Fidelity adds Chery as parent flags Ja underperformance

Goddard Enterprises reported that its Jamaican business, Fidelity Motors, was among the weakest in its regional automotive arm.

Days later, at Hope Gardens, Fidelity launched the Chery line of vehicles – its second Chinese marque in under a year.

“Barbados and Jamaica were the two main underperforming markets,” Goddard Enterprises Limited said in its most recent quarterly financial statements. Fidelity Motors is Goddard’s Jamaican automotive subsidiary and also distributes Nissan.

The division grew sales by 19.9 per cent over the period, but the gain did not reach the bottom line. “An increase in selling and administrative expenses in line with the growth strategy resulted in a below par performance for the period,” Goddard said.

The group’s first Chinese brand drew a mixed reception on its looks when it arrived, but is now selling to plan. “Sales of GAC, our Chinese brand of vehicles launched at the start of the financial year, are meeting expectations,” Goddard said.

Chery arrives in a market Chinese manufacturers have already reshaped. More than two dozen Chinese brands now sell in Jamaica, according to Fidelity general manager Deborah Stewart, covering everything from compact sport utility vehicles to heavy trucks.

“Unless you have a Chinese brand now, you’re not going to survive,” said Tremaine Grant, regional marketing manager for Goddard’s GEL Auto Division. “They offer exceptional value, exceptional quality, the warranties are very long, and that is the value add that we need to provide to our consumers.”

Fidelity showed five Chery models ranging from $4.6 million to $10.9 million: the Tiggo 4 Cross, the Tiggo 7 Comfort, the Tiggo 8, the Tiggo 9 petrol and the Tiggo 9 plug-in hybrid. Grant said the hybrid produces 610 horsepower and carries a panoramic sunroof, large touchscreen, ambient lighting, voice controls and driver-assistance systems.

Chery vehicles carry seven-year, 200,000-kilometre cover and a one-million-kilometre engine warranty.

Stewart said the board took on the brand to answer changing market conditions, in a year that marks Fidelity’s 25th anniversary.

“This was an opportunity to add value to the market by providing Chery,” she said, describing the company as China’s largest vehicle exporter. “We went straight to the top in terms of quality and reliability and everything that is important.”

Jamaica is the latest stop in a regional rollout. “The division also recently launched its second Chinese brand of vehicles, Chery, in St Lucia and Barbados,” Goddard said. “These brands will ensure that we stay competitive in the fast-growing electric and hybrid vehicle markets.”

Chery is also already partly present in Jamaica under sub-brands, Jetour, Omoda and Jaecoo. Fidelity is bringing in the parent marque while competitors market the others.

business@gleanerjm.com