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
Zane Crawford with the Africa Twin, the adventure bike he prefers to sell.
The first thing overseas entrants in the Roof of Africa race discover is that South Africans don’t ride bikes. They are told: “In S’afrika, we raad barks, bru.”
And it turns out “raading a bark” in sunny South Africa is also an excellent way to keep the Sars-Cov2 virus at bay. In April 2020, COVID-19 researchers at three universities in the U.S. — California, Davis and Oregon — found lots of air flow and sunlight help to dilute the viral load in a room.
At Honda Wing in Pietermaritzburg, Zane Crawford points out that light does not get more natural, or the air more flowing, than when riding a motorbike with an open face helmet. You don’t even need to ride as fast as South Africa’s first MotoGP winner, Brad Binder. Cruising slowly while admiring the scenery will disperse air-borne viruses as efficiently.
Crawford told Dealerfloor he loves nothing better than to arrange such slow cruises to market new Honda motorbikes to clients. He explains he sells bikes to three different types of riders — those who just want working wheels like a delivery scooter or a farm bike; those who want superbikes that go very fast; and the mid-range or lifestyle bikes.
“The best way to sell lifestyle bikes is through experiential marketing, or as they say in the Cowboy movies: We ride.”
This approach works, as Crawford was one of Honda’s award-winning sales executives for 2018-2019. Crawford said mid-range adventure bikes are increasingly popular, and he hopes local demand will be sufficient to homologate the new 2020 year-model CRF 450R, which looks to be even better than the legendary 2008 model. But if the CRF 450 doesn’t pan out for South Africa’s tiny market, there is always its bigger boet — the CRF 1000 cc Africa Twin.
Crawford said from his perspective as a “bark seller” there is only one problem with selling Honda motorbikes. “Chris Scott, author of the Adventure Motorcycling Handbook summed it up best when he wrote the Africa Twin is the adventure bike chosen for its “mind numbing reliability”. This applies to all our models. Unless you go drop your bike hard every weekend, we don’t get to charge you for constant repairs. You buy a Honda, you buy pure reliability and we only see you on rides, or for services,” says Crawford.
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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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.
One of the latest Chinese automotive brands to establish itself in South Africa, GAC Motor, is benefitting from the expertise of well-known motor groups in the country, like the BB Motor Group.
Stellantis has announced the expansion of its multi-franchise dealer network with the addition of the Fiat and Jeep brands to the existing Westvaal Motor Group dealership in Klerksdorp in North West Province.