The FINANCIAL — “Last year Toyota was the number one brand in terms of sales in Georgia and this year we bet we’ll be number one again,” said the General Director of Toyota Center Tegeta, Irakli Papiashvili.
In his words, in the first quarter of 2018 sales at Toyota Center Tegeta increased by 35 percent compared to the same period of 2017. “We imagine we’ll complete the year 2018 with 35 percent growth in sales,” said Papiashvili.
There are various directions where Toyota Center Tegeta is number one in Georgia. Recently the company was awarded the most prestigious and influential Golden Brand award for having the best auto salon in the country.
“It is a great pleasure for us to be named the company with the best auto salon. This is a result of our hard work in developing first of all our staff, and offering the best services to our customers,” said Papiashvili.
“Those people who visit our auto salon will be welcomed with pleasure and will be provided with all the information they may be interested in. They will also get a full service of the best standard at our auto salon. We strive to improve our customers’ satisfaction every time they visit us. We invest a lot in creating a comfortable environment at our auto salon and bringing those technologies here which will enable us to provide better and better service,” he added.
Toyota Center Tegeta will continue to offer brand new cars in Georgia as the company plans to introduce the new RAV 4, new Corolla, expand the assortment of hybrid cars and introduce the new model of the Toyota Camry.
Toyota Center Tegeta is Toyota’s official dealer in Georgia. The Center, which already covers an administrational office, showroom and service, is located at 6, University St. The company offers its consumers only original vehicle spare parts, accessories and tech. Service for vehicles.
“Toyota is the number one brand in the world, while Tegeta is the number one in Transcaucasia. The union of these leading brands is very beneficial for Georgia,” said Papiashvili.
Q. What services does Toyota Center Tegeta offer its clients and why are these services unique?
A. We offer the unique service of Toyota Comfort to customers, which is designed mainly for working people who have no time to personally bring their vehicle to the Center to receive servicing. Those who use the Toyota Comfort service can call us in the event their car has a problem, following which a service advisor of ours will arrive at their desired location, pick up the car and ensure its transportation to our centre. We will then repair the car and return it to the customer so that they can avoid discomfort as much as possible.
In the nearest future we will also offer 24-hour service or “Road Assistance”, which means that one of our repair workers will arrive on scene in the event a car breaks down. With this service we will be able to offer towing, a flat tire change, car battery replacement and such kind of “first aid” services.
Q. How does Toyota Center Tegeta follow world trends in terms of service?
A. Here, at Toyota Center Tegeta we constantly offer novelties but don’t just look at and follow the world trends. We follow customers’ demands and come up with new service ideas following the desire of our customers. This is the secret to our success, I would say.
Q. How have customers’ attitudes changed when it comes to choosing a car? As we can see, hybrid cars are becoming popular in Georgia. What is the reason for their popularity?
A. Hybrid cars are indeed becoming popular in Georgia. While customers do have in mind the importance of choosing cars that are less damaging to the environment, the reason for their popularity is also the cost-efficiency of such automobiles. By cost efficiency I mean the cheaper price of hybrid cars. As you know, the Government has created preferential conditions for the import of hybrid cars and nowadays customs tariffs for them are lower compared to cars with internal combustion engines.
As of today almost 60 percent of imported used cars in Georgia are Toyota Priuses. Beside the above-mentioned reasons the high demand for Toyota Priuses is also due to the well-developed service centres. People know that if something happens and their car incurs damage, they will get high quality service to fix the problem. When there is a high quality, developed auto service on the market it indirectly encourages development of those brands on the used car market for which service is already available and well developed. At our service centre all Toyota Prius customers can come, no matter whether they have new or used Prius cars from the US or from Japan – we provide the same quality service to all of them. Having this in mind customers do not hesitate to purchase Toyota Prius cars. I think this is the reason responsible for an increase in the share of Toyota Priuses on the market.
Q. Which are the most popular cars at Toyota Center Tegeta currently?
A. In the first quarter of 2018 the most popular car was the Land Cruiser 200, in second place – the Land Cruiser Prado, and in third place – the CHR. SUV cars are in general very popular in Georgia as they are the best suited to Georgian roads and landscapes. As you know, Georgia is a small country and from an asphalt road one might turn on to a village track, finding both road surfaces within short proximity. So SUV cars are well suitable for Georgia and customers prefer to buy universal cars they can drive comfortably in the cities as well as in the mountains.
Recently we introduced a new model of the Toyota Camry and a new model of the Toyota Prado and these cars are also much loved by customers.
Q. How do you attract customers and what kind of activities do you run in this direction?
A. We offer loan payments with all of the banks that operate in Georgia.
Also, we offer a unique service to our customers, whereby they are able to bring their old car and we will buy it at market price and give them a new one instead. Year after year more and more customers are using this service. The sales of used cars which we buy from customers are also increasing. We sell these cars with a 22-year warranty and at general market price which is set by all used car markets in Georgia.
We have over 200,000 loyalty cards that we call the Tegeta Card. Card owners can use the My Car History online service. Points are accumulated on the Tegeta Card when any product or service is purchased at Tegeta Motors. One can use this credit to participate in special promotions. In addition, the owner of a Tegeta Card will be eligible for discounts for various products and services according to the expenses accumulated on the card. Card owners will qualify for participation in Tegeta Motors special promotion campaigns by accumulating a certain amount of points.
We always care about our customers and offer them the best services on the market.
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