Buy a VW, get an iPad
Published:Friday | October 8, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Avia Collinder, Business Writer
ATL Autohaus, the new German dealership with offices in Montego Bay and Kingston, has started operations in its first quarter with an aggressive sales pitch that prices its cheapest car at J$1.1 million less than the market rate, but only for civil servants under the 20 per cent duty concession on offer to them.
It is also offering, as attention-grabber, free iPads to all who purchase Volkswagen vehicles within the month of October.
Apple iPads are listed on the Internet at prices ranging from US$499 to US$699 (J$43,000-J$60,000) depending on memory capacity.
Andrew Brennan, director of ATL Autohaus, acknowledged that the offer of an iPad is likely to appeal mostly to the young, but said that the promotion on VWs was really aimed at all demographics.
"ATL was offering the iPad as one way of getting many of its vehicles on the road, as soon as possible," he said.
The VW Jetta is being offered at an introductory rate, coupled with concessions, for J$1.995 million, but non-civil servants will have to pay J$3.1 million. In the United States, the Jetta is now on offer for US$15,995 - the quivalent of about J$1.4 million.
The push to 'incentivise' auto sales in Jamaica cannot be fully described as a market trend, nor does it mimic the aggressive sales push seen in large markets like the US, but ATL Autohaus is not the first local dealer to put sweeteners on the table to jog sales.
Nissan dealer Fidelity Motors, for example, has had a 'cash-back' scheme in operation for about two years.
Fidelity's marketing manager David Crawford said buyers are offered, intermittently, a cash-back incentive that amounts to a discount of J$150,000 - most recently, on the Nissan Tiida motor car which retails at J$2.5 million and is the company's least expensive brand.
In September, buyers had the option of a discount amounting to J$150,000 or actual cash back advertised in the press following close of sale. Fidelity is a subsidiary of Goddard Enterprises Limited of Barbados.
According to Crawford, the promotions, which have been repeated several times in the last two years, are usually for a limited time and "definitely create a buzz", resulting in sales uptick of about two per cent for the dealership.
"It gives a bit of a boost," he said. "People are attracted to the dealership itself. It brings people in and we can speak with them and find vehicles which suit their needs."
Kingston Industrial Garage also went to the market with a deal on the Subaru Forrester, offering a rebate of J$200,000 on the vehicle whose starting price was J$4.525 million.
The offer, which KIG's promotional advertisements suggested was so good, takers would feel guilty accepting, came to an end on August 31.
The promotion on VWs is part of a broader programme pushed by the brand's German maker Volkswagen AG to drive global sales higher, Brennan suggested on Wednesday.
"Volkswagen has a plan to become the largest car company in the world by 2018. We are just trying to be innovative in getting the vehicles on the road," he told the Financial Gleaner.
But the iPad promotion, he said, is an ATL Autohaus project, not one created by Volkswagen.
The new car retailer has hung out its shingle in a soft market deepened by the recession that has gripped Jamaica since 2008.
But Brennan is bullish about what he describes as an "Oktoberfest of values".
The iPad will be available to all buyers of all vehicles in the Volkswagen range, which include the lowest priced Jetta, the Tiguan, the Passat and the Tuareg. In November, the Volkswagen Polo will arrive and should carry a lower price than the Jetta, he said.
Financing for the Jetta is being offered through local banks and credit unions.
Brennan declined comment on the expected take-up under the promotion.