Running on empty

ENAR

Executive met with Antoine Boukather, the recently appointed president of the Automobile Importers Association of Lebanon, to discuss the sector, the new regulations on loans, and regulatory issues in the transport sector.   It has been another difficult year for the sector, despite marginal growth. Yes, the figures are the same, but they don’t reflect how the market is doing. We are suffering very much, in terms of marketing, competition and prices. Purchasing power has decreased, and in order to sell, you have to provide more advantages to customers.   So it is actually a good time to buy a car? It is the best time to buy a car as circumstances are not always like this … Usually it is the customer that pays the interest but we — the dealers — are having to stimulate the market.   So dealers have increasingly tight margins? Yes, for smaller cars