Call-a-car's sales continue to grow

Used vehicles accounted for 83% of the total sales in the financial year, while new vehicle sales increased to 17%. Over 50% of these transactions were done through the Internet - an achievement that is right on par with international trends.

Lourens Botha, managing director of McCarthy On-Line said that the results prove that the South African motoring public is increasingly using technology such as the Internet to assist in the vehicle buying process.

"Through Call-A-Car, customers have more than 5 800 vehicles, sourced from across the country, readily available at their fingertips," said Botha. "Call-A-Car is all about convenience. Apart from arranging a test drive in an instance, customers also have access to a vehicle finance calculator and can make detailed model comparisons on the website."

In addition, being part of South Africa's second largest motor retailer McCarthy Motor Holdings, Call-A-Car is able to offer customers no risk purchases as the vehicle's mileage and title are guaranteed. Call-A-Car also offers a wide selection of late model used vehicles - something that is of great benefit to the customers as these vehicles are usually still accompanied by manufacturer warranties.

When customers buy a vehicle through Call-A-Car, they get additional peace of mind with automatic membership to Club McCarthy, which includes benefits such as free roadside assistance and emergency medical response, service discounts and membership to a holiday accommodation club.

A significant development over the last two years has been the franchising of Call-A-Car to selected dealerships outside the traditional McCarthy outlets and locations. These dealers cover certain marques that aren't represented by the McCarthy dealer network, and service areas where McCarthy doesn't have representation.

"This new venture has enlarged the Call-A-Car franchised network to over 150 dealers and a total of 1 361 units have already been sold through these new dealers during the past financial year. This represents 20 percent of Call-a-Car's sales, or differently stated - one in every five sales. The success of the franchise venture just proves the power of the Call-A-Car package."

Talking of service, Botha says that customer satisfaction is one thing that will never be compromised. "To guarantee quality service, we have put into place a network of dealers that operate according to the high levels of integrity and service that McCarthy customers are accustomed to."

According to Botha, the company ultimately wants to offer Call-A-Car to customers through every new innovation and application available. In order to continue providing customers with an enhanced service, Call-A-Car also launched a new-look website, which offers more functionality such as vehicle finance calculators, vehicle comparisons and easier navigation. It also recently migrated its call centre to Cape Town in a move to strengthen its technology platform and implement international best practises. This move has brought the operation's total cost per unit sold down by 13%," said Botha.

Looking forward, Botha says that the used car market is increasingly under pressure, mainly due to little new car inflation. "Although the McCarthy average selling price is around R100 000, there is a huge demand for cheaper vehicles around the R60 000 and lower mark. Our stock mainly reflects pricier models, as we are only able to offer guarantees and 7-day exchange plans on these higher end vehicles."

Botha expects Internet sales to grow even more exponentially in the year to come. "This growth relates directly to the marketing of products, information supplying and customer locating, and retailers therefore need a strong presence on the Internet in order to get their message across," said Botha. Over the last year, there has also been a tremendous surge in leads generated by the website, mainly due to the dedicated Call-A-Car specials page."

The changes recently announced by the minister of Communications will ensure a reduction in the cost of internet connectivity and will assist in growing the on-line retail industry in South Africa. This will certainly assist Call-a-car in growing its on-line user base.

"Recent research done by JD Power, showed that more than 60% of American customers use the Internet for research before they conclude a transaction," said Botha. "We have a very similar vehicle-buying population in South Africa to that of the US, with those who actually do have access to the Internet, representing people in high LSM categories with similar purchasing behaviour."

According to Botha, McCarthy Call-A-Car has seen the e-commerce theme develop over the past seven years and has put various mechanisms, systems, relevant technology and skilled people in place to ensure that their offering meets the demands and expectations of the customers of today.

"The secret to our success lies in the quality of the participating dealers and the state-of-the-art technology we apply. We continuously strive to give customers a buying experience that is unique and that offers choice, convenience and peace of mind."

Go to www.callacar.co.za to find out more.