
Asian brands, EVs dominate 2025 Best Buy Awards
The 2025 Best By Awards, announced by Kelley Blue Book, reflect the rapidly shifting landscape of the automotive market not only in the USA, but also elsewhere.
- Industry News
- 17 April 2025
Hyundai Umhlanga has been awarded the 2023 Dealer of the Year prize at Hyundai Automotive South Africa’s national dealer conference held in Gauteng recently.
The Umhlanga dealership on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal has excelled in several aspects of its business, including sales, customer satisfaction and customer service.
A proud Prishen Ghandhi, Dealer Principal of Hyundai Umhlanga, says part of his dealership’s recipe for success is treating each staff member as an individual and working with all of them to realise their potential.
“My finance and management experience gained in an earlier part of my working career has helped me a lot to manage and motivate my staff,” says Prishen. “Our success really comes from a combination of things. A business is made up of people, and getting them to buy into the business aims. And it is important to get the right people, and the right team.
“I like having one-on-one meetings with my people at the dealership, with the result that I have a highly motivated staff.”
Gideon Jansen van Rensburg, CEO of Hyundai Automotive SA, had high praise for the top performers in the dealership network of the company. “Our dealers have done outstanding work in a difficult business climate, and those who excelled most have been awarded justly for their accomplishments.
“I commend our winners of Dealer of the Year awards for the extra effort they and their staff have put into their business, living the Hyundai values and building the Hyundai brand,” Gideon says.
Dealer of the Year 2023 |
||
Category |
Place |
Dealership |
A |
1 |
Umhlanga |
A |
2 |
Pinetown |
A |
3 |
Springfield Park |
B |
1 |
Mobeni |
B |
2 |
Northcliff |
B |
3 |
Harbour View |
C |
1 |
Humansdorp |
C |
2 |
Grahamstown |
C |
3 |
Eswatini |
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.