FAW South Africa is expanding its footprint in Mpumalanga with the addition of a new full sales, service and parts dealer in Ermelo.

The new dealership, which officially opened earlier this year, is co-owned by Hercules Lourens and Corrie Barnard is part of the Ermelo Truck & Tractor Centre (ETTC) Group, which has been successfully operating in Ermelo since 1992.

A solid partnership

Approximately 25% of all new trucks in the town are currently sold by the seven dealer, 156 people strong Group.

“We have an excellent reputation here in the trucking industry for delivering exceptional service,” says Barnard. “It made sense to bring FAW into the fold as we already had the necessary facilities and resources to do it,”

The dealership is targeting the agriculture market in the region according to Barnard. “The five and eight-tonne FAW models are ideally suited for these applications – and the pricing is right. Fit-for-purpose trucks are always preferred, and this is especially true in the construction sector. FAW trucks are easy to maintain and very affordable to repair, too,” he explains.

Confidence in the brand

Barnard says the R600 million Coega investment made by FAW SA gives them great confidence in the brand. “It shows us they are here to stay. And our salespeople tell our customers about the fact that he brand has been in South Africa for 23 years already,” he adds.

“We saw a change in the South African truck market,” continues Barnard.  “Chinese vehicles are gaining market share rapidly and we decided that we needed to close that gap in our multi-franchise truck portfolio.”

“FAW Ermelo will focus a lot on the Total Cost of Ownership for our customers,” Barnard explains.

“Part of that strategy includes on-site servicing. This means less downtime for operators as well as reduced risk to their assets. We employ a full-time mechanic who is permanently on the road looking after our customers,” he concludes.