Isando Hino wins Dealer of the Year

April 17, 2023

Super Group has won the Hino Truck Dealer of the Year award for the first time in its 26-year history! Hino Isando collected this coveted trophy at the recent Toyota/Lexus/Hino awards function in Johannesburg.

The dealership, situated in the industrial and commercial hub of Gauteng, is one of the largest in the Hino network, selling more than 300 new trucks a year and servicing an average of 14 trucks a day.

Dealer principal Bobby Pringle has worked in the South African commercial vehicle business for the past 26 years. He says that for a long time, he has had his sights set on proving his dealership was the best-of-the-best by winning the Dealer of the Year award. As such, in 2022 he led the drive for excellence from the front with the full and enthusiastic backing of his team, which now numbers 32 employees.

“I have aligned my management team so that I can track their progress continually in terms of the Hino Dealer of the Year performance measuring tool, which is known as the Pyramid of Excellence. We got close in 2019, when we were runners-up and also sold the most Hino trucks in the year,” explains Pringle.

“Each of our departments – Sales, under Bryan James; Service, headed by Kyle Buys; and Parts, under the leadership of Darrell Pretorius – was set annual targets with a stretch aspect to ensure they went the extra mile. I am proud to say that we achieved 100 to 109% in meeting our sales, service, and parts targets set by Hino SA; all our staff members contributed solidly to the overall performance of the dealership,” he continues.

Pringle says that outstanding customer service is cardinal in winning the Dealer of the Year title. “We went above and beyond to over-deliver to each of our customers, even in the tough times when stock was short after the Hino plant in Prospecton, KwaZulu-Natal was hit by last year’s floods and no trucks were built for several months,” he emphasises.

“We make use of various incentive programmes to reward productive staff, while all employees can qualify for an annual incentive based on the overall performance of the dealership,” adds Pringle.

Hino Isando is currently the only Hino dealership in Super Group. Established in 2015, it is comparatively young, and many of the 17 original staff members are still there. The dealership was the 22^nd exclusive truck dealership added to Hino’s 64-dealer-strong national network.

Establishing Hino Isando – excluding the price of the land – cost more than R25 million. Currently, the facility has six double work bays. The workshop is equipped to undertake Certificate of Fitness (CoF) testing and has an express service lane to minimise downtime when urgent servicing or repair work is required.

The dealership also has an extensive parts stock, which is replenished at least twice a day. From the outset, it has been eco-friendly, with movement-sensor lighting and rainwater recycling for the wash bay. Pringle says he is very pleased that approval has now been given to add a further six working bays and a state-of-the-art, eco-friendly wash bay at the dealership, which will of course be welcomed by its customers.

Pringle has won a host of awards in his career and is determined to retain the Dealer of the Year trophy in 2023. “I always ensure we aim higher, and we will continue to strive to provide even higher levels of service to our customers,” stresses the Hino Isando dealer principal.

“Bobby Pringle is a true Hino ambassador, who continuously motivates his team,” says Leon Theron, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Toyota SA Motors. “He embraces the Hino Total Support strategy, and the team at the dealership is always willing to walk the extra mile to ensure total customer satisfaction.”