Honda opens stylish new car dealership in Kenya

Honda Motor Southern Africa (HSAF) has confirmed its expansion into sub-Saharan Africa with the official opening of a brand new Honda automotive facility in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

The new dealership is located in a dedicated facility on Mombasa Road which underwent a comprehensive upgrade to meet Honda’s stringent standards.

Opening the facility this week, Honda’s Chief Operating Officer for Europe, the Middle and Near East, and Africa, Manabu Nishimae, said emerging economies such as Africa, China, India and the Middle East had become the driving force of the world economy.

Honda opened a regional East African office in Kenya in August 2011 to better understand local customer needs and identify the right partners to serve the Kenyan market. 

Nishimae added that Honda has established research and development facilities worldwide to ensure its products meet the needs and requirements of its customers in both emerging and developed markets.

“As a result, we were able to deliver 15.4-million motorcycles, 6.1-million power products and 3.8-million automobiles to more than 25 million Honda customers worldwide. By expanding its reach into markets like this one, we hope to increase that count to 39 million customers by 2016.”

The dealership is being operated by TransAfrica Motors (TAM), a Dubai-based industrial conglomerate with a wide range of interests, including four commercial vehicle dealerships in Kenya. TAM will run the Honda dealership as a separate division within the company.

“This new dealership has the infrastructure and the trained staff to provide the ownership experience Honda customers have come to expect around the world,” Nishimae added.

“We will provide wide-ranging support for the new venture as far as product and parts supply, parts training, and operating systems are concerned. This will allow the facility to combine new-car sales with a full service and parts offering to support existing Honda owners in Kenya.”

The new facility provides access to a wide range of Honda’s latest and most advanced vehicles. These include:

•    Honda Brio – a compact but spacious hatchback
•    Honda Jazz – renowned for its space, versatility and fuel economy
•    Honda Ballade – compact and economical family sedan
•    Honda Civic – available in hatch and sedan versions to meet customer needs
•    Honda Accord – executive sedan with class-leading performance and dynamics
•    Honda Freed – versatile and spacious family MPV
•    Honda CR-V – newly launched, fourth-generation of this popular compact SUV

“We believe that our product line-up for the Kenyan market will meet the requirements and expectations of customers, and we look forward to introducing more exciting new products to this region in the future,” Nishimae concluded.

Goodyear plant achieves highest audited quality scores ever

A recent international Process and Product Quality (PPQ) audit at the Uitenhage tyre manufacturing facility has earned the local company its best ever scores, thanks in part to Goodyear’s steady investments in its African operations.

Dustine Gascoyne, Group Marketing Director, said Goodyear’s PPQ audits were conducted annually by five international auditors, each an expert in an aspect of tyre manufacture.

“The PPQ audit measures Product and Process Quality. Through a stringent checklist of international criteria, these auditors evaluate the extent to which our process control delivers consistent, repeatable quality. Clearly, the higher the score, the better our control over process and quality, which in turn means less bad product and fewer returns. Ultimately, our customers are assured of the consistent, excellent quality of Goodyear’s products.”

Gascoyne said the long-term requirements of Goodyear’s market had been analysed and manufacturing facilities developed to align with customers’ ever-changing needs.

“Goodyear’s continued investment in its manufacturing facility in Uitenhage, and consequent further increase of its 4x4 and UHP (ultra high performance) capacity, ensures that our products retain the quality that is epitomised by the Goodyear brand.

“There is more demand for 4x4 tyres for SUVs, for example. We are aligning our quality and product performance with trends in the market and with international competition. We’re also staying a step ahead of our customers to ensure we will always be able to deliver exactly what they need.

“Aside from the installation of two new tyre building machines and four new presses, final finish areas were also upgraded and the impact of these investments were clearly reflected in best-ever, international standard PPQ audit scores.”

Theo Bezuidenhout, Goodyear Technical Team Leader for Systems and Audits, explained that PPQ audits are usually planned but the latest had come out of the blue.

“In 2012, we celebrated when the Uitenhage plant achieved its highest ever PPQ score.  This year, PPQ auditors dropped in unannounced. Still, the audit score managed to top the earlier high. Goodyear South Africa continues to go from strength to strength.”

GM Drives for Continuous Improvement and Customer Satisfaction into Sub-Saharan Africa

Training of Dealers of New and Improved Processes and Innovative Approach to Quality - laying a firm foundation for excellent customer service and support into Africa

After the recent roll out of the brand new business model for the new Isuzu Pick-up, General Motors (GM) invited key people from various Parts Dealers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to attend a training workshop. 

The workshop was based around an intensive three-day-long training schedule that saw SSA Dealers experiencing the GM Difference and understanding the important role they play in delivering on-going customer satisfaction.

The GM Difference is seen as a holistic way of doing business, designed to encourage Dealers to exceed customer expectations by creating an environment of quality-driven processes and continuous improvement that ultimately deliver improved standards of service and satisfaction.

The workshop also aimed at equipping Dealers with the necessary skills and knowledge to manage parts and accessories for the new Isuzu Pick-up.  

