Local car dealers have moved swiftly to appeal to government to relax some of the introduced regulations which seeks to govern the running of their businesses.
This comes on the back of intensified crack down on car dealership operations in the country which has left many vehicles impounded as a result of flouting code of practice.
Episkopos Car Importers Managing Director Oreeditse Kgotla highlighted that the regulations which demand that car dealers should among other things have a place of operation and enclosed within walls is an expensive venture to exercise.
“Government should relax these regulations because this business has been reserved for locals and my understanding is that most of us ventured into this industry without any startup capital, so you can imagine how difficult that is,” he said.
Kgotla highlighted that he is of the view that car dealers should be given a choice to operate a mobile business considering that renting or buying plots to setup has proven to be costly.
“In previous years car dealers were allowed to operate in an open space but to our shock things changed and the worst thing is that we are forced to have our business in an enclosed area where now customers are unable to see the cars from a distance,” added Kgotla.
He said government should at least effect changes gradually instead of making quick changes.
“Most locals are still struggling to raise capital because when you compare us to the foreign nationals who pioneered this business locally we are under resourced and it now appears as though government decision to reserve this business for locals was just a gimmick,” said Kgotla.
For his part Motor Connect Managing Director James Masebe shared the sentiment adding that operating car dealership business is increasingly becoming difficult citing that most of the easily accessible land is being purchased by different investors to set up shopping malls.
“Our appeal to government is that we want a pre-order service because even rental fees have gone up and the demand for cars has gone down, so it is quite hard at this point to run the business under these regulations,” said Masebe.
Masebe also said a lot has changed in recent times adding that the buying price in Japan has also gone up plus tax.
“We are worried because a lot of Batswana are in this business and trying to make a living but under current circumstances it is proving to be difficult and I am afraid that some will soon lose their earnings because there will be job shedding and closure,” added Masebe.
He further indicated that failing to abide by the regulations has also come at a cost as some of their vehicles have been clamped down until they have cooperated.
“We remain hopeful that government will do the right thing because it is evident that most of us are sinking and it will be difficult to be rescued should this persist further,” said Masebe.