Kurtis Andrews
In its first calendar year of trading, Fuso New Zealand has smashed the previous record for Fuso truck and bus sales in New Zealand by more than 20%, registering 1,017 units in 2017.
Focused on a primary goal of ‘Delivering Better‘, the company did just that by achieving a 17.6% share of the market – a 99.8% increase on its 2016 position.
“We didn‘t head out to set the world on fire,” says managing director Kurtis Andrews. “Our main goal for the year was to develop a business that would allow Fuso trucks to realise their potential in New Zealand – thanks to our highly experienced and passionate dealer network, the foundation was already in place.
“There has been a massive amount of work put in at Fuso New Zealand, and by our dealers, to build our team and operations from the ground up, so to sell 1,017 trucks against that background is testament to the effort that went in and the potential the business has.
“A lot of credit has to go to the excellent work that has gone in at every level at our dealerships across the country.”
Putting the result into perspective, the average annual sales of the brand over the preceding five years was 540 units, with the previous sales record of 787 set in 2014.
Together with breaking the sales record, Fuso New Zealand also now stocks a record number of parts in its Auckland warehouse, something Andrews says is helping re-establish customer confidence in the brand.
“We now carry over 8,000 stock items in our parts inventory. Previously, only around 3,000 Fuso parts were available off the shelf in New Zealand; anything else had to be airfreighted, which often led to unsatisfactory delays. Our off-the-shelf parts order fill rate is now at 96%.”
With most systems and personnel now in place, 2018 offers some exciting opportunities for Fuso New Zealand.
“Now we‘re set up, we‘re in a position to focus on selling trucks and continuing to deliver better for our customers. We‘ve got some exciting products landing in 2018, and we‘re all pretty excited about the opportunities they‘ll bring.”
