The dealership, which is part of the Motus Group, now has Mercedes-Benz (passenger and commercial), Mitsubishi and Fuso in its portfolio. In both of the new additions, Cargo will add the passenger and commercial vehicles of the two brands.

Situated on the N12 as you enter Klerksdorp from the direction of Potchefstroom, Cargo Motors Klerksdorp, with under roof space of 5 384 m² on a property of 11 500 m², is the largest motor retailer in the region, says Dealer Principal, Christo Coetzee

“We are very exited about the addition of Hyundai and Kia. Both are excellent brands that bring a lot more traffic to our dealership. We added another building to the existing infrastructure to accommodate the newcomers. We have three bistros for our clients on the passenger car side and well-equipped waiting areas on the commercial vehicle side.”

He says the addition of Kia and Hyundai makes good sense in supplementing the choices on offer for prospective buyers, and we can now service a large clientele with different transport needs, from small and affordable to much more expensive with a wide range of body styles and applications as well.

Christo says a multi-franchise like theirs is not so much about the saving of shared overheads but rather getting more clients and doing more business than before. “We also do vehicle wheel alignment for a mere R99, and we service vehicles at a reduced labour rate of R350 an hour to attract more business, he says.

“The current economic circumstances in South Africa are forcing a lot of people to changes their buying habits. Customers are instalment driven. We see people trading in more expensive vehicles for cheaper ones to reduce monthly instalments,” says Christo.

“We are now in the fortunate position to offer clients exactly what they need in this regard. They can still own a premium product from say Kia or Hyundai, with a reduced instalment, and still have the advantage of good quality, service plans and class-leading warranties.”

He says business is bouncing back strongly after last year’s hard lockdown, but the effects of COVID-19 on sales will be felt for some time to come. “We are not only seeing this in the national decline of new-vehicles sales, but also the difficulty of getting our hands on good used car stock.

“Dealers pay a premium on good used vehicles today and unfortunately this is in turn reflected in the selling price. The situation will stabilise once new-vehicle sales are at more normal levels. We have two uses vehicles dealerships. One sells Mercedes-Benz-approved vehicles and the other one sells a variety of cheaper used cars. We have used offers from R100 000 to over R1 million.

“In Klerksdorp, we have proportionally more used vehicles dealership than any other town I know of. There are about 83 used-vehicle dealers in town,” says Christo.

Talking about Klerksdorp, Christo says on the positive side the agricultural sector is recovering nicely after a severe drought over the past two seasons. “Municipalities struggle financially, which is reflected in the slower sales, but we still do business with state departments in the province capital, Mahikeng. We are one of only two Mercedes-Benz dealerships in the province. We also take cognisance of the changing economic environment in this part of North West with mining activities that are few and far between these days.”

He says for these reasons they also have a strongly focused market campaign throughout the country with about 90% of it in digital format. “We deliver vehicles from Cape Town to Durban to Polokwane where we are, incidentally, about to deliver five Hyundai Venues to one client.”

“Just to get back to the COVID-19 pandemic. I know a lot has been said regularly about the issue. I want to emphasise that our premises are sanitised daily and each vehicle gets sanitised three times. We have sanitiser for clients and a ‘no mask no entry policy’. The last sanitising happens when the client takes delivery of a a vehicle,” he told Dealerfloor.

And in his spare time? “I love hunting very much as well as fishing and camping. Till recently I also took part in endurance off-road racing with a bakkie,” says Christo.

Christo has been the Dealer Principal at Cargo Motors Klerksdorp for the last seven years since 2014.