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Vanguard: New additions to Mercedes-Benz team

Neville Martin and Steve Hunt have joined Mercedes-Benz Unley Vans, as the company expands its reach across Adelaide.

Sep 23, 2024, updated Sep 24, 2024
L-R Steve Hunt, Paul Griffin, Neville Martin

L-R Steve Hunt, Paul Griffin, Neville Martin

Mercedes-Benz Unley Vans has expanded its territory and its sales team, and has plans to open a second sales and service centre in Adelaide’s north.

In January, the dealership became the sole agent in Adelaide for the marque’s commercial vans, following the withdrawal of the other Mercedes-Benz vans retailer from the local market.

Sales manager Paul Griffin said sales executives Neville Martin and Steve Hunt were a strong addition to the team and had built good relationships with their customers over many years.

“Steve and Neville both have extensive experience with the Mercedes-Benz product and in commercial vehicle sales, and we’re delighted they’ve been able to join us and give us the resources to effectively serve the entire metropolitan region,” he said.

Mercedes-Benz Unley Vans, Mercedes-Benz Unley and Mercedes-Benz Adelaide are part of the CMV Group, which ranked highly in this year’s South Australian Business Index released last Friday.

The privately owned company is celebrating its 90th year, and the fourth generation has now taken up management positions in the family-run business.

Safety, quality and reputation have seen the Mercedes-Benz brand hold strong in the commercial van market, which Griffin described as “very crowded and highly competitive”.

A large share of the dealership’s customer base comes from the manufacturing, transport and logistics, and tourism sectors.

Griffin said, globally, the Sprinter is an “incredibly important vehicle” with large fleet operators, like SA Power Networks, Fedex, DHL, Team Global Express and Australia Post favouring it. Ambulances in Australia also overwhelmingly use a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.

All vans feature a 5-year warranty and finance is available with the option of a Guaranteed Future Value.

Griffin said while commercial van sales are impacted by business confidence and “obviously at the mercy of the market”, the dealership is tracking in line with targets set by Mercedes-Benz Australia.

“Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles are popular with couriers and there’s plenty of activity there,” he said.

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Mercedes-Benz Unley Vans’ sales in May and June were also boosted by businesses taking advantage of the federal government’s instant asset write-off.

Griffin said the Sprinter and Vito vans and the V-Class passenger models enjoy a loyal customer following here and overseas.

Internationally, the V-Class is the dominant vehicle in the passenger transfer market, and it has a very strong presence in Australia as well,” he said.

“The smaller van, the Vito, is popular here with the trades because its external height [at less than 2 metres] means it can easily access the underground carparks of high-rise buildings.”

Supply of the European-built vans has been tight post-Covid, with a number of their South Australian customers pre-ordering around six months ahead of the new models dropping next month.

“A lot of our existing customers have been waiting for the upgraded model to come,” Griffin said.

“The new Vito is similar in appearance, but it’s been restyled at the front and has a number of enhancements internally, including a whole new dash set up.

“Basically, it’s like driving a Mercedes-Benz car. The steering column, the dashboard, the layout, the technology – it all transfers over from the car side.”

The new Sprinter also benefits from a crossover with the car technology, while retaining the same dimensions as the previous model. This makes it cost-effective for customers to transfer their internal fit-outs when purchasing a new van.

Griffin said the latest range of V-Class passenger vehicles have also arrived and feature upgraded interior and exterior styling and technological upgrades, such as keyless start, widescreen cockpit with 12.3-inch display and MBUX Multimedia system.

Across the dealership group there is a focus on customer satisfaction and sales excellence that has been recognised nationally. Mercedes-Benz Adelaide and Unley were awarded the Mercedes-Benz Transformation Champion in 2022 and received the Circle of Excellence in 2020, 2021 and 2023.

The addition of Martin and Hunt will further cement the company’s leadership in vehicle sales, and Griffin said the company’s plans to establish a facility to service Adelaide’s northern side “were well and truly in the pipeline”.

Explore the new range at Mercedes-Benz Unley Vans.

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