From candidate attorney and accounts professional to business and dealership owner, Stephan Venter’s achievements at a relatively young age, driven by passion and hard work, make for an inspiring story.

His career in the automotive retail sector began in 2011 at Auto Investments Motor Group, a national franchise group for pre-owned vehicles. Through dedication and effort, he gradually acquired shares in the company and eventually became the owner of his own franchise within the well-known used car group.

Today, he is one of the directors of the Auto Investments Motor Group and the sole owner of Auto Investments Hatfield, Jetour Hatfield, as well as Changan Pretoria, marking his first venture into the OEM world of the new generation of Chinese brands returning to South Africa.

The group recently celebrated the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new Changan dealership in Brooklyn, with representatives from Changan China and Jameel Motors, the Middle Eastern importers of the brand into South Africa, attending the opening in Pretoria.

Stephan told Dealerfloor that the new premises, which were completely renovated, had previously been a dealership belonging to another motoring group. “It was at this very dealership way back in 2007 that I bought my first new vehicle. Now I have opened a new dealership at that same venue, which now belongs to me,” he says.

“It is an exciting time for us. On the Jetour side of the business, we have seen excellent acceptance of the brand in less than two years since its arrival on local shores. We have just added the T1 and T2, more rugged and boxy, off-road-orientated SUVs, which will complement the existing Dashing and X70 Plus crossovers,” he says.

Within a year of opening his Jetour dealership, Stephan won top accolades for the brand, including Top Parts Dealership, Top Dealership, and Top Dealer Principal, among others.

Speaking of awards, he has also collected several Absa Golden Partner awards over the years at Auto Investments, along with numerous other industry and internal group honours.

Discussing the pre-owned market, Stephan tells Dealerfloor that they typically stock around 35 used vehicles, and in some months, sell all of them. “We also focus on niche models such as Porsches, while at the other end of the spectrum, Ford Ranger bakkies remain immensely popular in our market,” he adds.

“I am excited about Changan because the complete range of vehicles will be available immediately, appealing to a wide range of customers. As the oldest Chinese vehicle manufacturer, Changan is a vast entity with an extensive range of products and strong support.

“We will start with the Alsvin sedan at the entry level, the CS75 Pro five- and seven-seater SUV, the Hunter 2.0 ICE diesel bakkie, the Hunter REEV range extender EV bakkie (petrol-electric), and the Deepal S07 all-electric SUV. We cover the complete range from ICE (petrol and diesel) to hybrid and fully electric vehicles,” Stephan says.

Stephan concludes that he is optimistic about the future, as the product ranges align perfectly with customer preferences, while his used car business will also benefit from a new influx of cars from the trade-ins on new ones.

• The new flagship Changan showroom is 1 of 25 fully trained and equipped dealerships nationwide. While the unveiling of Changan’s new vehicle range at the opening of the dealership, was a highlight of the event, the country’s first Changan owner, Martinique Lamprecht, a high school student, arrived with her father to take ownership of her Alsvin 1.5 DCT.
• The launch and opening of the dealership were attended by key government officials and industry leaders with addresses from Musa Khumalo (Governance and Support Officer of Tshwane) and Phindile Jonas (Deputy Director of Registration and Compliance) as well as form Marinus Venter (Country General Manager Jameel Motors SA) and Xiao Feng (General Manager Changan Automobile Middle East and Africa).