[attach id=248310 size="medium"]Gasan Zammit Motors chief executive Stefan Deguara: “The automotive market shows resilience and health both in terms of unit sales and employment.”[/attach]

Six months after the Gasan and Zammit groups merged their automotive and marine functions, the business is intent on focusing on its core competences and improving processes. And, according to chief executive Stefan Deguara, it will also look at its prospects for internationalisation in the longer term.

Gasan Zammit Motors, which operates from the Gasan Centre in Mrieħel, last year fused two legacy firms with an extended product portfolio featuring a range of market leading brands.

“Economies of scale and scope certainly contribute to the improved structure and performance of the new company,” Mr Deguara told The Times Business. “These advantages emerged in showroom facilities, marketing and administration. The principle was to go beyond the basics of structure and cost-sharing, and on delivering value to customers.”

Mr Deguara added how each aspect of the business is now constantly under review. The company acknowledges that in spite of its combined years of experience in the field, the business dynamics, particularly client perceptions and demands, are continuously changing.

We adopted the best practices of both entities

“We have to be on top of the situation and be proactive in our approach to handling business,” the chief executive added. “The future of any business is susceptible to many factors, including the economic tempo and policies. Apart from the unavoidable and temporary downs, which tend to surface occasionally, the automotive market shows resilience and health both in terms of unit sales and employment for a large number of employees.”

The major challenge last summer was realising the ambitious project while minimising disruptions to daily operations.

Mr Deguara recalls how, behind the scenes, the human resources, IT, showroom and storage were merged, and legal and regulatory compliance was ensured.

“We looked carefully at the strengths and weaknesses of the companies and adopted what we considered to be the best practices of both,” Mr Deguara said. “Potential for organic growth is limited and the parties understood the need to join forces to strengthen their business foundations and be able to offer customers something unique in terms of model range, pricing and after-sales support.”

Gasan Zammit Motors has a staff complement of around 80 and represents nine brands – Ford, Chevrolet, Mazda, Yamaha, Jaguar, Honda, Volvo, Isuzu and Capelli.