Finance and Insurance managers are an integral part of every vehicle dealership, new or pre-owned. They do not only enable customers to receive a full service in terms of financing and insurance for a vehicle purchase, but also drive dealership profitability.
Share with friends
Lightstone Auto, in an effort to highlight and reward the hard work of F&Is, has just celebrated its first annual Star Reacher Awards. With these awards, the F&Is performance is measured for their contribution to the sale of value-added products & services within their respective dealerships.
This is the first-of-its-kind incentive programme available exclusively to Lightstone users and clients through their bespoke Signio platform, which was launched during April 2021.
Back (left to right): Timothy Chowles (Westvaal Mashishing), Stefanus Jonker (VW Menlyn) and MP van Staden (BB Polokwane Ford). Middle (left to right): Amanda Steyl (Middelburg Nissan), Lauren Erendsen (Jaguar Land Rover Stellenbosch), Yasmin Vadia (CMH Nissan Midrand), Chantelle Nieman (McGee & Co Groblersdal) and Cathy Downes on behalf of Yvette Smit (CMH Nissan Midrand). Front (left to right): Shelby van Tonder (Boksburg Car Sales) and Danel Botha (BB Mount Fuji Louis Trichardt).
Pieter Wessels, Managing Director at Lightstone Auto, congratulated all the winners and runners-up in the inaugural programme. “Their achievements are exceptional as the competition was tough, with more than 700 F&I managers competing in the programme from across South Africa.”
The programme measures F&I managers’ performance across five key focus areas that encourage industry excellence and drive digital adoption in the industry. Every quarter, winners in each category are awarded prizes and this culminates in an annual awards ceremony where overall performance over the 12-month period is recognised.
Wessels says: “At Lightstone, Auto we believe in the value and impact F&I managers have on a motor dealerships’ profitability, and this programme creates an opportunity to recognise and celebrate top performing F&I managers. I look forward to this annual programme becoming a highlight in South African dealerships’ calendars.”
The overall winners received holiday prizes to the value of R30 000 each and the runners-up received experience-based prizes to the value of R8 000 each.
* F&I managers are linked to their dealers, who are segmented into categories based on average monthly sales volumes. This ensures that F&I managers compete with colleagues at dealerships with similar sales volumes. The categories are segmented as follows:
South Africa’s automotive sector arrived at the recent South African Auto Week 2025 in Gqeberha with a renewed sense of optimism, backed by clear signs of recovery, reports Ecofin Agency.
As the dawn of Transport Month shifts South Africa’s focus onto the role of transport in the country’s development, the National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA) is urging South African car buyers to leverage the expertise of the Finance and Insurance (F&I) Business Manager at dealerships.
September 30, 2025 will be remembered as a landmark day for both the South African automotive sector and for Foton globally, says the Chinese manufacturer after its first pre-production Completely Knocked Down (CKD) Foton bakkie rolled off the assembly line at its local plant.
South Africa’s automotive sector arrived at the recent South African Auto Week 2025 in Gqeberha with a renewed sense of optimism, backed by clear signs of recovery, reports Ecofin Agency.
September 30, 2025 will be remembered as a landmark day for both the South African automotive sector and for Foton globally, says the Chinese manufacturer after its first pre-production Completely Knocked Down (CKD) Foton bakkie rolled off the assembly line at its local plant.
Chinese automotive giant, Chery, is engaged in talks with multiple car manufacturers in South Africa about sharing production facilities to build its vehicles locally, the company's regional chief has revealed to Reuters.