My business trip to UK
27th June 2005
I was out of Tokyo for last one week on a business trip to UK. I was not able to reply many of my mails and I am sorry for the inconvenience it may have caused to you.
Well, on an experiment basis, our company exhibited cars at two Japanese car auction houses in Britain. Profit was definitely not our objective; rather we wanted to learn by experience. We could sell 6 of our 11 vehicles. We plan to put the remaining 5 cars on auction next time.
We found that cars which were more than 10 year old were popular in the auctions, as they were exempted from taking the SVA (Single Vehicle Approval) test. In the retail market, however, one can see expensive cars with high quality were popular. The main cars exhibited in the auction were 4WD and sports cars. Not many standard cars were seen at the auction.
This trip was a package tour sponsored by the Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA), and 23 persons from used car exporting companies participated in this trip. Best Trading is still a new player in this trade. In this trip, I could meet the presidents of many big corporations, and was able to receive guidance from them on various issues. This was a rare experience for all participants to be on such a long tour with people from similar business field. That was the best point of this trip.
Prices in Britain are very high. I was really surprised to see that most things were expensive than in Tokyo; almost by 1.5 times. Almost every day, the temerature was above 30 degree C. However, the air conditioners in public transport vehicles such as the train, taxis, and buses were not functioning well. And I felt it was very hot.
In the countryside the beauty of similar buidings lined up against green backdrop was very picturesque. It will always remain in my memory.
I sincerely wish to express my gratitude to the auction house staff who helped us a lot since our arrival in UK and provided us with all the facilities. That’s a big help for us to build business with Great Britain in the future. .
Technorati Tags: Tokyo, UK, Japanese car auction, Britain, SVA, sports cars, JUMVEA
