The busy Hino dealership in Pietermaritzburg saw off stiff competition from Unitrans Volkswagen Commercial in Alberton and Hino Pinetown to remain the MSX NADA Business of the Year in 2020.
Director of the National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA), Gary McCraw, complimented the dealership for winning the award for the third year in a row against some 60 other commercial vehicle dealerships.
Asked what his secret sauce is, dealer principal, Pretesh Singh, said he is privileged to have a management team that literally grew up in the business, rising to managers after starting at the bottom. Over the years, this team became good friends and developed a deep understanding of the business, all of which has helped to make their Friday meetings with the sales staff very productive.
The business has a lean staff of 22 people, many of whom have also been with the dealership, a member of the Bidvest McCarthy Group, for a decade or more. Singh said he is grateful for the staff continuity, which is rare in the motor trade and which has enabled the dealership to render consistent, high levels of service to all clients, regardless of whether they own one truck or a fleet of vehicles, and this has, in turn, led to some customers being with the dealership for over 20 years.
Singh himself started at Hino Pietermaritzburg as a costing clerk over a decade ago. He was a service manager for six years before being appointed dealer principal in August 2017.
He credits the training and support given by the Bidvest McCarthy Group, alongside Hino South Africa’s dealer management and development programmes, for enabling him and his staff.
Hino Pietermaritzburg has four double service bays and also offers tyre fitment with wheel alignment and balancing, as well as the regassing of air conditioning systems. Customers, who include G4S’ Cash in Transit division, make full use of after-hours servicing and a mobile service unit.
The dealership is one of a few “green businesses” in KwaZulu-Natal’s capital that has installed large water tanks to capture rain water, which is used to reduce the use of potable water on site.
The latest Hino 700 launched in South Africa, is already carving a niche for itself in the local market. One of the operations where the latest Hino is shining is in transporting cattle in Namibia.
China updated its national standard on child safety restraints in vehicles, including laws regarding car seats. Both in China and globally, car crashes are a leading cause of death for those between five and 29 years of age. Safety restraints can reduce deaths among infants by up to 71%.
When the first motorised vehicle, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen arrived in 1885, people in general did not take it too seriously. It was not considered as an alternative to the trusted horse, horse cart or family-size horse carriage.
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