After Automax collapse: Dalhom prepares to acquire its direct import franchises
Vehicle importer Dalhom is preparing to acquire the direct import franchise of the bankrupt Automax. The deal, outlined in documents sent to creditors, includes a rehabilitation plan that exempts the buyer from past debts.
Vehicle importer Dalhom is preparing to acquire the direct vehicle import franchise of Automax, which collapsed last year, according to documents sent by the company's trustees, Adv. Ronen Matry and CPA Yizhar Kane, to the company's creditors.
Automax, which collapsed last year, began its journey with parallel import of cars to Israel, meaning the import of cars purchased from dealers of car manufacturers abroad. However, later the company became a direct importer of vehicles, similar to Delek Motors, Colmobil, or the Carasso Group. The list of brands that Automax imported via direct import included mainly Chinese brands such as JAC cars and cars produced by Juneyao and the Chinese YUDO.
In the past, Meshech Tnuah, which imports Changan and Suzuki to Israel, tried to obtain the import franchise for JAC to Israel directly through the car manufacturer after the start of the Automax collapse, but was blocked by the court. It should be noted that at the time, Automax managed to deliver thousands of cars produced by JAC and YUDO, as well as a handful of Juneyao cars, and for the time being, the owners of these cars have been left without service.
According to owners of YUDO and JAC cars who contacted Calcalist, for the time being, it is not possible to perform routine maintenance on the cars due to a shortage of spare parts, not to mention that with the start of the liquidation of Automax, their value has plummeted in the absence of an organized importer in Israel.
In the documents sent to the creditors, concerning the direct import activity of Automax, it is stated that the Dalhom group is preparing to acquire the direct import activity and that as part of the plan for the economic rehabilitation of the company, it will be exempt from past debts and insolvency proceedings. Dalhom itself was previously a partner in an Automax bus import venture. Today, the company imports, among other things, Arcfox and BAIC cars, whose marketing began recently, among other places, in the branches of the Rami Levy chain.
It should be noted that given the fact that, like BAIC, JAC cars are cars that several importers have already tried to market and failed in the task, it is not impossible that JAC cars, whose import franchise was previously held by Automax, and before that by the Netanya-based EV Motors, which is currently no longer active in practice, will also soon arrive at Rami Levy branches.
