On the same premises as before, the new Weskus Ford dealership now occupies what was previously a hotel that has been extensively renovated and adapted for its new role. The space previously occupied by the Ford dealership, is now transformed into the new GWM/Haval dealership in the town, which will be up and running to its full capacity shortly.

Both dealerships belong to the Claremont Motor Group with a number of dealerships from a variety of brands in the Western Cape, up along the West Coast and even a dealership in Kuruman in the Northern Cape.

Dealerfloor spoke to Jacques van Loggerenberg, the Dealer Principal at Weskus Ford, who has been involved in the motor trade since 1998 and joined the group during April last year.

“We are excited about our new Ford dealership, which could in times to come be classified in a bigger category by Ford. In the meantime, we now have double the amount of space for new vehicles and three times more room for used vehicles.

“Two smaller Ford dealerships close to our area of responsibility have also closed down in recent times giving as more scope for business in a broader area. Our workshop is doing very well owing to increased demand and sales.

“Stock shortages remain a problem for all dealers, and especially Ranger bakkies are in demand. We do swop vehicles within our group and also with other dealers to try and meet customer demand, but for the foreseeable future we will have to deal with the situation to best of our ability,” Jacques says.

He says like other dealers they also deliver vehicles wherever the buyers are and do a lot of business in the Cape (referring to Cape Town and surrounding suburbs). Vredenburg, which is located at the most western part of South-Africa’s west coast, is about 140 km from Cape Town.

“In Vredenburg and our surrounding towns like Saldanha, Langebaan and St Helena Bay there are a number of developments. Our customers come from a variety of industries related to the area, including the agricultural sector, steel industries, sea fishery companies and other local businesses,” Jacques tells Dealerfloor.

“Times are challenging, and I believe in excellent customer care as it generates new clients and helps us to retain our existing customer base. In this regard, one of our Sales Executives, Elmari Uys, is in the running for the top spot as one of Ford’s top salespersons for the Ranger bakkie,” Jacques concludes.