What SA can learn from Canada’s road safety success
While the US battles soaring road deaths, Canada achieved an 18% decline through comprehensive safety policies. Could South Africa replicate this success?
- Industry News
- 5 August 2025
Key Group Pietermaritzburg entered the Isuzu Summer Promotion with the aim to win.
Tim Hendon, Marketing Manager at Isuzu SA, told Dealerfloor all Isuzu Dealers have been challenged to create a showroom display using all manner of “summer props”.
“It’s all part of the awesome spirit that exists among the Number 1-rated sales force in the industry,” he said.
Key Group Pietermaritzburg sells Isuzu vehicles and trucks, Opel and, more recently, Peugeot and Citroën.
Dealer Principal Mark Hall said sales for Opel and Peugeot were still slow, but the Isuzu side of the business is humming along.
The dealership’s large service area also still services Chevrolet vehicles that the company sold until Chev closed shop in South Africa in 2017, with clients’ Trailblazers and Cruze models parked among fire-fighting trucks for Sappi and water tankers for municipalities.
Mark told Dealerfloor his team aims to have the best showroom challenge among Isuzu’s 80 dealers in South Africa. To this end, he contracted Dave Moore of Classic Plants Nursery in KZN’s capital to build a mini beach on the dealer floor, complete with fishing gear, tanning lotion and the dealer’s mascot, a large soft toy ‘wild dog’.
“The challenge requires us to use summer props and what is more ‘summer’ than a dog running on the beach?” Mark asked.
While the US battles soaring road deaths, Canada achieved an 18% decline through comprehensive safety policies. Could South Africa replicate this success?
South Africa's premium automotive sector has experienced unprecedented consolidation over the last two years, with multiple luxury brands restructuring their dealership networks in response to declining sales, economic pressures, and shifting consumer preferences.
Almost every dealership has them – listings that sit quietly in the background, gathering cobwebs. Despite looking good on paper, some used vehicles attract minimal buyer attention and quietly chip away potential revenue. But what if those slow movers weren’t dead ends, but missed opportunities waiting for the right tweak?
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You can't buy happiness but you can buy cars and that's kind of the same thing.
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Almost every dealership has them – listings that sit quietly in the background, gathering cobwebs. Despite looking good on paper, some used vehicles attract minimal buyer attention and quietly chip away potential revenue. But what if those slow movers weren’t dead ends, but missed opportunities waiting for the right tweak?
A renewed focus on customer care and the well-being of the employees, is high on the agenda of Jaco du Preez, newly appointed General Manager at Waterberg Toyota in Limpopo.
Isuzu Motors South Africa recently held its annual Dealer of the Year awards showcasing the good results of its dealer network throughout Southern Africa this past year.