The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian electric vehicle dealer yesterday revealed it beat 2023 targets via a “one-third” sales increase as it bids to start construction on its new “multi-million” headquarters by around mid-year.

Pia Farmer, partner at Easy Car Sales, told Tribune Business that the dealership is aiming to complete the plans and architectural designs for its new location, at the junction of East-West Highway and Abundant Life Road, by end-March and “see something happening” in terms of construction by mid-year heading into the third quarter.

With site clearance at the former fire-ravaged Bahamas Liquidation Centre site now complete, she revealed that the dealership is “moving full steam ahead” on ambitions to create a “destination” that will be 100 percent solar powered and feature publicly-accessible vehicle charging stations alongside an auto showroom and service bays.

Disclosing that Easy Car Sales plans to launch a third electric vehicle brand in The Bahamas this March, Ms Farmer pledged that the company is “going to do it right” with expansion plans for a facility that will be designed to meet market demand for the next decade.

“We have worked hard to clear the debris,” she added of the firm’s intended new home. “We were able to recycle or repurpose a lot of material. We are now working on finalising designs for the new headquarters and new showroom. I don’t know when we’re going to be finished. We’re working hard to design and plan for it. It’s very exciting. It’s a little scary. It’s quite a big project.

“We’re just designing it so it can work for us for the next ten years. We’re working on the projected increase in the number of electric cars. For example, when deciding how many bays to have in the service area we have to think of how many electric cars will be on the roads in the next five to ten years.”

Ms Farmer said Easy Car Sales hopes to finish the design and planning phase for its new headquarters by the first quarter’s end, with the construction start dependent on when it can obtain all the necessary approvals such as planning and environmental permits.

“Hopefully by mid-year, the third quarter, we will be seeing something happening,” she added. “I’ve never done this before, but we have a great team putting it together. I’m hoping that by mid-year we will start construction and see how long it takes. It’s going to be quite a large building.

“Definitely in the next six months I want to see something. It all depends on how quickly we get that going. We’re moving full steam ahead. We were working all through Christmas on the design, so hopefully we will have final architectural plans by the end of the first quarter. By the middle of the year we hope to see something happening.

“All the deadlines and targets are ours. We’re not going to worry. We’re going to do it right. It’s going to be a long-term move. We have really outgrown Gladstone Road.” Asked how much will be invested in the new head office’s construction, Ms Farmer replied: “Multi-millions.”

She said: “I’ve been quoted something in the order of $250 per square foot, and it’s going to be at least $15,000 square feet, if not more. It’s scary. It’s multi-millions. It’s an investment in the reality of transportation.... It’s a reality we have to get ready for. We have to do it.”

This “reality” was identified by Ms Farmer as the growing worldwide demand for electric vehicles which, she said, now account for 11 percent of all new vehicles sold globally. This adoption rate was as high as 90 percent in nations such as Norway, the Easy Car Sales partner added.

“We grew the number of jobs at Easy Car Sales by one-third last year,” Ms Farmer told Tribune Business. “There are 25 of us now. We expect that we will need more staff by the time we move, and for the construction and outfitting. It’s a big investment, but it shows the confidence we have in the future of electric transportation in this country. Somebody has to do it.

“We cannot put a deadline on this because we will be disappointed. We’re going to do it right and in the time needed, so that when we move to Abundant Life Road it will be right for the future. This year we have to juggle as much as we can with the space we have and the growth that we are expecting, which will be in keeping with last year’s growth.”

While not disclosing figures for 2023, she added: “We had a very good year last year. It was a very busy year, and we exceeded our targets. We probably increased our sales by one-third compared to the year before, and expect that trend to continue.

“We expect to have 12 different models, we’re going to have a third brand, and cars that are going to sell for a little under $30,000 with eight-year warranties. That will be the least expensive. It will be a range of 12 different models with 12 different prices, and we are able to negotiate better prices as well.”

Ms Farmer declined to identify the third electric vehicle brand that Easy Car Sales plans to introduce alongside its BYD and Jac vehicles, other than to indicate that an announcement will likely be made around March this year.

To help drive electric vehicle adoption, she said the dealership will this year seek to roll-out solutions that aid what was termed “the democratisation” of fast charging. Ms Farmer said that while Easy Car Sales installed chargers in all its models, some drivers were running into opposition from condo and homeowner associations over charging vehicles at home.

Pledging to make electric vehicle charging “convenient and accessible”, she added: “Some people cannot install a charger in their condo or unit. For many of them it’s fine, but we’ll be launching a solution to that. Some condo associations are not forward thinking, or people are renting. It can be a challenge. Not everyone can install a charger at home.

“Public, accessible, convenient fast charging. We will see more of that this year.... We are coming up this year with other options for public and fast charging. We are working on that now to widen availability and accessibility. The word I look at is the democratisation of charging. You don’t have to own your own home to be able to charge. That’s what we’re working on now.”

Ms Farmer said Easy Car Sales’ new headquarters will also eventually be part of this solution. “They will all be solar charging stations,” she added of her company’s amenities. “The whole place will be solarised. Everything will run from solar at the new location. There will be solar fast-charging stations available to the public. It’s going to be a destination location.”