Kia’s Tasman bakkie arrives in South Africa
Kia has taken a bold step into one of South Africa’s most competitive automotive segments with the launch of the Tasman, its first-ever double cab bakkie.
- Product News
- 9 April 2026
Kia South Africa rewarded its top-performing dealerships across the country with prizes for outstanding achievements in sales, after-sales and service operations.
The 2024 Kia Dealer of the Year Awards, which encompass the period July 2023 to December 2024, were held during the brand’s leadership conference.
The conference and awards were hosted by Kia South Africa’s CEO, Paul Turnbull, and were attended not only by senior leadership from its full dealer network, but also by Ockert Janse van Rensburg and Brenda Baijnath, the CEO and CFO of Motus Holdings. A key highlight of the event was the attendance of SH Chang, the President of Kia Middle East and Africa, and Yaser Shabsogh, the Vice President of Operations for Kia Middle East and Africa.
“The past year has been one of significant change for the Kia brand in South Africa, but despite challenging market conditions, the resilience of our dealer network remained a key characteristic for success,” says Paul Turnbull, CEO, Kia South Africa. “It’s important to give credit where it’s due, and our annual awards do exactly that. We are excited about the renewed energy and focus for 2025.”
For the 2024 awards, Kia consolidated many of its previous awards in order to best encapsulate that success must be achieved across all the various business elements to truly represent excellence, presenting certificates to the top three finalists in each category and announcing a singular winner.
The evening started by recognising and rewarding outstanding individual performances in two categories in the sphere of after-sales, specifically focusing on the critical role that service advisors play in this area. Winners in this category were Anna Kwedi from Kia Northcliff as Service Advisor of the Year (Certified level) and Nicole Kuhn from Kia Nigel as Service Advisor of the Year (Expert level). It was Nokuphiwe Bawana from Kia Pietermaritzburg who stole the show, however, as she was declared Service Advisor of the Year on the Master level for the third consecutive year.
Dealer of the Year winners:
However, for 2024, there was one dealership that excelled across sales and after-sales and achieved the best results across all categories in tough market conditions. Demonstrating that the power of focus, commitment and consistency will always result in excellence, it was Dealer Principal Sean Simpson and his team from Kia Vereeniging who walked away victorious as the 2024 Kia Dealer of the Year.
Winners in the category for Sales Executive of the Year:
Winners in the category for Aftersales Dealer of the Year:
Winners in the category for Sales Dealer of the Year:
Kia has taken a bold step into one of South Africa’s most competitive automotive segments with the launch of the Tasman, its first-ever double cab bakkie.
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