Sterling Services director: Foreign used Benz no threat to company

The presence of foreign used cars in the automobile market is not a threat.  The statement was made by Sancia Jodhan, director, of Sterling Service (Battoo Bros) Limited. Her comments come as the company launched the C Class of Mercedes-Benz yesterday. The launch took place at Sackville Street, Port-of-Spain. The company provides 250 luxury vehicles per annum to the automobile market.

“I don’t see it (foreign used vehicles) as a threat, but you do find people do bring in foreign used Mercedes. Mercedes has tried worldwide to put a stop to that, where they have stopped any country that has a dealer, (the first owner) should not be allowed to export to any other market. You find that anybody who is doing it (importing a Mercedes-Benz), may be it is just a used car, we can’t stop that, but it is not a big threat to us,” she said.

Jodhan added that though the number of cars on the road have increased the company has not contributed to the congestion since it provides cars to a niche market. “It is clear that the number of cars on the road have increased. We are such a small niche, (and do not contribute to traffic) there are much bigger players in the game than we are,” she said. Stating that the Mercedes-Benz brand is a strong global brand that has stood the test of time, she said the C Class series would be in the T&T market for eight years.

“The class used to be the one of the smaller sized vehicles, but now we have others that are smaller- the sporty compact car that’s still very affordable in the Mercedes line up.” One of the features of the car is that internet access is provided so the driver does not have to hold their mobile handset while driving. Among those attending the event were Cricket legend Brian Lara, chief executive officer Nirad Tewarie and chief executive officer of ExporTT Christopher Lewis.