Business in Potchefstroom has slowed down under current COVID-19 restrictions in 2020, with the impact of COVID-19 rippling from the town’s university to smaller businesses across town.
Dealerfloor checked in with the Eastvaal Motor Group, which owns Eastvaal Toyota Potchefstroom to get a reading on business in town.
Eastvaal Toyota Potchefstroom has been part of Eastvaal for the last 12 years and has been awarded the title as Dealer of the Year twice. It includes a full-service Hino division. Pine Maritz has been at the helm for the past six years.
Dealerfloor asked Pine about doing business in Potch and the seasonality of sales in this student town.
“It is not so much the students who are our primary customers, but people and businesses that originated in the town because of the university. The university creates a lot of secondary businesses and fuels growth for the whole town and surrounding communities.
“With the arrival of COVID-19 and the lockdown it is those businesses that are linked to the education system that are suffering the most, even today. It has a negative effect on all businesses, including the retailing of new vehicles. The likes of contractors and sub-contractors are hit the hardest and are an important part of our business,” says Pine.
“We are, however, thankful that the drawn-out drought in the area has been broken with good rainfall for the last two seasons. The farming community is an important part of our business and as such we are thankful for the recovery of this sector.”
Pine says at this moment the availability of stock and parts is a source of frustration, but with strict lockdown restrictions still in place in several countries, it is understandable that the supply chain will be interrupted.
“Competition is stiff, even from our own brand, which is represented in most of our neighbouring towns. Nevertheless, we managed to keep our heads up and still provide an excellent service and a good spread of products. We had our best month ever in November last year. We accept it was a spillover of buying customers since the more serious lockdown periods, but we are proud of this achievement.”
Pine has been with Toyota for most of his life.
“I started my career as a trainee at Oranje Toyota in Bloemfontein, worked there in different capacities before moving to Rustenburg. In Rustenburg, I also qualified as a Toyota Knight in various positions with the manufacturer. It is a title received when a certain number of criteria have been reached and it is a huge honour, but you must maintain it to keep the title.
“I am currently the chairperson of the North West Dealer Council for Toyota, representing eight dealerships in the province, and I facilitate interactions with the manufacturer on behalf of the dealerships,” says Pine.
In his spare time, Pine enjoys golf, hunting, deep sea fishing and the outdoors in general.
Following the introduction of the C5 Luxury X and Elegance X trims earlier this year, OMODA & JAECOO South Africa are now enhancing the Style and Street derivatives with a series of upgrades.
Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) is introducing Hilux Custom Builds, a fully integrated conversion programme that adds professionally engineered, purpose-built solutions directly to the Toyota product offering.
BYD, China’s leading electric vehicle manufacturer, is preparing for a major international push, aiming to sell as many as 1.6 million cars outside its home market next year.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives.
Daniel Pink
FAW Trucks Southern Africa marked a significant milestone with the official opening of its new Cape Town branch at 28 Karee Street, Kraaifontein Industria.
With year-to-date passenger car sales continuing to show great strength, the National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA) is emphasising the importance of understanding the different vehicle finance options available to ensure buyers make the right decision that suits their bespoke needs.
RDM Logistics, a family-owned South African cross-border transport company, took delivery of its 100th truck from New Vaal Motors Commercial Vehicles, marking a significant achievement in its growth journey.
