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Business Editor
VEHICLE maker, Quest Motor Corporation, says increased domestic procurement is vital for the revival of Bulawayo industries and attracting fresh investment in other sectors of the economy.

The new Bulawayo branch manager, Denzil Noble, said his company was facilitating direct sales of its seven brand franchises in the city in addition to service and repairs.

With the support of individual consumers, the public and private sector, the city’s industry has unlimited potential, he added.

“We need to work together to revive Bulawayo. We’ve reopened our service centre here and we’re facilitating that all our brands be sold here. We’re in the process of setting up a showroom here to buttress that,” said Noble.

Quest Motors services and repairs seven vehicle franchise models that include BMW, Peugeot, Mitsubishi, Chery, Foton, JMC and Zhongtong buses.

It has branches in Bulawayo, Harare and Mutare.

The company has not been spared by the difficult macro-economic factors that saw it temporarily shut down its Bulawayo branch between September and December last year.

“We’re proudly Zimbabwean and currently we’re rebranding ourselves and soon we’ll get back to where we were as a leading motor company in Bulawayo,” said Noble.

“We’re back to normal business in Bulawayo with full backup services, genuine spare parts and qualified technicians, whom we take for regular training in South Africa.”

He, however, said cheap second-hand vehicle imports mainly from Japan, were threatening the viability of the company.

“We need serious government support in this regard to ensure viability of local firms. Imports hinder growth of local firms,” said Noble.

The company is lobbying the government to enforce local procurement on its ministries and departments.

Last week, the firm’s operations manager, Carl Fernandez, said a single order from state owned institutions would help revive more than 10 local companies along the value chain.

Zimbabwe is the only country in the region outside South Africa where car assembling can be done but seems not to be seizing the opportunity.

The plight of the motor industry is exacerbated by lack of a policy framework, which Industry and Commerce Minister Mike Bimha said was still being crafted.

While admitting pricing was a major factor driving imports, Noble said local assemblers deserve protection as they manufacture brand new vehicles that cannot be valued the same with second hand brands.

The cheapest locally made average vehicle costs about $10,000 compared to an imported one that averages $4,000.

As a stop gap measure, he said, the company has come up with flexible instalment payment terms.

He hoped that with the anticipated improvement in the economy, more consumers would have increased buying power and support local firms.

Noble said increased support for local firms would increase business activity, preserve jobs and attract more investment.

He applauded the government for banning importation of buses by schools, which he said would help revive the company.

Quest is also working on diversifying its operations to include the manufacture of tractors and other construction vehicles.

Outside its major brands, the company services and repairs Mazda and Toyota models.

At present the Bulawayo branch has 12 workers.