Hino has announced a new dealer outlet in the Victorian city of Ballarat, with Till Hino opening a new branch in the regional centre, which fits with its well established operation in Geelong.
Till Hino has according to Hino has been defying the current economic conditions under COVID-19 with a strong second quarter for the newly-opened Ballarat dealership.
“As part of our constant appraisal of the Australian truck market, we identified an exciting opportunity to expand our dealership sales network into Ballarat, which is the third largest inland city in Australia, and located just over one hour north-west of Melbourne,” said Mr Bill Gillespie, general manager of brand and franchise development for Hino Australia.
“Given their excellent results in the Geelong market, Till Hino was the obvious choice to lead that expansion.
“Since their purchase of the Geelong dealership in 2017, the team at Till Hino led by dealer principal Brad Till has continually delivered an excellent experience for their customers, the results of which were apparent with their recent success at the 2020 Hino Dealer of the Year awards with the Regional Sales Excellence title,” he continued.
Till Hino’s new purpose-built premises in Ballarat opened on 2 March, 2020 with Rob Angus moving from the Geelong dealership in the general manager role.
“To service the needs of our Ballarat customers, we launched an on-site service van there two years ago – opening a sales branch is a natural progression from this,” said Brad Till, dealer principal at Till Hino.
Like all Hino dealers, Till Hino has adapted to the challenges of COVID-19 – they offer their customers contactless servicing and have increased their already high hygiene standards while ensuring a smooth socially-distanced sales process.
“While there was an initial quiet period in early March, we increased our marketing efforts, which has resulted in the strongest ever sales month and second largest service month for our Geelong dealership.
“Similarly, sales and service bookings have been strong in Ballarat.”
For Mr Till, the branch in Ballarat is a natural extension of the Till Hino ethos and culture that has served the dealership well in Geelong.
He attributes the dealership’s involvement in the local community and sponsorships as key factors in Till Hino’s success.
“We are proud sponsors of the Victorian Rally Championship and the Geelong Supercats basketball team and we look forward to similar relationships in the Ballarat community,” he concluded
The new dealership takes Hino Australia’s network to more 60 sales and services centres throughout the country.
