Auto dealer ‘surprised’ by steady business

Auto dealer ‘surprised’ by steady business
Bahamas Bus and Truck.

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A Bahamian auto dealer says his company has been far busier than he would have ever imagined.

Ben Albury, Bahamas Bus & Truck’s general manager told Eyewitness News that business has been steady, though he could not say what has attributed to it.

“I have been quite surprised,” Albury said.

“As far as Bahamas Bus and Truck is concerned we have been far busier than I would have ever imagined. We are still not as busy as I need to be to really turn a decent profit but business has been very steady. I have been quite surprised. That’s a bright light. I’m hoping that will continue.”

He said: “The numbers don’t really make sense because if you have say 40,000- 50,000 people unemployed it’s going to be very difficult to sustain in my opinion if a lot more people don’t get back to work. I don’t really have anything to attribute it to but we have been very busy.

“Last month I did 75 percent of what I did the month before we closed and the month before we closed was very busy. For this month I’m already on target to do what I did the month that we closed prior to COVID. If things continue the way they are right now I’m easily going to surpass what I did last month.”

Albury told Eyewitness News that there were many businesses, particularly construction related, that are doing very well amid the COVID-19 fall-out.

“It seems like most businesses I talk to right now are doing incredibly well especially businesses that are construction related,” he continued.

“I’ve talked to people in various industries and most share the same sentiment. People were home for a long time, not going out to dinner, doing this and that. A lot of people that did have travel plans this year aren’t traveling any more and that money they may have spent on that big trip they may be using it to buy new furniture, a car or new appliances.”

Meanwhile, Fred Albury, the Auto Mall’s principal told Eyewitness News, said the group will be very cautious ordering new inventory moving foward.

Fred Albury said: “In the new car industry and speaking for our group, service and spare parts has been strong. New vehicle sales has been holding its own considering the impact on the economy from the fallout of the virus.

“Our inventories have peaked and there are not many orders in the pipeline for the next four months. This unfortunately will impact revenue for government. Going forward, we will be very cautious in our ordering of new product for inventory until we see the positive indicators of the economy picking up steam.”