With youth unemployment remaining one of South Africa’s biggest challenges, the National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA) has launched Motoring Mavericks, a movement designed to show young people that car dealerships offer far more than sales or mechanical jobs.
Instead, modern dealerships are fast-moving business environments where young professionals can build careers in marketing, finance, digital systems, customer experience, business management and technical specialisations.
Many young South Africans do not realise that today’s dealerships operate as full-scale businesses powered by technology, data, innovation and strong customer service. They need digitally savvy marketers, finance professionals, HR specialists, business managers and skilled technicians to keep operations running smoothly.
“As South Africa continues to battle high youth unemployment, we want to open young people’s eyes to the real career opportunities inside the automotive retail space,” says NADA Director Ashley Samuel.
“Dealerships are fast-paced, technology-driven environments where ambitious young professionals can grow quickly, develop valuable skills and build strong earning potential. Many senior leaders in the industry started in entry-level roles and worked their way up.”
Through real-life stories of young professionals already succeeding in the industry, Motoring Mavericks profiles careers including Finance & Insurance (F&I) Specialists, Dealer Principals, Sales Executives, Marketing Professionals and Service Technicians. The campaign offers practical insight into how young people can enter the industry and grow their careers.
One of the key elements of the Motoring Mavericks campaign is sharing the experiences of young professionals already working in the dealership environment. Through short videos and interviews, young sales executives, marketing specialists, service technicians and finance professionals explain how they entered the industry and how their careers have developed since joining the sector.
South Africa’s dealership network plays a major role in the automotive sector, facilitating the majority of the 596 818 new vehicles sold in the country in 2025, according to naamsa | The Automotive Business Council.
As new vehicle brands enter the local market and technology continues to reshape the automotive landscape, opportunities for skilled, motivated young professionals are expanding.
Motoring Mavericks will be shared across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn, giving young South Africans easy access to career advice, industry insights and stories from people already building successful careers in the automotive retail sector.
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You can't buy happiness but you can buy cars and that's kind of the same thing.
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