MONTEGO Bay got a fillip last Friday as ATL Automotive unveiled its full vehicle lineup in what must be one of the most complete auto-launch ever in the second city.

Boasting a 9,000 square-foot showroom and an option of some of the world’s leading motor vehicle models, ATL gave residents of the island’s western end (and elsewhere) a first-hand view of its world-standard offering.

“The west is always ignored, always the second city by far,” ATL Group deputy chairman, Adam Stewart commented after the launch. “We are revising that trend,” he declared.

Stewart said that investment along the north coast and into MoBay was getting progressively larger and as such the new dealership was well positioned to satisfy the economic growth in the area.

“No longer will anyone have to drive three hours to get their car serviced,” he quipped.

The new ATL dealership, which represents Honda, Jaguar, Audi, VW and Land Rover, has already employed 38 people as it positions itself at the top of motor vehicle outlets in the west.

With an approximate US$4.25-million capital injection, the outlet is high on customer service as it seeks to represent the best that the international auto world has to offer.

In the meantime, Stewart is pushing heavily the issue of environment awareness and warned that it should be taken seriously as, in a few decades, many sections of Jamaica could be under threat if nothing is done.

He implored the authorities to begin work on the upgrading of the Petrojam oil refinery to produce better quality fuel.

“The single greatest world issue is the environment,” Stewart declared, adding that emission control was of utmost importance.

“We at ATL have approached government to help develop an environment conscious vehicle import policy,” he said

Stewart, also agitating for an overhaul of the motor vehicle duty structure, contended that Jamaica was importing large numbers of used vehicles from the Japanese domestic market because of the high duty imposed by government.

Government’s high import duty regime pushes up the cost prohibitively forcing purchasers to go for pre-owned vehicles, Stewart said.

He argued that government should immediately implement meaningful incentives for the importation of low emission and fuel-efficient vehicles.

“A 10 per cent break on flex fuel vehicles is not enough, said Stewart. “The only way we will clean up the fuel issue is to import small diesel engine and other low emission vehicles,” he added.

However, such an approach is stymied by the delay in upgrading the Petrojam oil refinery which now supplies diesel at 5000 parts per million, in comparison to world standard of 10 to 15 parts per million

As a result, vehicle manufacturers are refusing to sell diesel vehicles to the island because of performance problems associated with the low quality fuel.