Kia keeps getting better and better

Naas Kia has become one of the most successful dealerships in the North East and while the company has been established ten years, the growth of the business resulted in a move to a new premises just over a year ago.

The success of the company can be seen as Naas Kia has amazingly been named Kia dealer of the year in 2004, ’05, ’06 and last year, which is a testament of the service provided.
Irish Trucker spoke to company managing director Paddy Connolly about the success of the business and what the future held for this burgeoning firm.

Having had many years experience working with the renowned Harris Group, Paddy took the brave decision to establish his own business and it proved to be a very successful move.
Situated in the M7 Business Park, Naas, Co Kildare, Paddy and his team celebrated their first anniversary in the new premises last November and he revealed that the move has been very beneficial.
“We felt it was necessary to move the business as we had out grown the old facilities. There is lots more room here now, while our location means that there is a lot of passing trade coming in,” said Paddy.

Naas Kia is a subsidiary of Naas Light Commercials, which has been in existence since 1998 when Paddy first became a main dealer for Isuzu and then five years later he introduced Kia to the franchise and has been a main dealer for both ever since.
Paddy believes that customer satisfaction is the main reason that they have had so much success and the team at Naas Light Commercials pride themselves on providing an excellent service.

“We treat every customer the same, whether they’re in to spend 5,000 euro or 100,000. We deal with everyone in an honest and open manner and we talk straight down the middle. It all comes down to total service from the minute a potential customer walks in the door. We’re here to give as good a deal as possible. Satisfied customers will tell other people about the deal they got at Naas Light Commercials and hopefully they’ll also come in and do business with us.
“We supply any make or model, even though the bread and butter of the business is obviously the two main franchises as well as Iveco vans.

“We pride ourselves on our level of service and the long hours. We know what we have to do. Purse strings are tighter than ever now. You have to get it right first time because you only get one chance at it. There’s no time or room for messing people around.”
Naas Kia service ensures that every vehicle will receive top of the range maintenance as they have the latest state of the art computerised diagnostic equipment where all work is quality controlled and carried out by Kia trained personnel.
A breakdown service is also available for all new Kia vehicles which is one the reasons that Naas Kia has attained the accolade of Kia Motors Dealership of the Year for the past four years.
A large customer base has been built up over the years and this is the culmination of lots of hard work and dedication to dealing with customers on a personal level.

“It is tough, and everybody knows it’ll get tougher, but we have a number of prestigious clients on our books and we have a policy of treating every customer equally. That policy has served us well and we benefit from a lot of repeat custom.”
Paddy stressed that the company would not be so successful was it not for his dedicated staff that has pulled together in their bid to make Naas Light Commercials so successful.
“We all work together as a team and I have great people in every department. It’s like a family in a lot of ways, and that’s another of our strengths.

“Our dedicated Sales team are on hand to discuss any customer requirement and can offer advice on model selection and include finance package options tailor-made to suit individual needs and budgets.”
The company MD is confident that the business can continue to go from strength to strength, although Paddy admits that maintaining their current client base is the number one priority.
“At this moment in time, the main objective is to hold what we have. We will forge ahead. We have a fantastic range of products and we’ll hold what we have. We’re only a young company, but a progressive one. We’ve expanded in the past twelve months and hopefully will continue to expand.”

Already 2008 has got off to a great start for the company as new models in Isuzu and Kia have been selling steadily. The new premises are comprised of 8,000 sq ft and the forecourt holds up to 60 brand new vehicles meaning that the customer has plenty of vehicles to choose from.
Without question Paddy has all the ingredients to be more successful in the industry and with his customer base increasing on a regular basis, the future of the company looks very bright indeed.