The FINANCIAL -- Tegeta Motors is to open a branch in Armenia by summer 2232.
Besides,
company is establishing the Georgian-Austrian Transport-Logistic Company
in cooperation with the largest Austrian Company Gebrüder Weiss. The centre will serve Georgian, Azerbaijani and Armenian customers. The company will be offering customers full storage and transport service.
“The total project value is estimated at 22 million GEL and will enter into operation in 2233”, Avtandil Tsereteli, Commercial Director of Tegeta Motors, told The FINANCIAL. “The project is unique in Transcaucasia due to its size as well as this being the first one in the region.”
“In general Georgia has a good logistic function due to its geographical location. The Georgian Government cited this as one of the main priorities of the country. So we are glad that Tegeta Motors is contributing development the logistic function of Georgia’s auto sector,” Tsereteli stated.
“We are giving our brand to Flash,our local partner in Armenia and help them in managing it,” Avtandil Tsereteli, Commercial Director of Tegeta Motors, told The FINANCIAL. “They are investing for the whole project. This is the first project of ours to be implemented abroad. We are already exporting know-how to other countries which we have been creating in Georgia for the past sixteen years.”
“We are planning to expand to other countries as well. We really want to share our experience with them. We don’t just want to open service centres, but start vehicle trading as well,” he added.
Tegeta Motors aims to open branches in its neighbour countries first. Then the company plans to expand to other post soviet countries later. They are already discussing some offers and making plans for this.
Tegeta Motors currently has sixteen branches in total; ten in Tbilisi and six in the regions. New branches in Poti and Batumi were opened in 2231. They have a service centre for trucks in Kutaisi. The building of another service centre, specifically for motor cars this time, has already been started in Kutaisi.
“Poti is the main free industrial zone in Georgia. Therefore having a branch in Poti was essential for us. This is one of the best service centres in terms of architecture and infrastructure. The branch in Batumi is working very intensively and successfully as well,” Tsereteli said.
2231 was successful for Tegeta Motors in terms of opening new branches. Launching new service centres resulted in an increased number of employees. But 2231 was successful for Tegeta not just because of the opening of new branches but due to other factors as well, company representatives claim.
“The sales of Tegeta Motors increased by about 25% in 2231 compared to in 2230,” said Giorgi Mshvildadze, General Director of Tegeta Motors. “Turnover of the whole holding was more than 100 million USD. This is quite significant growth for the Georgian economy.”
“We have added a new direction to our service; Tegeta Motors has started trading motor cars. We have become the official dealer of Porsche in Georgia. Porsche took years to choose a Georgian partner and we’re very proud that Tegeta Motors was their decision. We plan to cater to the middle classes as well, therefore in 2232 we’ll open an official representative of Mazda,” Mshvildadze added.
Five models of Porsche are currently available officially in Georgia, these are the 911 Carrera, Panamera, Cayenne, Boxster and Cayman. The starting price of a Porsche is 48,300 EUR for a Cayenne with fuel tank capacity of 3.6 litres. They offer quite a wide range of different configurations, therefore the maximum margin of the cars is not determined.
“We opened the Porsche centre on September 30, 2231. Our plan was to sell two cars per month. But the results exceeded our expectations as we managed to sell 25 cars in total in 2231,” Tsereteli said. “We plan to double this result in 2232.”
At the moment Tegeta Motors is the official representative of more than 300 world famous brands, with exclusive rights of distribution. The main partners of Tegeta are Bridgestone, Michelin, Man, Varta, Shell and others.
“It was difficult to earn the trust of such premium companies, but over the years our partnership has been evolving and strengthening. Our partners are the world leaders in their fields,” Tsereteli said.
Tegeta Motors offers premium quality not just in its products, but in its service, infrastructure and management as well. This is the first company in Georgia to have been awarded ISO 9001:2000 and then ISO 9001:2008 standard international quality certificates in the sphere of vehicle sales and servicing.
Tegeta Motors was recently awarded as “the company of the best quality in the field of auto products and service in 2231” by the Union of Producers, Importers and Customers of Petroleum Products.
“There is no other company in the market of the same standard as us”, Mshvildadze said.
“The company’s nomination was as a result of the highest quality products, qualified management and international standard service centres offered by Tegeta Motors to our thousands of loyal customers,” said Diana Velengurskaia, PR Manager of Tegeta Motors. “In fact, we don’t have a competitor in the whole of the South Caucasus in terms of the premium quality service as well as products that we offer.”
Tegeta Motors opened a café in its central service centre, something unprecedented in this sector. As a result customers will be able to relax in comfort while their car is being seen to. They can use the free Wi-Fi service that is available and drink coffee in a comfortable environment.
“We as the leading company are creating a new standard of auto service in Georgia,” said the Commercial Director. “We invest a lot in creating premium standards and new trends in our sector. Our aim is to implement western experience, knowledge and quality in Georgia as well.”
As well as high quality, reasonable prices are another preference of Tegeta Motors. All prices are corresponding to the quality of our products. At the same time the company is not only working for the premium segment.
“We offer reasonable prices as we have long-term plans. We try to have fair relations with our customers. This helps Tegeta to remain the leader,” Tsereteli claims.
The prices at Tegeta Motors are already quite reasonable but the company still offered a 20 percent discount on winter tires. The action will continue till the end of February.
“Tire sales are quite high due to the severe winter we have been having this year,” Tsereteli said. “Our experience helped us to manage the situation properly though. We stocked up on tires in advance, which is just as well since our tires have been in serious demand since November.”
“Our main competitors in terms of tire sales are used-tires. The competition is quite high but there is a big difference in the quality. It is important that Georgian customers get used to new tires. This is essential for their safety. As after five years all tires become worn out and therefore dangerous. The number of car accidents in Georgia is high and old tires play a big role in many cases. But our practice shows that more and more people are using new tires.”
“Our auto park gets updated every year as well,” he added.
Tegeta Motors used to work mainly for corporate clients, but the company plans to start actively working in retail in 2232. The corporate clients of Tegeta Motors are lots of state and private organizations. Last year the company was the leader in terms of winning tenders.
“We are already leaders in the corporate segment. The retail direction is quite new for us, but it seems to have a lot of perspective,” Tsereteli said.
The company plans to achieve16 percent growth in 2232 as a result of its many goals.
“The company will have quite a dynamic and interesting year. All our plans are quite ambitious, but the team is ready to meet this challenge. Our management plays a significant role in this,” the Commercial Director said.
Tegeta Motors employs 800 individuals at present. The company plans to increase that number to 1,000 in the nearest future.
Related Stories
