Hino gives ‘em hell

Hino has once again walked away from the FOCUS on Excellence awards, sponsored by WesBank, with multiple wins, showing it has no plans of slowing down.

It is widely agreed that being one of the finalists for a FOCUS on Excellence award is in itself a great achievement, accomplished only by an elite few. However, this accolade is not enough for Hino, and it secured two wins out of its four nominations.

Hino is traditionally a top performer at these awards, and this year was no different. The company won the awards for Best Medium Commercial Vehicle and Vehicle Distributor with the Best Sales Support. These were won on top of its other finalist nominations for Vehicle Distributor with Best Parts Support and Vehicle Distributor with Best Service Support.

Hino has won Best Medium Commercial Vehicle every year since the award’s inception five years ago. “We are very proud of receiving this award,” says Dr Casper Kruger, Hino SA vice-president. “It is the best range of products in our stable, and winning the award five years running is testament to this.” However, the hotly contested award also shows these vehicles are not just the best in Hino’s stable, but the best in the country.

Hino has also always been a tough contender for the Vehicle Distributor with Best Sales Support award. “This award reflects the tremendous effort from our dealers to ensure the customers’ experience is always first class,” says Kruger. “Over the next year we plan on working on service and parts so that we secure those awards next year as well!”

Hino has the strongest dealer network in the country, with 52 dealerships covering all nine provinces. In order to become an affiliated Hino dealership and line up with the company’s impeccably high standards, a set of rigorous criteria needs to be fulfilled. This includes excellent dealer and technician training and knowledge, smooth operating processes, and correct signage. This ensures that dealerships are able to deliver an excellent service every time and is sure to have contributed to the company winning the award for best sales support.

Despite its already impressive collection of awards over the years, Hino is renowned for striving to be number one in all spheres, and is not happy until it achieves this. “Staying at the top is an extremely difficult task, and competition is tough,” acknowledges Ignatius Muthien, senior marketing manager for Hino SA.

In order to achieve being at the top overall, Hino has a clear strategy for the year ahead. “We’re going to focus on improving our after sales in terms of service and parts. We have great products and loyal customers, and we need to make sure we work hard to keep giving them more and more, rather than become complacent at the top,” he explains.