Indongo Toyota’s Tyre Tracks Take to the North

August 24, 2017

On 29 May 2017, Indongo Toyota’s tyre tracks took to the north, when the Frans Indongo Group opened a brand new fully fledged Toyota dealership, with workshop and parts outlet in Ongwediva. The subsequent weeks passed in a whirlwind, with satisfied customers experiencing new levels of service when buying a car or parts or having their vehicle serviced and repaired in the state of the art workshop. Now, two months after welcoming the first feet through the door, we sat down with the man who oversees operations in Ongwediva, Hans Steinkopf, Dealer Principal at Indongo Toyotain Windhoek, to talk about the exploits of the latest edition to the Indongo Toyota family.

With four existing dealerships in Windhoek, Walvisbay, Okahandja and Otjiwarongo, Indongo Toyota welcomed the opportunity to add a fifth in the north to the fold, Steinkopf explains. “In Namibia, Toyota enjoys a prime share of over 40% of the automotive market. Yet in the north, that figure skyrockets to between 60 – 70%. With such a huge demand and only one existing dealership, Toyota South Africa Motors identified the opportunity in the market and awarded the Frans Indongo Group the second Toyota dealership in the far north.”

Things went from the planning stage to development and on to completion with lightning speed, Steinkopf shares. The Frans Indongo Group had the perfect piece of land available right next to the Highway Filling Station, and the building project to construct the most modern workshop and sales showroom in Namibia started in May 2016. The doors to Indongo Toyota Ongwediva opened 12 months later.

According to Steinkopf, the total staff compliment of 30 were carefully selected for Indongo Toyota Ongwediva. The dealership is led by Dealer Principal Tati Kamule, who has a motivated and excited team of staff members at the new dealership. “We chose the staff through detailed screening, based both on their expertise as well as their attitude and focus on customer service. You can teach employees skills, but an understanding and dedication to serve customers are inherent.”

The careful selection coupled with hard work and dedication has paid off. Since opening its doors two months ago, Indongo Toyota Ongwediva has outperformed all other Namibian branches on customer experience. Moreover, when rated alongside the various branches across South Africa, the Ongwediva outlet has taken a spot in the top 10 twice in as many months. “ Toyota South Africa requires that all their branches achieve at least a 92.5% satisfaction rating from service customers,” Steinkopf shares. “Customers who came to Indongo Toyota Ongwediva to have their vehicles serviced scored the branch 97% in terms of customer satisfaction. When it comes to sales, the figure rises to 98%. In the end, this is the type of experiences with our customers we aim for. Every customer must leave us satisfied and with a smile. And this is how we are leading the way in the north.” “Looking back over the past two months, we are pleased with what we have achieved so far,” Steinkopf continues. “Our new vehicle sales are in line with our forecasts, while our parts sales have surpassed our expectations. As far as the workshop is concerned, we boast the most modern facilities available across Namibia and are looking forward to achieving our projected growth.” The community of Ongwediva and environment has been quick to embrace the outlet as a new landmark perched prominently on the main road that winds north to Oshakati, Steinkopf says. “They have, after all, been part of this project from the very beginning. They saw Indongo Toyota Ongwediva take shape from nothing but an empty lot to the state-of-the art Toyota facility it is today.”