Every time the twice-ordained pastor has decided to step away from the sector, he has been drawn back in – not quite kicking and screaming, but certainly not of his own accord.

“I always wondered why God kept calling me. I had to dig deeper to understand why,” says the 59-year-old, who recently accepted the position of senior sales executive at Kelston Haval in Port Alfred.

“What I have come to understand, from a Christian perspective, is that I should see sales as a means of discovering a customer’s needs.”

There have been times when he asked potential buyers, who were clearly not in the best financial position, whether they really needed a new car at that moment.

It may seem counterintuitive for someone whose business is about shifting units, but by proving that he has their best interests at heart, they tend to return to Duncan when their situation improves.

It has been some journey for the man from Kwagqugquma, a tiny village near Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal.

Growing up under apartheid in a household of nine meant there was little spare cash at home, compelling him to leave school early to find a job.

In 1987, Duncan worked as a motorbike messenger for a transport company, an experience that led to the then 18-year-old’s first foray into the motor trade – delivering parts for a Volkswagen dealership in Pinetown.

From there he moved into hydraulics, first as a storeman and later an external sales representative.

During this period, he returned to his studies to graduate with qualifications in marketing and sales as well as business management.

In 1994, he moved back into the auto sector as a sales representative in the preowned market. Stints as a business development officer at a vehicle-finance specialist and the hydraulics industry followed.

Spirituality has been a constant in Duncan’s life, and in 2000 he was ordained as a pastor in Durban, which prompted him to establish his own church.

That was when the Bible Society of South Africa approached him to market its product in KZN. He was later asked to do the same in the Eastern Cape, which brought him, his wife, son and nephew to the Friendly City.

It was here that he was ordained for the second time – at the Westside Christian Fellowship in Westering.

Word soon spread that he had settled in the city, and it was not long before a friend told him that a dealership specialising in luxury vehicles was looking for a sales executive. He all but walked into the position.

He took a sabbatical in 2015 to focus on his ministry training but was back in the seat a year later selling Volkswagens in Port Alfred and Makhanda.

The travelling eventually took its toll, and he chose to step away, but fate would not hear of it. On the very day he was packing up, he received a call from his former dealership in Gqeberha that led to him rejoining the team until 2019.

For one reason or another, Haval’s arrival in South Africa in 2017 had intrigued him. When the opportunity to sell these vehicles arose four years later, he did not need to be jump started.

He found families for 72 units in his first year.

At the end of 2021, early retirement beckoned but this, too, would not last long after NGO Village South Africa asked him to provide spiritual guidance at an orphanage in Alexandria.

He and his wife relocated to the small Eastern Cape town where he eventually chaired the local spiritual crime prevention forum while serving as vice-chair at district level.

This May he received a call from a former colleague, Stephen Meyer, who asked him to sign on as a senior sales executive at Kelston Haval.

“It’s like I have been called to this brand. I even thought about it when I decided to retire,” Duncan says.

“I think, for me, Haval covers the needs of the Eastern Cape’s people. We have rough roads here and they only focus on SUVs and pick-ups, which is perfect for the conditions in the province.”

Despite locals being extremely brand loyal, he is relishing the challenge of making Haval known to the community.

“People just need to test-drive these vehicles,” says Duncan, who still ministers at schools and other institutions. “They will start talking about them and that is how a brand grows.”

Faith and vehicle sales are no doubt a match made in heaven for this Kelston man.