Nam motor dealers hit hard
NAMIBIAN motor dealers are suffering stock shortages, after striking vehicle carriers in South Africa have put a halt to deliveries. Members of the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) in the vehicle transport sector are in a wage increase battle, which has resulted in workers downing tools and thousands of vehicles not being delivered.
With stock shortage already being a problem on our showroom floors, following long strikes in the auto manufacturing sector, which hit production lines and exports in August and September, there is more trouble on the horizon. Now an an even bigger disappointment faces dealerships, who were bargaining on their year-end sales to boost their overall 2013 business targets.
Some have been harder hit than others, with little or no stock at all being delivered, and the worrying signs that the strike may hit festive-season vehicle sales is becoming a grim reality.
A concerned Lionel McPherson, Sales Manager for Spes Bona Citroen, Peugeot, Mahindra and SsangYong new vehicle franchise, informed Woema this week, that striking carriers have prevented deliveries to Namibian dealers who are planning stock up their showrooms for the Christmas rush. He said that the strike started over a week ago, and the spin off affect will continue for at least another few weeks even when the strike is over.
“This is a terrible situation we are faced with, and the backlog of vehicles waiting to be delivered once the dust has settled, will cause an even further delay – and this could not have come at a worse time,” he said.
“Stock that should have been dispatched last week when the drivers downed tools, will be weeks off schedule, and this is not a good situation for Namibian motor dealers, who will see their sales suffer over the Xmas period because of this.”
Pupkewitz Toyota confirmed that they are fortunately receiving some stock through an alternative vehicle carrier company operating through the Toyota manufacturer’s plant. But the strike has had a significant impact in terms of stock availability for the other large Pupkewitz dealers namely, GWM, Honda and Nissan who have been negatively affected.
Said Anton Westraad (Head Marketing Pupkewitz Motor Division). “There are considerable outstanding orders and backlogs of vehicles standing at the factory that should have been despatched a time ago, and we are suffering as a result of the strike.
“We are receiving vehicles in drips and drabs from the manufacturers who are making plans to transport vehicles to Namibia, but nothing nearly close to what the market requires at present.
“If we look at the blow the motor industry has been dealt with economically – firstly with motor manufacturer strikes, then the parts strikes and now transport workers strike, is very damaging to the auto trade,” he added.
“November and December months are the peak time in the industry when dealers cash in on buoyant sales, but this year we can rule this out if it continues like this.
“It seems that this succession of union strikes are capitalising on this time of the year to negotiate a best salary deal, knowing that dealers are more dependent on receiving their stock than ever – and for us in Namibia our problems are worsened because all our vehicles are delivered through vehicle carriers.”
“We have to sit tight and hope that this blows over, but for our customers who have placed orders, signed and have had their finances approved already, we can only keep them informed of the progress.
Another big multi-franchise dealership M&Z Motors said that some stock is coming through because they are not using vehicles carriers which are striking, but they will see how the situation unfolds.
VW dealership Autohaus Windhoek, said that they have not been affected by the vehicle carrier strike either, but are still recovering from the manufacturers strike which left the popular VW entry models in short supply. They are hoping for this to recover in time for the Xmas trade.
BY Donna Collins