The Automobile industry in the Tema Metropolis is suffocating due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has virtually toppled sales and promotion and serving as a blockade to customers.

“Car dealers are suffering and need immediate action to resuscitate it”, Mr. Kofi Yeboah, Automobile Dealer at Community 4, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview at Tema stressing that business was down.

Mr Yeboah was among scores of car dealers who spoke to the GNA on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Tema and its environs said, regardless the challenges confronting the sector, players have to manage and adopt business models on how to live with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have to adjust to the COVID-19 complications since the whole world is not in normal times,” he said.

On other challenges confronting the industry, Mr Yeboah identified the activities of automobile fraudsters who attempt to outwit and run away with cars under the disguise of test-driving them.

“We are smart business operators as compared to those thieves so before we started this business we never allowed our cars to be tested regardless of your status. “In case the customer insist on test-driving then we will demand that he brings someone who would be temporarily detained in the office, while our own boys accompany the potential customer on the test-drive.

“The person who is temporarily detained is released after the potential customer returns the car with our boys who accompanied him or her for the test drive”.

Mr Yeboah also explained that, as part of measures to protect the business, “we have our own way of scanning the potential customer whether he or she has any weapon in possession”.

Nana Ata Agyemang, another car dealer explained that, there was an attempt to steal a car from their garage, but due to the automation of cars of late it was difficult to steal cars in the garages.

“Previously, one can use nails or sharp metals to open and start cars but it is impossible now because of how the cars have been automated; without keys you cannot start the cars,” Mr. Agyemang said.

Mr Agyemang also admitted that due to the COVID-19 importation of cars have reduced meanwhile the duties charged are manageable