Badami: UAE is regional hub for Africa and Europe
A leading automotive parts and service specialist says that the UAE is now firmly established as a regional hub for not just the Middle East, but also Africa and Europe. Speaking ahead of this week’s Automechanika Middle East, Asad Badami, managing director of A-Map said that well-developed logistics connections had made the country a major […]
Badami predicts A-Map's turnover will reach $272 million by 2015
A leading automotive parts and service specialist says that the UAE is now firmly established as a regional hub for not just the Middle East, but also Africa and Europe.
Speaking ahead of this week’s Automechanika Middle East, Asad Badami, managing director of A-Map said that well-developed logistics connections had made the country a major re-export destination.
“The UAE has become the regional distribution center for automotive parts and accessories not only to the Middle East but also to Africa and parts Europe,” said Badami. “In particular, Dubai’s geographic location and cooperative local authorities are of significant benefit when connecting Asia to Africa and Europe. For example, Dubai ports can potentially enable the same day release of goods. Once a vessel arrives, the container can be offloaded and the goods warehoused within twelve hours. This is something you don’t get anywhere else.”
A-MAP specializes in the distribution of aftermarket automotive spare parts, automotive batteries, tyres, and lubricants, and Badami said recently that the company is on course to reaching a turnover of $272 million by 2015.
“Another of Dubai’s competitive advantages is the fact that many of the region’s landlocked countries, such as Afghanistan and Kazakhstan, rely on goods being transported by land. This is a considerable boon for South East Asian countries, which can export their goods to Dubai where they are warehoused temporarily and re-exported to these countries via the land route,” Badami added.
The Automechanika organiser Messe Frankfurt said that it expects attendance to increase by 24% this year, drawing in a high attendance from Saudi Arabia.
“Auto parts distributors and dealers, particularly those from emerging markets, are interested in the ‘availability factor’ more than anything else,” said Badami. “They want quality brands at a fair price, but they are especially interested in being able to acquire the parts they need quickly, easily, and from partners they can trust to deliver for them in days not weeks, and without necessarily being made to ‘bulk buy’ to agree a fair price.”
He added: “Automechanika in Dubai gets bigger and better every year, and we know from attending past events that visiting delegates are people we want to meet. Over the past year, we have seen our business grow exponentially, and we firmly believe that this growth is rooted in the many international relationships we have worked hard to develop.”
