CAPE TOWN: South Africa’s largest car dealer is widening the range of brands it offers to ramp up revenues, as the country’s motor industry is reshaped by rising competition from Asia.
Motus Retail, a unit of Motus Holdings Ltd, is expanding its portfolio to include Haval, Honda, Suzuki, Tata and Mahindra to capture a larger share of a market that has been upended by the explosive growth of new car makers, most notably from China.
“We learn, we debate, and then when we are in a position to, we leverage our routes to market solutions to secure the right emerging brands,” Motus South Africa Retail chief executive officer Gideon Jansen van Rensburg said in an interview.
The company, which has around 20% of the South African new passenger car market, represents 38 brands via over 300 dealerships.
Rising costs and slower revenue growth prompted it to retrench 67 staff last year, with top managers taking a pay cut of as much as 30%.
Chinese manufacturers have moved from being a marginal market presence in 2019 to top-tier competitors, according to data from South Africa’s Automotive Business Council, with sales turbocharged by a combination of affordability, competitive quality and design.
Chery Automobile Co Ltd, one of China’s biggest vehicle manufacturers whose brands includes Chery, Jetour, Omoda and Jaecoo, is now ranked the third-biggest seller in South Africa, relegating Volkswagen AG to fourth place. — Bloomberg