These skills ranged from orientating them with the new electronic parts catalogues, to handling invoicing queries, as well as ordering parts for the new Isuzu Pick-up.  Dealers were shown a robust internet ordering system which will enable them to order parts directly from the warehouse. 

The live-update system will allow Dealers to have full visibility of all part numbers in the warehouse at anytime.  The system will also enable Dealers to place orders for parts that might not be within the facility at the time of ordering.

“We are starting with the partnership of taking the Isuzu brand into Africa.  It was truly important for the Dealers to meet the GM Aftersales team at Parts & Accessories,” said Kevin Ackerberg, GM Business Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa.  

"Now, with the implementation of the skills and experience gained through the workshop, they are on course to achieve even higher standards of customer service.”

The Dealers from SSA certainly felt that they benefitted from the workshop.  “The training that we have received from GM has been extremely well put together.  

The Aftersales team has been outstanding in terms of their ability to gather so many countries and so many people and coordinate such a training programme with representatives in Sub-Saharan Africa,” said Doug Pope, Spares Manager, Autoworld, Zimbabwe.

Pope added that the dedicated team at Autoworld continuously works with General Motors to identify key areas to improve, ensuring that customers will enjoy high standards of service experience that exceed expectations.

In addition, the GM Difference will also ensure that all the SSA Dealers are professionally trained on an ongoing basis that will result in SSA offering customers exemplary standards in sales and service experiences that will be the benchmark in the auto industry and pave the way for improved customer enthusiasm and loyalty.  

Further, this type of workshop forms part of GM’s commitment to provide support structures for Aftersales in SSA whenever new products are launched.

Ashish Patel, Director Aftersales, Action Auto, Zambia said, “At Action Auto our aim is not only to acquire new customers but to retain them for life and keep them enthused and loyal. 

This is a continuous challenge and the GM Difference plays a key part in achieving this by ensuring that we not only implement, but also set the benchmark while developing the best practices within the industry.”

New 6th generation Isuzu KB leads with innovative Trailview

•    New Isuzu KB packs traditional Isuzu off-road punch
•    Innovative new Trailview takes Google Streetview concept off-road
•    Off-road adventures take on a whole new meaning with Trailview

Following the successful launch of the all-new 6th generation Isuzu KB, General Motors South Africa has also launched an innovative new interactive product which integrates the new KB’s legendary off-road capabilities with technological innovation to provide off-road enthusiasts with a whole new approach to off-road driving.

Like the five generations of KB it succeeds, the all-new KB continues Isuzu’s legendary reputation for off-road capability, versatility and reliability. With seven of the new KB models featuring a 4x4 drivetrain, and with the choice of petrol or diesel engines to match, the new KB brings its off-road potential to a host of buyer profiles – whether they opt for the industrious KB 240 4x4 Fleetside, the practical KB 300 D-TEQ 4x4 Extended Cab LX or the lifestyle-oriented KB 250 D-TEQ Double Cab 4x4 LE.

Whichever 4x4-fitted KB is chosen, assurance of ultimate off-road capability comes in the form of the driver-selectable drive mode – 2-Hi, 4-Hi and 4-Lo – a rear differential lock, shift-on-the-fly up to 100 km/h (model dependent) and excellent critical angles, where generous ground clearance and minimal overhangs mean even the steepest climbs can be tackled with ease and confidence.

Trailview is the next level of off-roading
Much like Google’s famed Streetview allows online map users the ability to preview a destination or intersection whilst browsing online maps, Isuzu Trailview takes this same concept off the beaten track and on to some of South Africa’s best off-road trails.

From the Hennops trail near Hartbeespoort Dam in Pretoria to the Moolmanshoek Visierskerf Trail in the Eastern Free State, a new Isuzu KB fitted with a specialised 360-degree camera was used to map out the trails and provide users with a fully-interactive view of each trail.

Off-road enthusiasts can log on to the Isuzu Trailview site – www.isuzutrailview.co.za – and view their preferred off-road trail, even before they get there. With each corner, descent, rocky climb or muddy ditch mapped out in high-resolution imagery, drivers can see what they’re in for, build confidence in seeing that their vehicle can handle even the toughest obstacles and up the excitement in the process.

Other photos and videos are also available with handy tips from professional off-road drivers from the Isuzu Off-road Academy, to provide even more peace of mind. With user-generated content also encouraged, 4x4 enthusiasts can share their own experiences with each other.

Isuzu Brand Manager, Mlungisi Nonkonyana, says the Isuzu Trailview concept works hand in hand with the all-new KB: “We knew when developing the all-new KB that its off-road reputation would continue and with the Trailview concept allowing KB owners as well as any other 4x4 owners and enthusiasts the opportunity to see and almost feel the different trails before even starting the car, the new KB is definitely a product of the times.

“Modern technology, clever thinking and a smart design are all attributes of both the new Isuzu KB and the Trailview concept, linking the two perfectly. The creators of the Trailview concept set out to provide users with a rich visual experience which allows them to fully immerse themselves into each trail and I think they have achieved exactly that.”

The Isuzu Trailview can be found at www.isuzutrailview.co.za with social media integration on Facebook (www.facebook.com/isuzusa) and twitter (@isuzusa).