Ronnies Motors wins Best Overall Performance Award for FUSO Trucks

At the heart of East London, a city affectionately called “eMonti” by the locals and a home for the internationally acclaimed Daimler Trucks & Buses Assembly Plant — lies the Ronnies Motors dealership.

For over two decades, this successful dealership under the Kempston Group has become the pinnacle of the automotive industry offering transport solutions to customers, and today, it is one of the top-performing Daimler Trucks & Buses Southern Africa (DTBSA) medium dealerships.

Ronnies Motors predominately supports the East London and Gqeberha areas in the Eastern Cape region and its strong market presence in the commercial vehicles industry has been sustained by a culture based on customer service, dedication, and continuous improvement. The Sales team consists of ten employees of which two are FUSO dedicated Sales Executives, as well as an administration backup of two employees.

2021 is a special year for Ronnies Motors as they featured prominently at the Daimler Trucks & Buses Dealer of the Year (DOTY) Awards, held virtually recently. They proudly took top honours in the highly admired Best Overall Performance Award for FUSO Trucks.

Andre Botha, Dealer Principal Ronnies Motors Commercial, unpacks what this achievement means for the overall dealership, and how they planning to keep the momentum going to stay at the top in the coming years:

What sets your dealership apart in this highly competitive market/industry?

Our dealership proudly boasts an experienced sales team, with most of them with Ronnies Motors for over a decade. In addition to this, we are widely respected and well known in the areas that we support our dedication and ability to constantly improve our level of service sets us apart.

2020 was an extraordinary year for the commercial vehicles industry, take us through some of the challenges you as a dealership faced and how did you manage to embrace change, transcend and rise above these challenges?

The year 2020 was indeed a challenging year; however, due to the close relationship we have with our customers and the support we received from them, we managed to achieve very impressive results. None of this would have been possible without the dedication and backup of our very professional workshop team who contributed tremendously to this year’s DOTY accolade. 

What does the Dealer of the Year Awards mean to you as a Commercial Vehicle dealership and how important is it to be recognised through this platform?

It plays a very important role in motivating and energising our staff and they appreciate the recognition.

Congratulations on walking away with the Best Overall Performance Award for FUSO Trucks. How did you manage to accomplish this significant achievement?

I think a key contributing factor is our confidence in the products and the service we get from the FUSO brand, as well as our team pulling out all the stops to overachieve the budget. With the support of the sales manager, the commitment and energy were infectious.

What would you attribute this phenomenal achievement to — any special recognitions you would like to mention?

This performance would not have been possible without the exceptional performance of “Mr FUSO” Darne Swart. Darne's commitment and hard work contributed to the excellent results achieved, and this award is evidence of this.

As an Award DOTY Winner, what strategies do you have in place to remain at the top in the coming years?

We will be substantially improving our offering in Gqeberha and expect great results from that area in the months ahead. The team in East London has already broken records in 2021 and we look forward to achieving even greater results.

In gearing up for the year ahead, what can your customers expect? Are there any exciting initiatives on the horizon?

The new premises in Gqeberha will be operational soon and that will be a “game-changer”. We are very excited about the new FUSO Products, which will be launched soon, and the positive impact that these will bring to the business.