All we seem to hear lately are moans and groans (not saying they’re not warranted), so it’s refreshing to read thoughtful positive comments on things we can do in the auto industry to move forward.
Brand Pretorius, CEO of McCarthy Ltd., South Africa’s leading automotive group, recently spoke at Automechanika South Africa and shared insights that are surely applicable in emerging markets around the world.
General issues Pretorius thinks should be addressed:
- Dealer network rationalization, to ensure competitiveness of dealerships
- Better business terms between manufacturers, importers and local dealers
- Margin restoration on new/used vehicles, and parts and service
And more importantly in my view, some direct suggestions on what dealers need to do to survive today and, in the longer term, prosper:
- More efficient processes and operating systems
- Aggressive cost-cutting measures
- An improvement in staff productivity
- More focus on supplementary income from finance and insurance
- Increase level of customer retention
- Increase level of after-sales contributions
This ties directly into some recent posts on what auto dealers can do in times of crises, where the focus is on how process improvements paired with a good DMS (not necessarily ours 🙂 can help a dealer move ahead.
Tags: Brand Pretorius, McCarthy Ltd, Automechanika South Africa, Automechanika, automotive, auto industry, automotive industry, DMS, Autologica
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