FAW expands into Ermelo

FAW Ermelo is the newest sales, service and parts dealer in the FAW South Africa network.

The Mpumalanga-based dealership is part of the Ermelo Truck & Tractor Centre (ETTC) Group, which has been successfully operating in the area since 1992. In fact, 25 percent of all new trucks in the town are currently sold by the seven-dealer Group.

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

“We are specifically targeting the agricultural market in the region. 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 motivates.

FAW Ermelo features a high-tech Pinnacle Dealership Management System, which is used for client prospecting and record keeping. It exclusively offers trade-back deals on all new trucks sold in Ermelo and offers in-house finance and insurance via ETCC.

The Ermelo FAW dealership offers a 24-hour breakdown service, which can travel as far as Dundee (over 200 km away) to service trucks.

“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.”

Barnard explains that FAW Ermelo has received the newly formulated FAW South Africa dealer-assessment documents and is already compliant.

To celebrate the opening, the dealership sponsored the popular Ermelo Air Show on April 7.

As the joint main sponsor, FAW Ermelo used the event as a launch pad for the FAW brand in the region.

Some 40 VIP customers were invited by FAW Ermelo, while about 8 000 members of the public made the trip to the Ermelo airfield, thanks to a well-coordinated marketing effort, which saw FAW branding splashed all over the Highveld.