
Changan opens parts warehouse in JHB
Changan South Africa has officially opened its parts warehouse, a major step forward in building local trust.
- Industry News
- 10 October 2025
Parts obsolescence has been a subject that has plagued both dealers and OEMs since time immemorial. Unfortunately, it is still very evident today, despite most DMS systems providing processes and reports to manage it.
With the plethora of makes, models, specification variants and combinations, there are many more parts lines now than there have ever been. In the past, one engine could work for multiple models in the line-up but now each model can have multiple different engines depending on the specific spec of that particular vehicle within the model.
Added to this, there are so many models in SA where sales are single figures per model per month, so that it is difficult to know what to stock. Normal fast or medium movers for a volume model could well be obsolete for a model with lower volumes.
Most (95%+) of obsolescence DOES NOT come from stock orders (assuming that your stock orders are for parts that have the required movement to be stocked). Parts obsolescence should also not only be determined by the age of the part – often the day you buy the wrong part, but it is also obsolete.
Obsolete parts come from:
It is essential that dealership management ensures that these areas are reviewed regularly (some daily, some weekly) and that corrective action is taken immediately.
How much is acceptable obsolescence? Obsolescence that results from bona fide business risk is what I view as acceptable. If you decide to stock a slow-moving part in case an important customer needs it or you issue a credit on a slow-moving part because it is an important customer, or if it is totally out of your control – that is an example of a strategic or acceptable obsolescence.
Where obsolescence is as a result of poor business practices, unskilled staff carelessness and poor discipline, then I would say that anything you write off is unacceptable.
Take care.
Donald
As the dawn of Transport Month shifts South Africa’s focus onto the role of transport in the country’s development, the National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA) is urging South African car buyers to leverage the expertise of the Finance and Insurance (F&I) Business Manager at dealerships.
BNA Motors in Cape Town is celebrating its tenth birthday this year with five separate dealerships in Goodwood and Parow and some major expansion plans for the near future.
Nissan Africa’s best dealers from across sub-Saharan Africa are Anciens Comptoirs Ries of Djibouti in the Small National Sales Company of the Year category, Motus Zambia as the best Medium National Sales Company of the Year and Japan Motors in Ghana as the best Large National Sales Company of the Year.