Embarking on a journey into the beating heart of Volkswagen's automotive excellence was more than just a tour; it was an immersive experience unravelling the magic behind the iconic brand. Stepping onto the floors of the VW plant in Kariega was like entering a realm of innovation, and getting an exclusive interview with none other [...]
What type of business are you, a producer or platform business - this will help with identifying the type of data your business will need. As a car dealer, you are both a producer and a platform business, because you have physical products (the cars) that you sell and you use your platform (your website) [...]
E-commerce growth is becoming increasingly important in markets today and this includes e-commerce in the automotive industry. What is the definition of e-commerce within the automotive world? Buying a car online has happened in very small pockets around the world which is not a market norm. Just as AutoTrader produced a magazine and went through [...]
Take a second and think about your car dealership brand, more specifically whether you've built your brand effectively over time. Think about whether you have kept your car dealership brand at the top of the car-buying consumer’s mind and how things have changed during the last couple of years. The basics of car dealership brand-building [...]
Building a brand is long-term magic for your business. Businesses with the strongest brands within the online space will be the ones left standing in the long run. How to build your brand in the context of the consumer? Where do you start with building an online brand? Start with your car buying customer's context [...]
2021 has no doubt been a challenging year for your car dealership in our SA automotive industry. But, we can all agree that it was better than 2020. We've proven that no matter what gets thrown at us and the SA automotive industry, we will soldier on together. The question we ask ourselves now is [...]
I recently had the opportunity to speak at the NAAMSA CEO Council on the importance of big data in the automotive industry. Also to bring CEOs of different OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) up to speed with where AutoTrader SA thinks the market is. If you have any influence/control over the direction of your business in [...]
Car retailing in South Africa as we know it has changed how we buy cars. I don't have a crystal ball to tell you what's going to change in the future, but I can tell you what's not going to exist. Two important factors that influence us as we buy cars: A car is a [...]
Over the years I’ve come across car dealerships who believe that car sales occur on social media, is this true? Car buyers could buy cars on social media in some instances but I’m not convinced. What is social media? I believe there’s no such thing as social media – it’s a term that society has [...]
I caught up with the co-founder of DigiCars, Abdullah Veraschia. He has a fascinating story specifically behind the birth of DigiCars – a car dealership driven to make an online difference for the South African car buyer. Friendships become business partners At the back of an iconic 2010 in South Africa's history, Abdullah Veraschia met [...]
