
Top dealerships in BMW Group rewarded
BMW Group South Africa hosted its 2024 Retailer of the Year Awards recognising the achievements of its retail network across the BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad brands.
- Dealer News
- 20 February 2025
The Automobile Association (AA) has appointed Bobby Ramagwede (main photo) as its new Chief Executive Officer with effect from 1 October 2024. He brings extensive professional experience at CEO and Board level to the position in a career spanning almost two decades.
An MBA graduate from the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business, Bobby previously served as the CEO of Europ Assistance South Africa where he provided strategic and operational management to the company’s South African operations. In this role, he also promoted a customer-centric culture across the organisation and drove initiatives to optimise operational activities and maximise return on capital expenditure.
Before completing his MBA, Bobby graduated with a BCom in Economics and Statistics, and a BCom Honours in Economics from the University of Pretoria. In addition to working at CEO and Senior Management levels in different organisations, he also served on the Boards of Life Healthcare and various State hospitals.
With skills in, amongst others, business strategy, executive leadership, governance and Board relations, as well as business development, Bobby is poised to lead the AA into its next chapter of growth and innovation.
“I am thrilled to join the AA at such a pivotal moment in its 94-year history. A unique and outstanding organisation with a talented team, the AA plays an important role in the South African mobility landscape.
“My vision is to harness existing strengths within the Association, and to maintain the strong relations with partners, corporate clients and Members to continue providing exceptional products and services to the public while ensuring the AA remains a thriving business,” says Bobby.
Commenting on the appointment, Sikkie Kajee, chairperson of the AA Board says: “Bobby has proven to be an exceptional leader and strategist, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the AA family. He has a deep understanding of our business and, critically, of driving a customer-focused approach to business. We are excited about Bobby’s appointment and believe it will greatly benefit our organisation, our partners and our Members as we move into future.”
The brand new locally produced BMW X3, which is manufactured locally at BMW’s Plant Rosslyn in Pretoria for the export as well as the local market proves to be very popular.
This year will be Absa’s second year of its partnership with the 2025 Cars.co.za Awards, South Africa’s most comprehensive motoring awards programme, which recognises the best in the local new-vehicle market across 13 segments annually.
Dealerfloor recently reported that Volvo Car South Africa is restructuring its operations in the country as part of a long-term brand strategic realignment that will see the number of Volvo dealerships decrease.