Hino Kuilsrivier, part of the Barloworld Group, has enlarged and upgraded its premises in the Western Cape at a cost of more than R23-million. This is in line with Hino South Africa’s total support strategy to provide even better customer satisfaction in a highly competitive market. It is now a flagship facility located in a strategically important industrial area.
Speaking at the recent official opening of the dealership, Ernie Trautmann, the Vice President of Hino South Africa, said this big investment was yet another vote of trust and confidence in the Hino brand from one of the largest retail motor groups in the country.
“The improvement of existing dealerships is an important component in our Vision 2020 where the objective is to make Hino the top-selling truck brand in South Africa after 2020,” explained Trautmann. “We have very few open areas so the focus is on expanding and upgrading existing facilities where necessary.”
“We will enhance our product range significantly over the next four years and are continually working on lowering the cost of ownership for operators of Hino trucks. We have restructured our head office staff to support this aim and the latest development is a two-year warranty on service and maintenance parts fitted by a Hino dealer.”
Major focus has been instilled on improving service and parts operations; with the new facility incorporating nine work bays as opposed to the previous three, with two making use of pits. Moreover, there is a dedicated diagnostics bay, in addition to an engine repair bay and roller testers for vehicle brake services.
A large parts department has been incorporated in the upgrade and it now serves as a distribution centre for other Barloworld dealers.
Servicing hours have been extended and there is night servicing on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Average daily throughput is 15 units, going up to 24-plus with night servicing and the plan is to increase these numbers with additional facilities and servicing equipment. There is a 24-hour standby service.
Hino Kuilsrivier also operates a mobile service van which travels as far from base as Clanwiliam and Bredasdorp. In addition, there are several off-site service operations for big fleet customers, including Shoprite and G4S where servicing and vehicle checks start from 06h00.
