
Asian brands, EVs dominate 2025 Best Buy Awards
The 2025 Best By Awards, announced by Kelley Blue Book, reflect the rapidly shifting landscape of the automotive market not only in the USA, but also elsewhere.
- Industry News
- 17 April 2025
The Rola Volvo franchise in Helderberg has implemented its global parent company’s practice of assigning every Volvo owner his or her own Personal Service Technician (PST).
The PST programme combines the roles of service advisor and technician, giving all customers a single name and number to contact with regard to their vehicles’ services.
Says Rola Volvo brand manager, Ryan Chapman: “The cornerstone of this human-centric approach is customers’ very own Personal Service Technician, who’ll take care of everything to do with their car – from booking appointments to carrying out the service.
“And, as customers will deal with the same technician each time, they get to know the technician as well as they know their car. So, no misunderstandings.”
In Somerset West, the PST service has been combined with Volvo’s quick turnaround services. This means a customer can book his/her car, enjoy a coffee and free Wi-Fi and have it returned and ready in as little as an hour.
Two of the secrets behind this service is the way that service personnel work in teams, with different members responsible for different parts of the vehicle service. Rola Volvo also staggers service bookings to allow for PSTs to carry out each client’s welcome and final vehicle delivery, while giving clients an opportunity to fit their service into their busy schedule.
Chapman says before COVID-19, clients were invited to walk around in the workshop as part of the commitment to transparency, open communication and building lasting relationships with your PST.
“The technicians needed a bit of training in the beginning and have to be accredited each year, so it takes a lot of effort from our side. Rola Volvo has been doing it for around five years and the system works really well.”
Rola Volvo was crowned Dealer of the Year in 2018 and has been in the top three recently for both sales and – more importantly – after-sales.
In the face of a shifting premium automotive market, Audi South Africa is also currently re-aligning its retail operations according to the new reality where the premium vehicle sector has contracted to nearly a third of its size compared to a decade ago, with 2024 marking the lowest level yet.
The Halfway Group has opened the doors to a brand-new Lexus dealership, located in Lynnwood, Pretoria, with Chris Jones as the Dealer Principal.
Stellantis has announced the expansion of its multi-franchise dealer network with the addition of the Fiat and Jeep brands to the existing CMH East Rand dealership in Boksburg, Gauteng.