Toyota SA will invest R225 million and Nissan SA R175 million in their respective new dealerships and dealer network upgrade programmes.
Toyota SA will invest R225 million and Nissan SA R175 million in their respective new dealerships and dealer network upgrade programmes.
Toyota SA president and chief executive Johan van Zyl this week said the Prospecton-based manufacturer was investing more than R225 million in “new premises and an overall franchise image and identity upgrade”, reported.
In a separate announcement, Nissan SA general manager of marketing and communication Roel de Vries said the Rosslyn-based manufacturer was creating “a span of flagship Nissan dealerships” countrywide and embarking on an upgrade programme of its 126-dealer network.
De Vries said more than R175 million would be spent by Nissan SA and its dealers between now and 2005 on a combination of its new visual identity programme, the general upgrading of its network and increasing dealer capacity and sales throughput.
Van Zyl said almost R100 million of the R225 million investment in Toyota’s dealer network had been committed by dealers to phase one of an overall franchise image and identity upgrade, which would be completed by the end of this year.
The recent opening of East Rand Toyota at the East Rand Mall, represented an investment of R15 million. Monument Toyota, he said,was close to completing a new facility on the West Rand, Gauteng, involving an investment of R30 million.
Van Zyl said “several” new Toyota dealerships were to be built within the next 18 months. The current commitment by the various franchise operators for the development was R65 million.
De Vries said the first flagship Nissan dealership would open at the Menlyn Park shopping centre in Pretoria later this year but the company already had 10 projects fully approved.
The new visual identity for Nissan’s dealer network was part of a global roll-out programme, Nissan SA’s brand marketing manager Bev Marsh told Marsh said, adding that the phased upgrading project involved looking at specific dealer categories and how to make each category cost effective.
