Today he is in charge at his Mahindra Goodwood dealership as the Dealer Principal, one of the oldest Mahindra dealerships in the Western Cape, which has been going strong for the last 11 years while his business partner, Dale Kushner, looks after the Group’s Kia dealership in Paarl.

The Benba Motor Group, with a rich history stretching back more than 30 years, gave a young Heinie the opportunity back then through one of its original owners. He was invited to join the group after completing his schooling. The group was involved at the school and one of the owners was also his Sunday School teacher.

Heinie joined them 26 years ago, skilled himself in all the aspects of the business and over time bought shares in the company. Today he is one of the owners and thankful for the opportunity given to him and most of all, seizing it with both hands.

“Benba Motors today consists of the Mahindra dealership here in Goodwood’s “Motor City” area with a large used car division under the Benba Motors banner and a BP forecourt while the Kia dealership in Paarl also has a used car division and an Engen forecourt,” Heinie tells Dealerfloor.

“Over the years we – Benba Motors – held the franchise for many brands like Renault, Daihatsu, Daewoo, Proton and Geely. Unfortunately, most of them at some stage or other left the country. We are, however, very happy with our existing brands, Mahindra here and Kia in Paarl. These are two top class brands,” he tells us.

Heinie says running a single brand is a huge challenge today, but their used car divisions and forecourts all contribute to the business’s overall success. “We are open to look at expanding our dealer network with a multi-franchise set-up. With more brands entering the country, we always keep our eyes peeled but we’re focusing our energy on what we currently have,” Heinie tells Dealerfloor.

About their success at Mahindra Goodwood, Heinie says the area where they attract most of their customers from, have a large number of small entrepreneurs with the Mahindra Pik-up bakkie immensely popular with this clientele.

“Our small SUVs and Crossovers have also proved to be popular with a big demand for the newly launched Mahindra XUV 3XO. I would like to see our Scorpio N and XUV700 in more customers’ garages, so we are working on it. These are vehicles that the customers have to experience to appreciate,” he says.

When asked about the current difficulties faced by the vehicle retail sector in terms of sales, Heinie says factors that could boost the economy, like the government of national unity, interest-rate cuts and drastic decreases in the fuel price over the last couple of months are slowly but surely filtering through to potential buyers.

“I can see that we have an uptake in enquiries and people showing interest in new vehicles, which are positive indicators. Yes, more interest rate cuts could help a lot, but nevertheless we are making the most of what we have.”

Heinie also tells us that although their dealership might not be one of the biggest, his core team has been part of the business for many years, which ensures stability and is essential for the good service for which they are known. “They also have a professional approach and wear uniforms so customers can recognise all our staff members.

“I believe in a hands-on approach in the way I manage the business, and I know most of our customers by name. My staff also value their relationship with our customers, and that is the essence of delivering good service, something that we are also recognised for by the Mahindra Group,” Heinie concludes.