicles have 1.6 litre engines, he added. Mr. Amerasinghe noted that Peugeot’s brand strategy is to cater to the needs of up market buyers with significant advances in style, quality, technology and innovation with its wide range of 4-series Peugeot’s.
He said that the 4-Series had been the mainstay of the Peugeot Sri Lanka line-up ever since the introduction of the 403 and 404 to the immensely popular 406 and the trendsetting 407.
He told the Business Times on the sidelines of the launching ceremony of the new Peugeot 408 at the new showroom at Union Place, that the new 408 designed with the core values of harmony, elegance and dynamism in mind looks with the most cabin and luggage space available in its category, a premium quality finish and improved ride and handling.
He expressed optimism that the company will be able to sell at least 10 Peugeot 408′s this year. The association of Carmart (Pvt) Ltd. with the French automaker Peugeot spans over 60 years and it makes Carmart the oldest distributor for Peugeot vehicles in Asia, noted Chairman of Carmart, Senaka Amerasinghe.
He disclosed that the partnership began with the Peugeot 203 model way back in 1951.”Over the years, Carmart has imported over 10,000 Peugeot vehicles to Sri Lanka,” said Mr Amerasinghe adding that the company is proud to possess the gleaming black Peugeot 203 which was parked just outside the showrooms bearing a CN registration number. The 408 has also been structurally designed to dissipate impact energy in a programmed manner. The car has a double impact force dissipation channel to provide maximum passenger compartment protection whilst maintaining maximum reparability.
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