Many dealerships pride themselves on their customer care as a cornerstone of their businesses. Saying and living it, however, are two different things.
Kia Paarl is living proof of the latter with individual and fleet customers walking the road together with this dealership, in many instances for more than 20 years.
And the feather in Kia Paarl’s cap is a top award the dealership just scooped up at the annual Kia Dealer Conference, were it won the prestigious Dealer of the Year award in its category.
As such, the Benba Motor Group’s Kia dealership in Paarl in the Western Cape is a force to be reckoned with. Not only is it known for great staff retention with a very low personnel turnover but repeat customers are the foundation of its business success.
“Kia Paarl has been part of the Benba Motor Group for close on six years, which also owns the Mahindra dealership in Goodwood. It has been known for its excellent service as a caravan and used car dealership for nearly three decades as well as other new car brands in the Western Cape,” says Dale Kushner, co-owner and a director of the Benba Motor Group.
“The previously family-owned business became part of our group’s portfolio, and we continue to expand the high standard and good reputation the dealership built up over many years,” Dale tells Dealerfloor. “The Benba Motor Group also had brands like Geely, Proton, Daihatsu and Daewoo over the years until many of them left the country.
“We recently put the final touches on the new CI specification for the brand, and we are probably the first Kia dealership to have done the complete A to Z changes required by the manufacturer. We offer a first-class experience across the board, with our speciality the relationship we build up with the people we do business with – our customers.
“It is also the reason why many people from elsewhere in the region make use of our service department as the quality of our workmanship is widely known. To ensure this level of service that we provide, our staff must be happy, well trained and committed,” he says.
Asked about the year ahead, Dale says the onslaught is tough with more and more new brands entering the South African automotive landscape but that they have plans to maintain and regain some lost market share.
“We do not sell from a price perspective alone. Kia offers a quality value proposition. We will introduce more models this year thereby getting the attention of price-sensitive buyers without compromising on the quality and back-up experience we have become known for,” Dale tells Dealerfloor.
He says when it comes to the high-end models, buyers still favour brands with ‘badges on the bonnet’, while in overseas markets, Kia is fully accepted in this league as being on par with anyone else. “We see it with overseas visitors and tourists who prefer our high-end models like the Carnival and Sorento because they know the products well.
“At Kia Paarl, we have a good spread of customers across our range offerings, including our commercial vehicles. Currently, the expansion of the Sonet SUV/crossover range to make it more affordable, is paying good dividends, and we will have similar additions in other ranges soon,” according to Dale.
For the time being, Dale says they are focusing on what they are good at - looking after customers’ needs as this is the pathway to their dealership’s success.
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