Top Stellantis dealers recognised for excellence

Centurion, 6 February 2023 – Stellantis South Africa recognised its best-performing dealers at their 2023 Annual Dealer Conference. The awards measured the performance of the dealer network during 2022, a year that saw the finalisation of the merger into Stellantis South Africa, continued investment in the expansion of the dealer network, and the company’s ongoing focus on customer satisfaction.

“Our dealers play an important role in making the Stellantis business strategy come alive for our customers,” said Leslie Ramsoomar, Managing Director of Stellantis South Africa. “Our dealers are our direct touch-point with our customers, and they keep the passion for our brands alive, whilst providing relevant solutions for their needs.”

Ramsoomar continued to reinforce the importance of recognition and the company’s gratitude to its dealers for keeping the Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Opel, Peugeot, Citroën and MOPAR brands relevant and exciting in South Africa as well as Right Hand Drive Africa.

“Whilst every dealer in the Stellantis network contributes to our success, the expansion of our network over the last few years has made the ability to rise above the rest ever more competitive,” said Ramsoomar. “Although our winning dealers will be proud of their achievements, the ultimate winners are our customers because we are servicing them better.”

Singling out customer satisfaction specifically and basing the judgement scientifically on Net Promoter Score (NPS), Auto Alpina Springs was recognised as providing the best customer interaction in sales and service for 2022.

Three key areas define the dealer network business: actual car sales, the interaction during that car’s ownership cycle in service, and the ability to deliver parts to keep it in good condition. Stellantis’ awards further acknowledge that its dealer network varies in size and scale to deliver relevant requirements for their specific customers.

Service Dealers of the Year considered dealership’s rate of maintaining and fixing vehicles correctly first time and consequent customer satisfaction with the service department. Celsum Welkom achieved this in the category of small dealerships, while CMH Cape Town Foreshore and SMH Sandton were considered the best medium and large service dealers respectively.

The service department is heavily reliant on parts supply and Stellantis invested heavily during last year in the consolidation of its parts warehousing, systems and processes in support of this critical infrastructure. Parts Dealer of the Year awards are based on parts purchase achievements against target, aftersales being the heart of the dealer business and ensuring happy customers for life.  Reeds Bellville was the best-performing large dealer, William Simpson Tokai taking medium dealer honours, whilst Molapo Motors Gabarone was considered the best small dealer.

Sales recognition is based on sales-to-target achievements for the year and it was Westvaal Rustenburg that was the best small dealer, Key Pietermaritzburg taking honours in the medium category and SMH Sandton the winning large dealership.

Stellantis’ seven brands each featured winners overall. Super Group Grand Central was the best Jeep dealership, CMH East Rand the Peugeot Dealer of the Year, and SMH Sandton considered the best Fiat dealer. Key Pietermaritzburg took Opel honours, Williams Hunt the Glen the Citroën accolade, and Super Group Arnold Chatz CKL the best Alfa Romeo dealer.

Overall Stellantis Dealers of the Year in the small, medium, and large categories were recognised as Westvaal Klerksdorp, Key Pietermaritzburg, and SMH Sandton in the build up to the most prestigious overall Dealer of the Year title. SMH Sandton’s accomplishments in sales, aftersales, and service operations serve as evidence that a dealership must thrive in all areas of operation to be named Stellantis Dealer of the Year.

“Many individuals contribute to the overall success of dealerships, including sales, parts and service managers and the host of enthusiastic employees that bring the brands to life for customers on a daily basis,” said Ramsoomar. “They enjoy the support of our head office team and we all share a common goal of satisfying customers.”

“Congratulations are in order for our best performing dealers, but a big thank you is due to our entire dealer network,” concluded Ramsoomar. “All our dealers strive for improved customer satisfaction, are dedicated to service excellence, and are determined to win the hearts and minds of even more customers in 2023.”