Pretoria - McCarthy Call-a-Car, the motoring internet website and call centre service operated by McCarthy Motor Holdings (MMH), had reached new heights with sales of 727 vehicles last month, Lourens Botha, the managing director of McCarthy On-Line, said yesterday.
Botha said Call-a-Car sales this year totalled 6 800 new and used cars. March was the record month with 745 car sales, followed by last month with 727 units.
"The average for 2001 is more than 680 vehicles per month."
Botha said McCarthy Volkswagen had the largest Call-a-Car share, marginally edging out McCarthy Toyota, followed by McCarthy Nissan and McCarthy Mercedes.
Call-a-Car included 30 non-McCarthy dealers in its pool with the aim of increasing stock levels to provide an even larger selection of vehicles.
These dealers accounted for 95 deals last month.
Botha said convenience was the largest contributor to the success of Call-a-Car as more and more motorists preferred to search for, arrange a test drive and ultimately purchase a new or used vehicle with the click of a mouse or by making a phone call.
He said other reasons for its success were the fact that Call-a-Car had become a brand name that promised the quality of vehicles it sold.
Botha said Call-a-Car started conservatively in August 1997 and in July 1998 sold only 71 units. But less than 12 months later this figure had increased to 374 units in July 1999. Total sales for 1999 topped 3 700.