Car market down 80 percent - Vehicle importer

The vehicle industry has seen an 80 percent drop in the overall car market. The authorized importers (agents) face a dire situation as they have invested huge amounts in infrastructure to cater to a growing market, which now has crashed, Carmart Director and CEO Yasendra Amerasinghe said.

"Many vehicles are stuck in the port due to the high taxes, making them unmarketable at current prices. These vehicles are subject to high amounts of demurrage," he said.

Carmart has a long and distinguished heritage in the Sri Lankan automobile industry, spanning over 68 years. It is a family company, now into its third generation.

Carmart has been focusing on after sales services for the past few years to overcome this difficult situation. "We ensure that parts are available islandwide offering convenience to customers. Our staff of 110 at the Colombo and Ratmalana centres provide seamless service to customers," Amerasinghe said.

"Our prices are quite competitive and we hope to modernize the company across all sectors with the implementation of an HR information system which is currently taking place," he said.

"Carmart obtained ISO 9001 certification, not because of industry or client needs, nor for an award to hang on the wall, but because we firmly believe in the systems approach to management," Amerasinghe said.

Based on eight quality management principles, ISO 9001:2008 has been implemented by over one million organizations in over 170 countries and is the international gold standard relating to quality management systems.

"W. Edwards Deming, author of Total Quality Management, once said, 'A bad system will beat a good person every time'. A good system is essential for a company to consistently function well," he said.

"Carmart's commitment to improvement does not end here. We are in the process of implementing the SAP ERP system to arm our employees with cutting-edge IT support for their work. We have begun using new technology and productivity enhancement tools to break the shackles of traditional management styles and make our business more responsive and we also have a vision to provide customers with pioneering customer service standards. As Tom Peters, a writer on business management practices said, "Excellent firms don't believe in excellence - only in constant improvement and constant change," Amerasinghe said.

- SJ