It’s not only the engines running high at Sun Rent A Car. The company has seen a steady growth and keeps looking forward to reaching higher grounds. In recent times, a new, larger mechanical garage has been built for Sun Repair Services which is a sub company to Sun Rent A Car. With a large glassed entrance area where you can sit down and relax while our mechanic experts work on your car. They now accept all different types of cars from any customer, no matter if you have rented or bought your car through Sun or not.
”Anyone can book a timeslot with us, and we repair and serve all car brands. With our improved garage, with almost double capacity, we can also repair bigger cars, and even large trucks. The bigger workspace lets us keep a larger inventory of auto parts, which lets us cut the total repair time, and return the vehicle to our customer quicker”, Barış Tahsinoğlu, Sun Repair Services Office Manager.
More than 150 cars are currently leased from Sun, a service which they were the first to offer companies in North Cyprus. There are many advantages of leasing, and apart from it being a problem-free car ownership, it is also significantly more tax efficient for you as a business owner as well as the fact that Sun oversees that your vehicle is insured, all taxes are paid, and all services are up to date.
“In today’s society, most banks, several telecom companies, as well as many other smaller and larger firms are leasing their cars from us”, states Altan Erdem, Corporate Sales Executive, Head Office. In addition, Sun provides custom solutions to companies in need of specific interior, equipment such as lights, sirens, storage boxes, etc. Sun will find a solution for you.
The next step is to construct a brand-new office building for the car rental side of the company. The one we are located in now will be demolished, and a big modern facility with sides covered in glass will be built in its place. This facility will have room for approximately 15 front desk representative stations for the rental car business, and the top floor will be home for the same number of offices. While the construction is taking place, the front desk stations will be moved to the other end of this block, in order not to negatively affect the customers from the on-going facility development.
We are taking a walk in the backyard where it is usually rather empty. However, during these times, the cars are parked almost on top of each other, waiting for tourists to return to the island and the rental cars going back out on the streets. On the roof of one of the auto shop buildings, turned facing the sun, sits a larger number of solar panels which we find very interesting.
“We have solar panels for production of solar energy but we do not store the energy to use by ourselves. Instead the Government has designed a system for buying the energy from producers, like us, and by the end of each month they check the balance, how much we’ve produced and how much we’ve used. Then we have a net balance of energy, explains Can Akün, Sun Rent A Car Ltd. Head Office Manager.
Gears shifting due to the pandemic
When the COVID-19 virus hit the world with a knockout punch, together with the fact that Sun Rent A Car have a car fleet of more than 400 rental cars, it is easy to understand that a lockdown pulls the parking brake on the whole business.
“Because it all began during our low season tourism wise, we “only” had around one hundred cars spread across the island, that had to be picked up as most tourists were forced to return to their home countries when the pandemic hit”, explains Can.
The lockdown that occurred in North Cyprus mid-March lead to people only being allowed to leave their homes to buy groceries, visit pharmacies or doctors, or fill up the car with gas. Other than that, everyone was forced to stay at home.
“My employees were permitted by the police to keep working until we had tracked down and brought back all of our cars. When all cars were back home, we were standing in neutral gear. Some of our business functions were still up and running, as a large portion of our cars were leased to companies and functions that in our society are necessary to everyone, such as food producers. “Their cars need to be up and running, no matter if we are in a lockdown or not. We must be able to provide our service and support to everyone who utilize our leasing service, but generally, our business was on hold for two months”, says Can.
While we are visiting, it’s full activity at the Head Office, Sun employees are ready to serve, all while wearing the mandatory face mask. In all entrances there is hand sanitizer and a special doormat to step on before you enter.
“We are cautious to follow all rules and guidelines from the government. That everyone has the same mentality and approach towards our new routines is essential for us if we want to pull through the pandemic and come out on top at the end of it. However, we do all we can to make our business as safe as possible. Obviously, we have taken all deep cleaning, and sanitising very seriously, as soon as we have had cars returned, but now we are taking even more precautions. The cars are literally taken apart on a regular basis. All the seats, as well as pedals, are taken out and being deep cleaned, while the rest of the car is being sprayed with disinfection spray. Everything is being thoroughly cleaned before our next customer is sitting in that car” says Barış.
Of the five companies within Sun Group, it was only Sunpex Trading that was up and running with normal business activities as they are a company who produce and deliver food products. It has been a challenging spring for Sun Group for sure, but fortunately they have been able to keep all employees. They have made sure all their employees have received their pay checks. Throughout all Sun Group’s companies, they have tremendous loyalty from their employees. Sun began its journey over 40 years ago, and they have employees that have been on the journey from the start until today.
”Many of our employees have been here since I was a kid. My grandfather, and then my father built this business from the ground up, and I have grown up and spent my childhood by the side of many of the employees you see here today. We are like a big family, and you do not throw out family members even though there are some difficult times. You just have to find a way to pull through”, states Sander Kahveciler, one of the owners of Sun Group who has been a member of the Sun Family ever since he was born.
No matter if you need a car for a week or half a year, or maybe even longer. Sun Rent A Car is a reliable and comfortable way to have access to a car. Sun Rent A Car’s car park is one of the very biggest in Cyprus. You will find cars in all sizes, all of them in very good condition. Sun Rent A Car was one of the first to open an office at Ercan Airport, as early as the same day as the airport opened up their doors for rental car companies. Apart from the headquarters in Nicosia, where we are visiting now, you will find the same knowledgeable employees also in the harbour of Kyrenia. If against all odds, you end up with car problems up in Karpaz in the middle of the night for example, you have full access to Sun’s 24 Hour Call Center and you will receive the assistant you need from the Sun Rent A Car representatives.
