Kia Australia has partnered with Truck Moves Australia.
The new arrangement began in July after Kia engaged Truck Moves Australia to assist with the rollout of its new Tasman ute.
The carmaker is in the process of having major fleets evaluate the newly launched 5 Star ANCAP* utility vehicle which entails multiple movements of units each day according to Jeff Morgan, Kia Australia National Commercial Sales Manager.
“Using car carrier relocators isn’t always efficient, however, when there is only one vehicle that is required to be moved,” he told Prime Mover.
“Ideally I want to be able to respond faster so I put forward Truck Moves Australia and explained their role and how I have utilised them in the past.”
Movements are not only daily but necessary in every state.
Jeff Morgan, who was formerly Dealer Principal for three Hino truck dealerships in Sydney and the Central Coast simultaneously, over a 20 year period, joined Kia back in March.
“I have used Truck Moves Australia for many years previously. They are a good organisation,” he said.
“Not only do they move a product from A to B, but they can also register the vehicle, if need be, and they can do a handover in a professional manner, within a fleet arrangement.”
Morgan said Truck Moves Australia would be looked at also to move Kia vehicles throughout the country once the other state managers had an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the process internally.
“The theory is moving forward they will start to utilise them to move Kia cars from A to B on a regular basis. It’s straight forward,” he said.
“We’ve got Tasmans being rolled out to major fleets at the moment for evaluation around the country.”
The first delivery was simple enough involving a Kia Tasman being moved from Macquarie Park, where Kia’s head office is situated, to Sydney Water in Potts Hill safely and on time.
“Because I’ve used Truck Moves Australia before with large fleets, when we get a significant order for Tasmans I know they’re more than capable of not only moving a car from A to B but if required, they will register it and just hand it over to the fleet and once we’ve done the first few it’s easily repeatable,” said Morgan.
Because Truck Moves Australia provides optimised convenience for conducting the transaction of having a vehicle moved or even registered, the process is easily replicated for scale.
That makes it particularly attractive to those working on bigger fleet rollouts and new product evaluations like the Kia Tasman.
The Kia Tasman last month received a five-star ANCAP rating* which is a key touchstone for fleets.
The Tasman variants are comprehensive across 4x2s, 4x4s, single cabs, dual cabs, pickups, cab chassis and covers over 80 per cent of the full market.
Safety features notably are extensive. There’s no compromise, according to Morgan, from the base model right through to the top of the range.
“We are prioritising our focus on safety — that is key. It’s redefining the ute market in the sense that it’s got SUV comfort with a very reliable 4×4 driveline system underneath the chassis,” said Morgan.
“The Tasman is one of those products that people quickly notice the bold visual look of it. From the three months that we have been going around the country with major fleets who have all driven it, without fail, every single one of them who has got in it and said it looks a bit different, and having driven it go on to say they love it. The perception is very different after they experience it first-hand.”
Morgan has also sought to leverage the services of telematics provider Geotab like he has done with Truck Moves Australia.
While customer feedback is imperative, having the data to validate the vehicle’s performance is equally crucial when approaching major fleets.
“I’ve never handed over a demonstration or evaluation vehicle without a Geotab product on it because you want to be able to show the customer a report on how it performed in their operations,” said Morgan.
“It gives a more in-depth view on how the vehicle actually performs and takes out the guessing on the customer’s part.”
This way investment can be founded on strong objective criteria.
“Customers towing with the Tasman can see it towed up Mount Ousley and the accuracy of the rev count at the top of the hill and that the vehicle maintained its speed,” said Morgan.
“This clearly shows how it performs within their operations suitably. That’s the sort of data we want to provide as an example.
“We can also use that data for the next five years when we’re talking to other market segments that we’re not focusing on right now but we will be in six- or 12-months’ time, like, for instance, mining.”
The Geotab GO9 platform can collate data on CO₂emissions across the entire evaluation process and generate reports for post-evaluation consultation with potential customers.
While the partnership between Kia and Truck Moves Australia is relatively new, Morgan noted that he has known Managing Director Matt Whitnall and the capability of his business for the better part of two decades.
“They’re user-friendly, they’re convenient, they’re professional and I’ve used them for approximately 20 years,” he said.
“I can’t think of an issue that I’ve ever had dealing with them. They’re just easy to deal with. When you’re looking for a supplier what else are you looking for really?”
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