Emirates Motor Company announces golden jubilee plans

Emirates Motor Company (EMC), the authorised distributor for Mercedes-Benz in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain and the flagship company of Al Fahim Group, dedicated its commitment to provide innovative customer service as they celebrate the golden jubilee of its dealership with the luxury German car.

“This jubilee evokes the nostalgia of sharing the dreams of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and his wise vision for a better future, matched with the strong belief of our late father, Abdul Jalil Al Fahim, who was a real contributor to the economic prosperity in Al Ain and Abu Dhabi,” said Mohammad Abdul Jalil Al Fahim, the Honorary Chairman of Al Fahim Group at a media roundtable to announce their renewed commitment to excellence.

The landmark event was made possible because of the spirit of two business generations from Al Fahim family, reflecting the continuous endeavour of Al Fahim Group to positively contribute to the economic prosperity of Abu Dhabi.

“The jubilee celebrations reflect our commitment to our community, our roots in the UAE and our gratitude to our customers,” he added emphasising the group's commitment to innovation, superb service and social responsiblity.

Al Fahim reflected with nostalgia how a small shop selling Land Rover spareparts in Abu Dhabi was selected by a German visitor Lloyd House to become one of the leading distributors of Mercedes Benz cars in the region.

"Just imagine travelling from Abu Dhabi, we didn't have any electricity, phone, cars or streets. After two days when we landed in Stuttgart, it was like a paradise on earth. There was greenery, trees, streets, clean homes, electricity, cars running around. I was ready to immigrate at that time," said Al Fahim in lighter vein.

After visiting the Mercedes factory, offices and showrooms, Abdul Jalil Al Fahim immediately ordered four cars.

One of the cars were given to Sheikh Zayed who transformed the landscape when he became Ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966.

"That's when the pandora's box opened. Sheikh Zayed literally started developing country by building roads, homes and schools," said Mohammed Al Fahim.

They also ordered more Mercedes cars which were only fit for royalty at the time.

However, when business started booming between 1968 and 1970, cars were sold virtually upon arrival at the port.

"We were actually ordering cars we didn't have to put in showroom any more because as soon as they came to port. Customers will come to the port and each one will stand next to a car and pay cash before we even pay customs for it to take downtown. When we mention to them that it has to be serviced and prepared before we deliver it, they would say to forget it because they needed the car. So cars were being sold immediately on port without service," he said.

Abu Dhabi also came to rescue of the German car manufacturer when orders were cancelled during the oil crisis in the 70s.

"I was in Germany when they told me about it. I said why don't you send them to Abu Dhabi. Some 200 cars came in one shipment. Ofcourse, it was too much for Abu Dhabi market," he said.

But today they order 3,000 cars a year while the price of Mercedes S200 which was Dh16,000 is Dh300,000, said Mohammed Al Fahim.

Further emphasising EMC’s continuous development, the dealership reported a sales increase to date with the Mercedes-Benz CLS shining a real star with 639% increase compared to the same period last year. Additionally, a 38% increase in the sales was witnessed on the GL Class, followed by a 35% rise in C Class sales.

Saeed Abdul Jalil Al Fahim, the Chairman of Al Fahim Group said: “As we celebrate this golden milestone, EMC and the mother group will remain faithful to this country, contributing to its national economy, prosperity, and success, in line with Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, under the wise leadership of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE."

Rashed Abdul Jalil Al Fahim, Managing Director of Al Fahim Group stressed that “the jubilee celebrations will be packed with innovative initiatives and creative events, including campaigns and public competitions, to ensure that the whole community is feeling the joy and pride we have of keeping our Mercedes-Benz star in Abu Dhabi for the past 50 years.”

Al Fahim Group’s Managing Director also revealed that EMC has increased its service and sales performance positively this year and that the company is in continuous quest for new services and packages to be launched, to meet their loyal customers’ needs.

Rashed added: “EMC takes customer service very seriously, and we spare no efforts to use new technology for customers’ peace of mind. We have launched EMC iPhone applications where the customers can interact with us and be informed of all updates related to their car service.

“We have launched a customer relationship program called "Voice of the Customer" where professionals follow up with customers to get their feedback and look for ways to improve the rendered services.”

He also emphasised the value-added benefits that EMC is offering, such as the EMC benefits card for Mercedes-Benz owners in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, which provides exclusive special offers on a broad range of centers, stores, restaurants and recreational clubs; the 5 year extended warranty on all Mercedes-Benz models (2-year Manufacturer and 3-year EMC extended warranty), and the free Integrated Service Packages of five years (ISP) on the S and GL classes. 

“All this adds to the fact that EMC has managed to open the biggest Mercedes-Benz facility in the world, to ensure quality customer service in the most comfortable environment,” he said.

What are their future goals or targets?

"What we know is if we deliver customer satisfaction, we will always be ahead in sales. If you target sales as your goal, you will have a short term win and a long term loss. For the customers, the important thing is ownership experience and that's where we excel," said Christopher Preston, CEO of Al Fahim Automotive.

"Expectations are always increasing and we are concentrating always on thinking of new innovative ways of making sure that we are delivering what our customers need. With new facility, we have an airconditioned service reception and also have every customer sit next to his car and service advisor," he added.

Preston acknowledged competition was always tough but they always look ahead.

"Lots of people build a good car but nobody builds a Mercedes-Benz. I say to everyone, drive a vehicle and then make a decision. In our sales process, handling customers we always try to understand why people want the car and what they are going to use it for. So we recommend the right car and we encourage them to drive it. Difference between our product and others is when you drive it, it's in a class of it's own," summed up Preston.