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- Industry News
- 17 April 2025
GWM South Africa celebrated the growth and performance of its dealer network at its 2023/2024 Dealer of the Year Awards.
Dealers from across South Africa were called to the podium to receive one of the many awards to recognise their performance in sales, service, aftersales, vehicle accessories and vehicle financing.
The evening ended with the four winning dealers announced in the main Dealer of the Year categories – Small, Medium, Large and Mega Dealers. Haval Randfontein, Haval Springs, Haval Centurion and Haval Pretoria won in these respective categories.
“Many of the GWM dealers who received awards have been with us since we first opened our doors 16 years ago,” says Conrad Groenewald, Chief Operations Officer of GWM South Africa.
“These dealers, and the many others who have joined us along the way, have seen GWM grow from a small supplier of reliable pick-ups to a top 10 vehicle supplier with a large and exciting range of vehicles that cater to all the growing segments of the South African vehicle market.”
At the GWM Dealer Awards, the brand revealed an exciting range of upcoming models, including the GWM P Series P500, the new GWM Jolion Pro, the imposing new GWM Tank 500 and the Haval H7.
Dealerships are in the process of rebranding their GWM and Haval showrooms to showcase the new GWM brand identity with all of its sub-brands – Tank, Ora, Haval and P Series.
Returning to the Dealer of the Year Awards: dealers from as far afield as Malmesbury, Zululand, eMkhondo (Piet Retief), East London and Welkom received awards.
GWM South Africa annually reviews the performance of every single dealer in a host of different categories, including fleet sales, finance and insurance service quality (F&I), accessory sales, aftersales (the service clients receive during their ownership of a vehicle), sales performance and overall sales volume.
At the same time, GWM and its team of dealer support staff evaluate the individual performance of dealer staff and management. It awards the best performing staff in specific categories, including best sales manager, best service manager, best accessory parts manager and best dealer principal.
Best Parts Managers |
||
Dealer Category |
Dealership |
Winner |
Very Small |
Malmesbury |
Simon du Preez |
Small |
Welkom |
Nardus Bothma |
Medium |
Stellenbosch |
Jeff Bain |
Large |
Alberton |
Korne Coetzer |
Mega |
Edenvale |
Craig Walker |
Best Service Managers |
||
Dealer Category |
Dealership |
Winner |
Very Small |
Piet Retief |
Johan Koster |
Small |
Zululand |
Dees Sulaman |
Medium |
Stellenbosch |
Kimberely Sidwell |
Large |
Tollgate |
Cindy Moodley |
Mega |
The Glen |
Anthony Hormovas |
Top Accessory Dealers |
||
Dealer Category |
Dealership |
Winner |
Very Small |
Bela-Bela |
Ryno Badenhorst |
Small |
Welkom |
Nardus Bothma |
Medium |
Helderberg |
Leon Adonis |
Large |
Alberton |
Korne Coetzer |
Mega |
Edenvale |
Craig Walker |
Top Parts Dealers |
||
Dealer Category |
Dealership |
Winner |
Very Small |
Malmesbury |
Simon du Preez |
Small |
Welkom |
Nardus Bothma |
Medium |
East London |
Craig Engelbrecht |
Large |
Kempton Park |
Bilal Bhoja |
Mega |
Edenvale |
Craig Walker |
Best Fleet Dealers |
||
Dealer Category |
Dealer |
|
Very Small |
Haval Eswatini (Cross Border) |
|
Very Small |
Haval Mokopane |
|
Small |
Haval Tzaneen |
|
Medium |
Haval Shelly Beach |
|
Large |
Haval Plumstead |
|
Mega |
Haval Fourways |
|
Best F&I |
||
Dealer Category |
Dealer |
|
Very Small |
Haval Bela-Bela |
|
Small |
Haval Potchefstroom |
|
Medium |
Haval Helderberg |
|
Large |
Haval Midrand |
|
Mega |
Haval Pretoria |
|
Best Sales Manager |
||
Dealer Category |
Dealer |
Winner |
Mega |
Haval Pretoria |
Milton Papadakis |
Best Dealer Principal |
||
Category |
Dealer |
Dealer Principal |
Mega |
Haval The Glen |
David Venter |
Best Selling Dealers |
||
Dealer Category |
Dealer |
Region |
Very Small |
Haval Bela-Bela |
SACU |
Small |
Haval Randfontein |
SACU |
Medium |
Haval Springs |
SACU |
Large |
Haval Centurion |
SACU |
Mega |
Haval Pretoria |
SACU |
Small |
Haval Zimbabwe |
Cross Border |
Medium |
Haval Mauritius |
Cross Border |
Dealers of the Year |
||
Dealer Category |
Dealer |
|
Small |
Haval Randfontein |
|
Medium |
Haval Springs |
|
Large |
Haval Centurion |
|
Mega |
Haval Pretoria |
In the face of a shifting premium automotive market, Audi South Africa is also currently re-aligning its retail operations according to the new reality where the premium vehicle sector has contracted to nearly a third of its size compared to a decade ago, with 2024 marking the lowest level yet.
The Halfway Group has opened the doors to a brand-new Lexus dealership, located in Lynnwood, Pretoria, with Chris Jones as the Dealer Principal.
Stellantis has announced the expansion of its multi-franchise dealer network with the addition of the Fiat and Jeep brands to the existing CMH East Rand dealership in Boksburg, Gauteng.