Rolls Royce Showroom Opens at Coscharis

Nigerians, who are wealthy enough to own a Rolls Royce are welcome to the club of a very few privilege people who can now have choice of the luxury machine built to their specification.

This is made possible with the opening of a new showroom for the top luxury machines at Coscharis Motors in Lagos and Abuja in May, this year.

Actually, a Rolls Royce is a top-of-the-range luxury car and it is not for everybody. In fact, there are only 120 of these luxury collections in Nigeria today, according to a research the Managing Director of Rolls Royce Motor Company Ltd, Middle East, Africa and Latin America, Mr. Geoff Briscoe said the manufacturer conducted.

This report was corroborated by the Chairman of Coscharis, Dr. Cosmas Maduka, whose company is the sole partner to Rolls Royce in the country. These few collections were imported by the few wealthy people who desire to distinguish themselves.

Briscoe, accompanied by the General Manager, Rolls Royce Motor Company Ltd, Middle East, Africa and Latin America, Mr. Ayman Ghanem, discussed the fine points of the sole partnership/franchise Rolls Royce has with Coscharis, stating that 'for us opening a new market is something very special.'

He said that the Rolls Royce cars in the nation presently largely came from the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe and so 'we decided it was time we should be in this market and we are really thrilled to have Coscharis as partners here and because we want to make sure that our customers are well served, we now have the only authorised dealership in the entire Africa area. Besides South Africa, this is the only authorised dealership in sub Saharan Africa and North Africa. It is a new milestone and a new beginning for this great organisation.'

The company, he said places huge emphasis on the way it services the customers here and the way they are looked after and the way that their partner look after the vehicles of their customers.

Briscoe called it a new change and new development for Nigeria and a new beginning for Rolls Royce in this area. 'Rolls Royce is a very successful car company. We sold more cars last year than ever before but it is only 3,600 cars as well. So, it is small and we want to stay small because our cars are a thing of beauty, a work of art. We don't compete against any other cars; we compete against a big Yacht, a piece of art worth $10 million or a diamond ring. We are really competing in that high-end luxury area.'

He said the company's aim 'is not to go building more cars' but that they keep their products very exclusive and that it worked for them very well. 'Part of our success is that we build cars that are very unique for the region. What we will do is to build special cars that are relevant for Nigeria that will take the weather and roads into consideration.'

These cars, he said would come 'with very special look, option levels and have very relevant stories. We call it bespoke elements. All of our cars in the world have these bespoke elements. Generally, it is a beautiful story developed by the dealers or buyers and we tell many stories around the world and we will have this special story in Nigeria as well.

There is a big commitment to bring the right cars into the market. We have some beautiful Rolls Royce coming here.' The company, he said had been helped with request for special features, colours and that there is already a number of pre-orders just by word of mouth, even before opening.

Maduka said his company had Rolls Royce as the latest in Coscharis' family of cars, saying 'we will continue to set standards and when others try to catch up, we bring in something new. But it looks like we are the climax now because I don't know where we will go after the Rolls Royce.'

The Nigerian market reports to these Rolls Royce officials in the Middle East, said the Managing Director of Coscharis, Mr. Josiah. He said up till now, there had not been franchise for Rolls Royce in the country. 'By our reckoning there are about 150 Rolls Royce cars driving around in Nigeria and the good news is that we can actually take care of those iconic cars.'

On the bespoke opportunity for Nigerian buyers, he said: 'Rolls Royce is not the type of car that is bought off the showroom like every other car.

It is a car that is kept for life and on account of that, you need to put your entire identity in that car,' adding that it may take a while to get Nigerians to this level, but that it was a window and that 'all that is required is little patience. 'You can build your car and wait for some months and then you have a car of your dream.'

Prospective buyers, he said could visit the factory to see the possibilities available, explaining that 'you can have 150 Rolls Royce cars with different possibilities; different configurations. That is what we want to emphasise. It is not cheap.'