Last year was an event-filled one for UD Trucks Southern Africa (UDTSA) following numerous achievements across its sales and aftersales business areas, which had a positive effect on the overall business growth for the brand.
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To recognise dealers who contributed significantly to the exceptional performance in 2023, UDTSA hosted its Annual Dealer Conference (ADC) in Cape Town.
This year, the awards were celebrated under the apt theme “A celebration of continuous innovation”, shining the spotlight to dealers who propelled change through innovation and created favourable conditions to adapt in what was a dynamic operating environment.
Scooping the biggest awards of the event for excellent customer satisfaction, exceptional business performance and outstanding aftermarket achievements. AutoSueco Namibia took home the title of Dealer of the Year 2023 for Emerging Markets, whilst locally, the Dealer of the Year award for medium dealers went to UD Trucks Ermelo, and lastly, UD Trucks Cape Town was received the prestigious title of overall Dealer of the Year.
Overall Dealer of the Year – UD Trucks Cape Town: Here are Jacques Michel (Senior Advisor, UD Trucks International Sales), Rory Schulz (Sales Director, UD Trucks Southern Africa), Filip van den Heede (Managing Director, UD Trucks Southern Africa), Fabrice Gorlier (Senior Vice President, UD Trucks International Sales), Heinie Thompson (Parts Manager, UD Trucks Cape Town), John Trollip (Managing Director, Fuzion Motor Group), Craig Mylne (Dealer Principal, UD Trucks Cape Town), Henk Bekker (Sales Manager, UD Trucks Cape Town), Marius Rix (Service Manager, UD Trucks Cape Town) and Sanjay Naipal (Aftermarket Director, UD Trucks Southern Africa).Dealer of the Year Emerging Markets - AutoSueco Namibia: Seen here are Filip van den Heede (Managing Director, UD Trucks Southern Africa), Fabrice Gorlier (Senior Vice President, UD Trucks International Sales), Slabbert Maartens (Aftermarket Manager, AutoSueco Namibia), Graham Kolm (General Manager: Emerging Markets, UD Trucks Southern Africa), Sanjay Naipal (Aftermarket Director, UD Trucks Southern Africa) and Jacques Michel (Senior Advisor, UD Trucks International Sales).
Fabrice Gorlier, Senior Vice President, UD Trucks International Sales, commends dealers for a stellar performance as follows: “UDTSA remains one of the biggest markets outside of Japan, and the impressive performance from its dealer network in 2023 further affirms the brand’s strong foothold in Southern Africa. With the robust retail excellence strategy, South Africa will continue to prioritise the evolving business requirements of our customers through offering a range of quality products, comprehensive services and superior customer support.”
The event saw a total of 34 awards in 31 categories this year, with the results measuring dealers who achieved tremendous scores across all areas, including Sales, Administration, Parts, Service Agreements, Connected Services, Customer Service and Financial Services.
Dealer of the Year Medium dealer – UD Trucks Ermelo: Seen here are Filip van den Heede (Managing Director, UD Trucks Southern Africa), Fabrice Gorlier (Senior Vice President, UD Trucks International Sales), Rory Schulz (Sales Director, UD Trucks Southern Africa), Corrie Barnard (Owner and Dealer Principal, UD Trucks Ermelo), Sanjay Naipal (Aftermarket Director, UD Trucks Southern Africa) and Jacques Michel (Senior Advisor, UD Trucks International Sales).
Filip van den Heede, Managing Director UD Trucks Southern Africa had this to say: “As UDTSA, we would like to commend all the winning dealers across the region. These awards certainly send a strong message about the strength of our extensive dealer network and its commitment to delivering exceptional service and sales to our customers.
“Similarly, these awards also bear testament to the extraordinary individuals and teams who achieved excellence in 2023 in an even tougher business environment, setting new standards for success. We are excited about the year ahead as we continue to work together to pivot UDTSA to greater heights and to ensure our customers have access to smart logistics solutions.”
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UD Trucks held its annual Partner Conference in Japan in November 2025, bringing together global partners to celebrate its 90th anniversary. Separately, UD Trucks Southern Africa held its Annual Dealer Conference in Durban earlier this year.