The NTT Group has recently shown its intent to become a dominant force in northern KwaZulu-Natal, adding several new brands and making leadership changes at its two dealerships in Newcastle.
The two dealerships are NTT Motor Group Newcastle and NTT Isuzu Newcastle. NTT Motor Group Newcastle started out around a decade ago as a Nissan dealership. Jeep, Opel, Alfa, Fiat, Peugeot, Leapmotor and Citroën have since been added, and they share the same building as Nissan but with separate showroom floors.
On the same premises is NTT Isuzu Newcastle, a separate dealership only a few years younger than the Nissan dealership, now known as NTT Motor Group Newcastle, to include all the new brands.
In terms of the leadership structure, David Heennop, previously the dealer principal on the NTT Nissan side, now takes charge at the Isuzu dealership, which includes light and heavy commercial vehicles, he tells Dealerfloor.
At the NTT Motor Group Newcastle dealership, the new addition is Nathan Foxcroft, who brings experience across various dealership departments, but more importantly his most recent nineteen-year stint in vehicle financing at one of the major banks.
David started his automotive career after a fifteen-year career in the South African Defence Force at an Isuzu dealership in Bloemfontein, then part of the Imperial Group, before joining NTT in Newcastle about three years ago.
"I started my career in the motor retail side of the business at an Isuzu dealership and are now reunited with the brand again. It is and excellent brand that I know well, and I look forward to taking it to new heights," David tells us.
"Our aim at both dealerships is to expand our business through the use of technology, taking the best care possible of our staff component and delivering world class customer service. We will enforce the NTT's solid reputation through these methods and through the disciplined and ethical way that is part of NTT's mantra," he says.
Nathan says he looks forward to giving the new product portfolio a solid footing in the area, and that on the Nissan side the arrival of new products will also boost the legacy brand. "Although our focus is on Newcastle self, surrounding towns like Volksrust and Utrecht and the large agricultural areas fit right into our scope."
Both David and Nathan tell Dealerfloor that although the closure of the Mittal Steel factory in the town was a negative development, Newcastle is still developing. "We see new constructions; the factory is being refurbished for another industry and there is mining activities in the surrounding regions that boast well for business. The agricultural and smaller industries and the possibilities of larger developments area positive aspect that we embrace," David says.
Nathan concurred and said "there is still a lot of opportunities and progress that overshadow the negative influence of the closing of the Mittal Steel factory. We are positive and our expansion is only one of the indicators of this area's potential."
David concludes by saying that Newcastle is a hub for surrounding towns and communities from far and wide, and that NTT would become an even bigger force to be reckoned with in the automotive sphere in the area.
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