CFAO takes over VW franchise from Automotive Products
Automotive Products Limited (APL) will from next year no longer be the franchise holder of Volkswagen (VW) in Malawi because CFAO have taken over the dealership, Business Review has established.
APL Central Region Manager Limbikani Gumbo confirmed in an interview on Tuesday that they will no longer be responsible for the VW brand after 2015.
“Yes, I can confirm that CFAO will take over the dealership of the VW brand. Though we have other brands such as Audi, Scania, we feel we did enough to popularise VW.
“This is a very long story, which I cannot just share with you on the phone suffice to say that the development is true,” he said.
Gumbo said the takeover has also affected other countries such as Kenya, Zimbabwe and Zambia, but APL is working at bringing in other brands that are also popular on the world market in place of VW.
“This has affected us big time because this is coming at a time we have done the donkey work and the brand was becoming popular and all of a sudden they are taking away the dealership. “We have been selling this car for over 20 years and this decision really hurts,” he said.
CFAO managing director David Blair said on Tuesday they are not yet in a position to comment on the issue, but will do so during a press briefing to be conducted jointly with officials from VW.
But a source close to the deal said following the massive investments that VW made in Malawi, it was agreed that APL be given a grace period of one year to wind up everything and come 2016 CFAO should take over the business.
