GB Auto (AUTO.CA), a leading automotive assembler and distributor in the Middle East and North Africa, announced on Tuesday that it is expanding its regional presence to include direct distribution and aftersales operations in Algeria and Libya. Sales and aftersales operations in the two key North African markets via local ventures will begin in the second quarter of 2013; GB Auto has management control of each local venture. In Libya, GB Auto will distribute both Geely passenger cars and Great Wall pickup trucks alongside Triangle tires, while in Algeria the company will market Geely passenger cars and Lassa, Grandstone and Rotalla tires. Regional operations already account for more than one-third of the Egypt-based company's total sales. “I am very pleased today to announce that we have made further concrete progress in our longstanding strategy of a measured regional expansion," said GB Auto Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Raouf Ghabbour. “Algeria and Libya are among the most promising markets in one of the world's most promising regions. Our expectation is that as we become more established in these key countries, our product-offering will grow from passenger cars, pickup trucks and tires to include a number of products, including commercial vehicles and more, even as we explore the opportunities available in additional territories." The addition of Libya and Algeria to the company's areas of operations brings its regional presence to four primary countries: its home market of Egypt, as well as Iraq (which now accounts for more than one-third of the group's total sales revenue), Libya and Algeria. In Libya, the company has begun selling Triangle-brand tires in small quantities, which it will ramp up when it begins selling both Geely passenger cars and Great Wall pickup trucks early in the second quarter. GB Auto is already the exclusive agent for Geely passenger cars in Egypt; Libya is the first country to which it will roll-out its offering of the highly-rated Great Wall pickup trucks, which are products of Great Wall Motors, China's leading producer of SUVs. GB Auto is entering the Libyan market in cooperation with El-Bostan El-Zahbya Group, a wellestablished consumer goods, retail and logistics conglomerate owned by the El-Saed family. The company is targeting sales of approximately 3,000 Geely passenger cars in its first year of operations in Libya, with a target of a c.10% market share within three to five years. In the pickup truck sector, management is targeting sales of 2,000 units in year one. GB Auto has identified a cost-effective strategy to rapidly roll-out sales and aftersales facilities in both Tripoli and Benghazi. “We're excited to gain a foothold in the exciting Libyan market, which has exceptional growth prospects and an under-motorized population. Although Libya has no experience with Chinese passenger car brands, our early experience in Egypt — coupled with the enviable reputation Great Wall has earned in Libya during its short tenure there — leads us to expect consumer acceptance to be swift," said ElMostafa Abdul Halim, GB Auto's Regional Chief Operating Officer. GB Auto is entering the Algerian market in cooperation with the Group Rahmoune, a strategic player in the Algerian economy, with investments mainly in the building materials, basic infrastructure and the automotive business. As in Libya, GB Auto will enter Algeria with Geely passenger cars in 2Q13, augmenting its lineup with Rottala, Grandstone and Lassa tires. The company is targeting sales of c.8,000 passenger cars in its first year of operations, with a market share target of 4 – 5% in the medium term. “Algeria is a very promising market, with a wealth of future potential, and long experience with Chinese passenger cars," said Abdul Halim. “GB Auto staff have been on the ground in Algeria since 2012 and have identified the pillars of its distribution network." GB Auto is actively exploring further representations for these promising markets, as well as for its Iraqi and Egyptian operations. “The Middle East and Africa is one of the most dynamic growth markets in the world," concluded Ghabbour. “The potential opportunities for a customer-focused model like the one GB Auto has perfected are boundless, and we are focused on seizing them."
