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Lodge City Rentals chooses Ebbett Volkswagen as their fleet provider

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Lodge Real Estate are Hamilton’s real estate industry leader.

They pride themselves on “knowing Hamilton like nobody else”. When it came time to replace their existing fleet of cars for their rental team, they wanted to reinforce this message – and make a statement of their own. Total cost of ownership was also a factor. So, with these elements in mind, Ebbett Volkswagen recommended the Volkswagen Polo Comfortline DSG. Though not the cheapest car on the market, it wasn’t the most expensive either, but it had what Lodge were looking for – overall value.

Richard van den Engel, Dealer Principal, Ebbett Volkswagen, was aware of the perception in the marketplace that the Volkswagen was a premium vehicle. “We knew we could show Lodge that the Volkswagen Polo was a viable option for them. They were considering other cars including Suzuki Swift, Kia Rio, Hyundai i20 and Toyota Yaris and we wanted them to understand that the Volkswagen could be included in their considerations, particularly as they were extremely budget conscious.”

The Volkswagen would provide Lodge with a premium vehicle solution without adding cost. This would allow them to choose the best car and the best fit for them as a brand.”

A real brand statement

Purchasing a fleet of 13 Volkswagen Polos also gave Lodge Rentals a competitive advantage. The new fleet not only reinforced Lodge’s commitment to value, quality, excellence and efficiency – everything this European car is known for – it portrayed consistency. The company’s new fleet would be instantly recognisable – and so too would their brand.

David Kneebone, general manager, Lodge Rentals says when they began searching for a new fleet provider they wanted to reward their staff and partner with a vehicle that said something about their own brand: “quality, excellence and premium”.

“We wanted to give our agents quality vehicles, something economical and comfortable to drive, and something that reflected our image,” David says. “We were really impressed with the Polo, as well as the back-up and service Ebbett Volkswagen offer.”

Every car comes with a three-year warranty, a valet and service and there’s no limit on kilometres. Additional features include automatic gears, Bluetooth and day time running lights. What’s more, the cars are reliable and they turned out to be the cheaper option. “Longer service intervals (meaning less time off the road), better fuel efficiency (meaning less time at the gas station) and higher resale values add up to a lower total cost of ownership,” says Richard. “It was this association with quality and being premium that Lodge felt added value to their own brand.”

“The overall experience we had of purchasing the fleet with Richard and the team was outstanding,” says David. “We now have a fleet of Volkswagen Polo that our staff our proud to drive around the Waikato and be seen in. These vehicles match the quality of the brand we want to portray. “Nobody knows Hamilton like we do here at Lodge; but nobody knows Volkswagens like Ebbett Volkswagen.”

 

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Ebbett Volkswagen saves in-home-care charity

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Ebbett Volkswagen’s fleet of vehicles enables Aspire to deliver their services to the Waikato community.

Aspire is a community organisation that supports people with intellectual disabilities to live as independently as possible. Aspire’s services include residential and support living, 24/7 staff support and assistance to enable people to live life to the fullest.

Looking for the right fit

In 2014, Aspire was looking for a new fleet of vehicles. As a not-for-profit charity, money is tight but these vehicles are essential for transporting people around the community.

Simone Molenaar, chief executive, Aspire, explains what they were looking for in their new fleet. “We wanted a step up in safety and accessibility for staff driving vehicles, with smarter features that enabled better road safety,” she says. “Given that we support people with various abilities it was also important that the vehicles were easy for people to get in and out of and that they sit comfortably with enough room to meet their needs.

“We also wanted to support a Waikato business as part of our commitment to local sustainability.”

With these elements in mind, the Ebbett Volkswagen team sat down with Aspire to look through options and analyse the best vehicle for their needs. “We compared every manufacturer that might have been suitable to find out how much we could actually save them,” explains Richard van den Engel, dealer principal, Ebbett Volkswagen.

 

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Driving sustainable business practices onto the road

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Ebbett Volkswagen have delivered a driving solution that will see Prolife Foods increase their efficiency on the road while enhancing their environmentally friendly ethos.

The Hamilton-based food producer, home of brands including Mother Earth and Alison’s Pantry, is committed to bringing a sustainable approach to all aspects of their operations, and that includes their fleet of cars.

Initially considering Hybrid cars, Chief Executive Andrew Smith found their vehicle choices were severely limited. Meeting Richard van den Engel, Ebbett Volkswagen Dealer Principal, Smith soon discovered that similar fuel efficiency could actually be achieved by a traditional combustion engine.

Volkswagen, which similarly places sustainability at the heart of its operations, became a natural fleet-partner solution for Prolife Foods. The Volkswagen Group has set itself the goal of becoming the global leader in environmental protection. Through resource-efficient production and a broad-based approach to powertrain and fuel technology, Volkswagen aims to be the world’s most ecologically sustainable car manufacturer by 2018.

“With Volkswagen’s focus on innovation in sustainability we boast models in our range that offer the same, if not better fuel efficiency than equivalent Hybrid models,” explains van den Engel.

“The Golf Comfortline TDI has an average fuel consumption of 3.9 litres per 100 km while the Passat Highline TDI 135 kw, available in October, uses only 4.6 litres per 100 km.”

The all new Passat has been awarded the prestigious European Car of the Year Award for 2015, recognising its efficiency and also its quality and functionality. The new lightweight model is more compact in terms of its footprint on the environment compared to its competitors. With its roomy interior and the biggest luggage space in the class, it is an ideal fleet option for sales people who are on the road.

Van den Engel says that staff at Ebbett Volkswagen were really excited about the opportunity to provide Prolife Foods with their new set of wheels. “We take a personal approach to doing business, sitting down to firstly understand a client’s needs and exploring how we can add value to their business,” he explains.

“It’s clear Prolife Foods is motivated towards running a sustainable business. Moving towards a vehicle fleet that is kinder to the environment reinforces this message,” says Mr van der Engel.

Mr Smith says the team at Prolife Foods are really pleased with their new fleet of cars.

“They’re safe, economical and comfortable for our staff to drive, but just as importantly, they’re kind on the environment – a value that is hugely important to Prolife and its brands”.

 

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