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
Building on 30 years of success with Algoa Nissan, the owners of this family business in Humansdorp, decided to take another brand on board and expand its product offering in this part of the Eastern Cape.
Pierre du Plessis, one of the directors and Dealer Principal, says they are in the final stages of converting the current dealership into a multi-franchise set-up with Mahindra coming on board.
“We are proud to add Mahindra and are overwhelmed by the response so far. We were fortunate that the premises that accommodate Algoa Nissan, just off the N2 when entering Humansdorp, has more than enough space available for our new Mahindra dealership.
“With a market share for Nissan well above the national average in our region, I am confident that we can play a vital role to take Mahindra to new heights in this part of the country,” Pierre tells Dealerfloor. The dealerships will be known as Algoa Nissan Humansdorp and Algoa Mahindra Humansdorp under the banner of the Algoa Motor Group, owned and run by Pierre and his wife, Simóne.
Looking at the achievements of this family business over the last three decades, it will come as no surprise when this goal is achieved with Mahindra as well. They have been the overall Nissan Dealer of the Year on two occasions and Dealer of the Year in the category for small dealerships five times since 2015. And to these achievements one can add other top awards for Customer Satisfaction, Sales and Service.
“We are in a region where agriculture and related industries are the vital economic drivers. We are the business hub and as such the addition of Mahindra will definitely play a major role in expanding our operation here.
“With Nissan’s more premium product range and Mahindra’s value proposition, we can cover a lot of ground. The two brands and what they offer, will certainly complement each other. Both brands have strong commercial and passenger ranges, which appeal to different buyers in terms of price, market positioning and popularity.
Regarding the revamping of the dealership, Pierre says they split the showroom floor in two and also have separate areas for Nissan and Mahindra in the workshop. Other backroom functions are shared in a typical multi-franchise manner with efficiency and cost savings the main aim.
The dealership is basically also off the grid using solar power and with access to captured rainwater and a borehole, Pierre tells us. “This was all done with the drought conditions that prevailed for many years in the Eastern Cape and with national load-shedding in mind.”
And the way forward? “Like I mentioned, we would like to build and shine with Mahindra in this part of the Eastern Cape as we have done with Nissan for the last 30 years. It takes dedication, commitment, well-trained staff and customer care as the main focus,” Pierre concludes.
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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.
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