Brian Joss – Suzuki’s burgeoning trophy case will have to make space for yet another award, after it received a coveted Gold Award in the National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA) Awards this month.
This is the third Gold Award from NADA on the trot, and it recognises the company’s hard work in building and maintaining a strong dealer network. It is this network that has helped it to become a Top 10 best-selling vehicle brand over the same period.
The NADA Dealer Satisfaction Index (DSI) is compiled from detailed research by the industry experts, Lightstone Automotive. Every year it measures every aspect of a company’s support to its dealer network and this year it placed Suzuki in the top third of best-performing vehicle brands.
“Over the last couple of years, our dealers have seen their trust and investment in the Suzuki brand bear fruit. Today we are a member of the 1 000-unit a month club and every month our dealers welcome many new customers to the Suzuki family,” says André Venter, divisional manager for sales and marketing at Suzuki South Africa.
Venter explains that the brand’s rapid growth brings its own challenges. As more and more people choose Suzuki, it places additional strain on the company’s distribution network and parts warehouse, and Suzuki has invested in step with its dealers to ensure that it maintains its famous customer service levels.
The dealer network certainly agrees and has scored Suzuki well above the industry average for its commitment to win-win solutions (82.8%), the hard work that “sets the standard for excellence in its industry” (86.4%) and its effective brand support (90.4%).
Suzuki also received a perfect score for the simplicity and effectiveness of its warranty process (100%) and was hailed for its effective training (90%) and after-sales support (87.4%).
“At Suzuki South Africa, we are responsible for our brand, the products we import, our after-sales and parts support and for ensuring that our cars remain affordable. Our dealer network, in turn, is responsible for our customers, and we want to make sure the dealer network has everything it needs to deliver affordable vehicles with a service level not unlike that of more expensive luxury brands. We believe our NADA Gold shows that our hard work is paying off,” says Venter.
CAPTION: Ghana Msibi ,left, executive head, motor division, WesBank; Bevon Butler, sales operation and incremental sales manager at Suzuki Auto South Africa, and Mark Dommisse, NADA national chairman. Picture: Motorpress
