From Agridealer to commercial truck dealership business: Bethlehem

Naudé Visser and his team in Bethlehem were never meant to be in the commercial vehicle game. Their roots lay deep in the agricultural sector, selling tractors and planters in Bethlehem, Free State. But when they took over a dormant Tata truck dealership, the opportunity to diversify became a turning point.

For seven years, the truck side of the business lingered in the shadows, underinvested, under-resourced and underperforming. It wasn’t until a visit from Tata leadership and a renewed partnership conversation that Naudé valued and decided to commit.

Tata Africa didn’t just sell them product; it co-developed a strategy. Naudé and team travelled to Tata HQ to prepare a joint plan and to undergo product orientation, training, thereby rebuilding belief in the brand. Six months later, and Naudé had sold more trucks than the dealership had in the previous seven years combined.

A culture of expertise: Bloemfontein:

In Bloemfontein, Trans-Scott Trucks’ dealership built something rare: South Africa’s top-performing Tata spare parts operation in 2024. This achievement wasn’t about scale or flashy infrastructure, it was about cultivating deep product knowledge, internal mentorship, strong customer-connect and a business culture that champions excellence.

The heartbeat of this operation is JJ, a young man who joined straight out of school and was trained by a retired OEM veteran. Through years of guided development, JJ became a parts expert trusted by clients from all over the country.

Behind the scenes, Dealer Principal and Owner, Kevin Scott, created a workplace where staff were empowered to grow and where he, as a leader, asked them how he could do better.

This is what business development looks like when a people-first philosophy is applied: grooming talent, supporting mentorship and enabling internal capacity to meet national demand.

Beating the price wars: Commercial Motors Botswana:

Operating in Botswana’s hyper-competitive market, flooded with grey imports, Commercial Motors had to do more than simply sell vehicles. They had to build a business model that would survive and thrive on value-added service.

Akhtar Nanuck’s team at Commercial Motors turned to hyper-local strategies: tailored pricing, niche segment targeting and a relentless focus on after-sales support. With limited access to the tools and infrastructure enjoyed by larger markets, they instead invested in customer relationships.

Today, 70% of their business is referral-driven, proof that by word of mouth and trust can be more powerful than price.

Scaling up strategically: TATA Durban and the Ultra Series:

For Shelendra Dwarika and his team at Tata Durban, the launch of the Ultra Heavy Series wasn’t just a new product offering. It was a platform to reimagine their business model.

Through more than 30 live demos, product displays at high-footfall events, and one-on-one engagements with fleet managers, Shelendra turned awareness into conversion. This strategic roll-out not only drove up visibility but led to entry into new customer segments. Within a year, the Ultra made up 30% of their sales.

What began as a dealership became a regional brand ambassador. That’s business development through market education, smart outreach and product alignment.

What these stories tell us:

Tata states that each of these dealer journeys, Bethlehem, Bloemfontein, Botswana, Durban, proves that developing local businesses isn’t about handouts. It’s about partnership. It’s about enabling access: to training, to belief, to better margins, to targeted finance, to strategy. The unique value preposition Tata Africa SA’s team brings is creating value through strong participation through business partners /dealerships, which, in turn, participate in economic development.

It becomes clear that when a rural dealership is empowered to expand, when a young school-leaver is mentored into a technical expert, or when a small business is equipped to stand firm against a flood of grey imports, it isn’t just about sales performance or market share - it’s about shifting the very structure of opportunity in Africa.