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
Suzuki Auto South Africa has started its new financial year, and the second quarter of the calendar year, with a bang.
Not only does its sales success continue and it’s occupying the number two spot on the local sales charts, but it received a number of top awards at the recently held international sales conference in Dubai.
The group and its dealers delivered 4 891 vehicles to South African customers for a 35% increase in its sales performance compared to April last year. While this is not a new sales record, it was enough to catapult Suzuki into second place in the overall vehicle rankings in April.
“New vehicle sales remain under pressure,” says Henno Havenga, General Manager for Sales and Marketing at Suzuki Auto South Africa. “Customers are definitely feeling the squeeze of high interest rates, high fuel prices and the rising cost of living, and they are holding back on buying durable goods like cars and pickups.”
According to naamsa, the total sales in April increased by 2.2% compared to the same month last year. A total of 38 172 vehicles were sold in April, with the passenger vehicle segment accounting for the lion’s share at 25 972 vehicles.
Despite the increase in April, the cumulative sales for the year-to-date are still lagging behind the figures for 2023. For the four months to end-April the industry sold 168 970 vehicles, compared to 175 928 vehicles for the same period last year.
Suzuki Auto South Africa’s consistently strong sales performance was the talk of the town in the recent Suzuki Distributor Conference held in Dubai last week.
The local affiliate of the global Suzuki group received at least six awards at the conference, with five of them as the overall winner in its category.
The awards included the Highest Aftersales Network Expansion in the last fiscal year, the Highest Volume sales in Africa, the Best SUV Launch for the launch of the Jimny, Fronx and Grand Vitara, the Highest Sales Network Expansion and the Best Suzuki Quality System Implementation. It was also the runner up in the category for the best sales of parts and accessories in the past financial year.
“With our product line-up now well established, we will spend most of our effort on further improving on this value offering and on growing our footprint, which now stands at 105 dealers across South Africa,” says Henno.
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.
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.
JAC Motors added ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) to its X200 2.8L TDI 1.5-tonne single-cab, enhancing safety for both the crew and cargo. This latest upgrade complements the ABS-equipped X200 1.3-tonne double-cab targeted at organisations with labour-intensive crews.
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