Triton brings the challenge to competitors
The bakkie war has intensified with the local launch of Mitsubishi’s next-generation Triton, an evolution in the iconic bakkie’s 46-year legacy.
- Product News
- 21 November 2024
When Devraj Nair, Sales Executive at Suzuki Durban, sold a Swift to the Govender couple in Johannesburg, he never realised it would be Suzuki’s 100,000th sale in South Africa.
Nair told Dealerfloor all Suzuki drivers are like family, but in this sale, he means it literally, as the Govenders are distant cousins. He adds the sale also shows the more things change in the world of vehicle sales, the more the importance of old fashioned relationships stays the same.
“People increasingly do their research on computers, but at the end of the day, people still buy from people they trust,” Nair said.
Titus David, Head of Customer Services and Sales at the Emond Auto Group, said the 100,000th sale also marked Suzuki’s 100th birthday and Emond Auto’s 3rd year of selling the Suzuki brand alongside its Isuzu and Subaru franchises.
He said the 100,000th Suzuki sale in SA happened between two cities – Durban and Johannesburg – which underlines Nair’s point that car sales are no longer bound by region, but by trust.
“Swift deserves this milestone”
He said the 100,000th milestone Suzuki model sold is a Swift 1.2 GLX automatic.
“Of all our models, I think the Swift deserved this milestone most, because it is also our best seller.”
David, a car enthusiast who worked his way up to sales manager after starting an entry-level job as wash bay supervisor at Emond Auto, said all the staff who made the preceding 99,999 sales at Suzuki dealerships across South Africa, deserved praise for Suzuki’s growth during 2020.
“The growth of Suzuki’s sales, even during lockdown last year, owes as much to an excellent model range as it does to dedicated sales staff. We would not have been part of this historic milestone without their efforts,” he said.
This is very much part of the young sales manager’s philosophy that earned his team national best sales awards three years in a row, as well as national best CSI awards.
“Being a good leader is all about unrelenting focus on helping others succeed,” he told Dealerfloor.
The bakkie war has intensified with the local launch of Mitsubishi’s next-generation Triton, an evolution in the iconic bakkie’s 46-year legacy.
Unlike in the past, when dealerships primarily waited for customers to come to them, we now take a more proactive approach, bringing our vehicles directly to places where people gather, allowing them to experience the product first-hand, including offering test drives,” says Gerrie van der Kaay, Dealer Principal at Supergroup Dealerships Jetour Midrand.
JAC Motors added ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) to its X200 2.8L TDI 1.5-tonne single-cab, enhancing safety for both the crew and cargo. This latest upgrade complements the ABS-equipped X200 1.3-tonne double-cab targeted at organisations with labour-intensive crews.
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A light on my car’s dashboard came on, and instead of fixing the problem, I waited for the bulb to burn out. Crisis solved.
Jarod Kintz
Unlike in the past, when dealerships primarily waited for customers to come to them, we now take a more proactive approach, bringing our vehicles directly to places where people gather, allowing them to experience the product first-hand, including offering test drives,” says Gerrie van der Kaay, Dealer Principal at Supergroup Dealerships Jetour Midrand.
One of the latest Chinese automotive brands to establish itself in South Africa, GAC Motor, is benefitting from the expertise of well-known motor groups in the country, like the BB Motor Group.
Stellantis has announced the expansion of its multi-franchise dealer network with the addition of the Fiat and Jeep brands to the existing Westvaal Motor Group dealership in Klerksdorp in North West Province.