Finding the perfect spot was difficult, but I believe our new dealership’s unique location will greatly benefit our customers and give us more than enough room to manoeuvre.
So says Wynand Hugo, Dealer Principal and co-owner of Malmesbury Suzuki, which has just opened its doors in this Swartland town in the Western Cape.
“Business properties fit for a new vehicle dealership are limited in Malmesbury, but we found an old factory right next to the N7 main road that suits our needs perfectly. It might not be in the centre of town like other dealerships, but its location close to the N7 makes it highly visible and accessible.
“Our official grand opening will be soon, but we already have close to a month’s sales behind us. We are extremely happy with the acceptance of the brand in this part of the world. Malmesbury Suzuki will cover the Swartland region, which includes a number of surrounding smaller towns,” Wynand tells Dealerfloor.
Malmesbury Suzuki is part of the Hugo & Hugo holding company operated by Wynand and his brother Ernest, who is the DP at their award-winning Suzuki dealership in Vredenburg up the west coast. Suzuki Vredenburg won the Rural Dealer of The Year award last year from Suzuki.
The car business is in the brothers’ blood with their father and grandfather opening a Toyota dealership back in 1974 in Vredenburg. Before opening the new Suzuki dealership in Malmesbury, Wynand was the Sales Manager at Suzuki Vredenburg.
Asked if being DP is a challenge, Wynand says that at Vredenburg he also shared a lot of the responsibilities in the running of the business with his brother. We are close and speak regularly to one another, which might increase now with the new business close to 100 kilometres away from home.
“I travel between Vredenburg and Malmesbury every day. Two of our staff members relocated to Malmesbury with the rest of the workforce for the new dealership coming from the local community,” Wynand tells us.
“As mentioned before, our products and the new dealership have been popular in Malmesbury from the outset. Our used cars section is fully functional with trade-ins and some stock we brought from Vredenburg.
The fact that we have two dealerships also assist us to provide more options with more stock, both new and used, that we can swop between us to assist customers. Our product range is value for money second to none,” says Wynand.
The highly anticipated F&I Industry Awards 2024, which were held recently, showcased the pinnacle of excellence and innovation in the automotive financial and insurance sector.
In a groundbreaking move towards offering a comprehensive, one-stop integrated service to its customers, Absa has introduced an integrated Finance & Insurance solution for dealer partners across South Africa. This innovative initiative marks a significant step towards enhancing customer experience and streamlining financial services.
The three-point seatbelt stands out as one of the most important innovations in automotive safety. Invented by Volvo in 1959, the Swedish automaker chose to share this life-saving device with the world instead of patenting it. As a result, the three-point seatbelt is estimated to have saved over one million lives since its introduction.
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I have bad reflexes. I was once run over by a car being pushed by two guys
Woody Allen
The Nissan Magnite seems to have captured the imagination of traditional as well as new buyers of the brand. With an updated Magnite recently launched and arriving at dealerships currently, there is good interest from prospective buyers of small Crossovers with a strong SUV character.
As 2024 draws to a close, I think it is pertinent to look back at some of the articles that I have written this year. I always try to concentrate on the basics and very often they are the areas of a dealership that need continuous and regular focus.
"Let the product speak for itself," says William Roberts (main photo), Dealer Principal at Supergroup Dealerships’ Foton branch in Springs, discussing the arrival of the new Chinese brand expanding across South Africa.
