Avaco is the largest Serbian company that has been successfully renting cars for almost two decades. It keeps a wide range of vehicles and high class luxury cars, so it can satisfy even the most demanding customers, even those who want a helicopter
We are very committed to our clients, we are available 24 hours a day for anyone who wants to rent a vehicle. We provide advice or support abroad if there is any problem on the road, even during the night, at 2 or 3 am – says Živković.
Your slogan is “When it’s hard and when it’s easy, call Avaco”. How would you judge the last two decades, how is your business going?
Our slogan really makes sense because our clients rent vehicles on weekends, for private and business trips, for vacations. Lately, we have been doing long-term leases, especially for companies. Given the shortage of new cars, we have met the needs of business people and we have a really large fleet of quality vehicles. We have clients who rent vehicles on an annual basis, because our fleet is extremely large. We plan to do more long-term leases in the future because we have a large number of enquiries and requests for this type of cooperation. Individuals also use our services while waiting for purchased or ordered vehicles. So it is really a mixture of services.
It is important to point out that we sell used vehicles and that it is possible to pay for them in installments, without going to the bank. Last year proved to be extremely difficult, but we managed to stay financially solid. This period exposed the bad, but also the good sides of doing business in our industry. Unfortunately, many colleagues and competitors did not survive, such as companies that had vehicles solely for leasing. They simply did not have enough revenue. As a result, our company has acquired new clients. So, when we take everything into account, our slogan is very justified.
You keep up with European standards, can you tell us where we are in relation to the global automotive industry?
For almost 20 years, ever since we have been on the market, Avaco has been trying to ensure that our offers are up to world standards. You have to follow the trends from the world, from America, Europe … When it comes to the fleet, we are not far behind, because we have a wide range of vehicles and luxury cars. I mean high class vehicles that can meet the needs of even the most demanding customers. Besides vehicles, we are able to offer helicopters to customers who want this type of service. All this proves that we are a serious partner and that anyone who does business with us can rely on us with confidence.
We look at business success financially, not according to the number of clients. If I had to analyse the 2019-2021 period, the first six months of this year were bad, but July and August were much better than in 2019, and then after the summer there was a drop in demand when tourists left Belgrade and Serbia. That is why we will work more on long-term rental for companies and try to compensate for our losses.
What’s your view of the crisis starting in China? What do you expect to see?
The crisis in China has led to big problems in the automobile industry all over the world, even in our country, because spare parts for most brands are produced in China. Only Korea and Japan do not depend on China in this way. This collapse will surely last from two to five years. The overall market is jeopardised and we will see what the outcome will be.