“We have a difficult couple of months behind us on top of a challenging last two years. The flooding of Toyota’s plant in Durban was completely unexpected. It robbed us of many sales and opportunities that affected not only us, but also prospective clients,” says Albert Adams, Dealer Principal of Bidvest McCarthy Toyota Midrand.

“We are grateful that production has resumed, especially since the production stoppage at Prospecton affected our most popular models.

“It is definitely going to take time to get rid of the backlog, but the process has started, and Toyota has been a phenomenal manufacturer if you look at how it handled the disaster.”

Asked about what the impact of this meant for a huge operation like theirs, Albert says it forced them to adapt to a new way of doing business.

“Although our best sellers were basically taken out of the equation for a period, we could adapt with a renewed focus and drive on our imported ranges as well as our used vehicles.

“Our imported vehicles have a lot to offer, and ranges like the Urban Cruiser are one of Toyota’s best sellers. Our location and customers are from a broad-based spectrum with different needs that work to our advantage.”

Albert started his career with another manufacturer during the late nineties before moving to the Toyota side of Bidvest’s Automotive division. Here he worked his way up in different positions at various Toyota dealerships, which included the opening of a Lexus branch to dealer principal at Toyota in Sinoville. For the last 8 years, he is the DP of the mega Toyota dealership in Midrand.

Talking about mega, the dealership won the Mega Category in last year’s Absa Golden Partner Awards. It has previously outperformed many other dealerships with the number of nominations received, and it has won different accolades from Sewells. Within Bidvest, it is the most profitable Toyota dealer.

“We have a large staff complement, with around 80 people working here. If all are not on board with our goals and our mission, we cannot reach our targets. We have an excellent team. I believe in managing my managers who, in turn, manage their teams. I do not believe in watching over each one’s shoulder. Each one has his or her responsibilities,” Albert tells Dealerfloor.

Albert says that although they are in an urban environment, playing a role in their immediate area of responsibility is of huge importance to them. “We must give back and help where there’s a need. Our involvement is on many different levels in our community.

We are part of this community, but it does not prevent us from doing business in the larger region around us or with customers anywhere who prefer our service and value their relationship with us.”

Albert concludes that it is import for us to make sure our lives touch someone else’s life. “Only then can we make a difference, not only in business but also in our country, which has such big potential.”