MAN: obsessed with customer service

January 28, 2022

The truck and bus market in South Africa is fiercely competitive and there are lots of terrific products on offer. How then does a manufacturer differentiate itself from the competition? CHARLEEN CLARKE discovers that at MAN Automotive SA, it’s all about an obsession with customer service.

For some reason (there are many theories as to why), many of the world’s truck and bus companies have descended on South Africa. Transport operators here are – quite literally – spoilt for choice. How then does one choose a truck or bus supplier?

It’s all about service. It is about what happens if things go wrong (and yes, they almost always do). This is when an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) can set itself above the rest.

And that is precisely what MAN Automotive SA aims to achieve. “MAN is, and always will be, a customer-centric organisation. There are no bad products in the market, and I believe that the way we interact with our customers and the DNA of our products set us apart from the rest,” notes Oliver Klein, the company’s managing director.

Philip Kalil-Zackey, head of truck sales and product, concurs. “We pride ourselves on the fact that we work very hard to deliver customised solutions to our customers. We are very customer-focused indeed. As I always say to our customers, ‘If I am failing you, then your business is failing’.”

Central to Kalil-Zackey’s point, of course, is that trucks or buses – and their competence – are key to the profitability of all transport operators. In order to succeed, transport operators rely on products of only the highest quality.

There is little doubt that MAN Automotive SA fits the bill in this regard, with last year heralding the local launch of the 2021 International Truck of the Year. “The launch of MAN’s new TGX range – elected International Truck of the Year 2021 – was an absolute success! The feedback from customers and drivers has been very positive. The new truck not only ticks the box when it comes to new features and benefits, but all the things that worked well on the previous model are included and, in many cases, improved,” enthuses Klein.

There are many aspects of the TGX range that are finding favour with customers, while despite its new features, the new truck doesn’t make its predecessor look old or dated. “Apart from the world-class cabin and superior driver comfort, one big plus point is that the new truck complements the previous generation models, thanks to the DNA inherited from the Porsche 911. This means that customers can run new and previous generation MAN trucks side-by-side,” says Klein.

“Customers have also commented very favourably on the safety innovations; we have decided to fit many safety features as standard – not only on the long-haul trucks but also on the on/off-highway units,” Klein points out. “Given the fact that one of South Africa’s greatest challenges is the high number of fatalities on our roads, this can only be good news for truck operators, truck drivers, motorists, and pedestrians alike.”

Naturally, the new truck will be seen in action during Truck Test 2022; both Klein and Kalil-Zackey look forward to seeing how well it performs. “We know that it’s an outstanding truck – otherwise it would not have won the International Truck of the Year. But we remain humble, knowing that there are some other excellent trucks available in the South African market too,” says Klein.

Philip Kalil-Zackey, head of truck sales and product at MAN Automotive SA, reveals that a new bus will debut later this year.

The new truck is only one of the new products to emerge from the MAN Automotive stable. In the pipeline for the third quarter of this year is the launch of a new Volkswagen bus.

“We will introduce our new bus range this year. This is a very exciting time for us as we believe that the new product will complement the premium product offering from MAN. It is a budget product, but it is not a truck-conversion model. The new bus will also represent a first – not only for us but for MAN worldwide – in that it has been designed in Wolfsburg, Germany,” says Kalil-Zackey. “This is the first time that our German team has designed a Volkswagen bus, and we’re keen to bring it to market,” he continues, adding, “The chassis of our new bus has some considerable aces up its sleeve!”

Oliver Klein, managing director of MAN Automotive SA, says the company is, and always will be, a customer-centric organisation.

Both Klein and Kalil-Zackey – and indeed the rest of the MAN Automotive team – are hoping for a recovery in the South African bus and coach market this year. “The pandemic ravaged the bus and coach market all over the world and the same can be said of our local market. Unfortunately, this has hit us quite hard!” reveals Klein. “With us having our own in-house bus and coach production, we needed to make major changes to adapt our business to the reduced levels seen over the last 18 to 20 months.”

Although this entailed short time and reducing headcount, the future of local production was never in doubt. “We’re fully committed to the future of our bus plant, which enables us to have the best bus product offering in the market. Our customers have stuck by our side, and they have continued to support us, even though they have not seen any major growth in the market. This is a true example of a supplier and customer partnership working in unison. We remain committed to this market and Number One in the bus market is our goal for 2022,” says Klein.

“Naturally, we’re hoping that the bus and coach market will soon recover to pre-pandemic levels, but this depends largely on the overall Covid-19 situation, which will affect people going back to the office/university, tourism, and job creation. A crucial factor is also government support when it comes to subsidies and recapitalisation,” he adds.

The MAN team is also hoping that supply constraints will not be an ongoing problem. “Naturally, the semiconductor issues have plagued truck and bus manufacturers all over the world. This is a challenge that is impacting the entire market and is completely out of our control. But thankfully we have the support of the Traton Group, and we are working on synergies within the Volkswagen Group to ensure minimal disruptions in this regard. We have also ordered maximum stock well into the future, so we’re remaining positive. If customers order, we will be able to supply,” says Klein.

Given MAN Automotive’s standing in the marketplace, we are sure that it will be a case of when customers order… After all, an obsession with customer service and a portfolio of outstanding products can only be a recipe for success.