Triton brings the challenge to competitors
The bakkie war has intensified with the local launch of Mitsubishi’s next-generation Triton, an evolution in the iconic bakkie’s 46-year legacy.
- Product News
- 21 November 2024
Ford South Africa has announced the appointment of Ryan Searle (photo) as its new Sales Director, effective from 1 May 2024.
With three decades of local and international retail sales, marketing, dealer development and management experience for German automotive brands, Searle will play a crucial role in the growth of the Ford brand in South Africa and to ensure the success of its expanding range of new-generation products.
“We are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Ford in South Africa this year and have reinforced our commitment to providing competitive and compelling must-have products and services for our customers,” says Neale Hill, president, Ford Motor Company Africa.
“It’s an exciting period for Ford South Africa, and we need a dynamic sales director to lead the company and our dealers into this new era. We are confident that Ryan Searle has the experience and drive to achieve these objectives, and we welcome him to the Ford family,” Neale says.
Ryan joins Ford after six years as the head of Volkswagen Passenger Sales where he was responsible for sales and market share performance for its South African dealer network, including sales strategy and demand planning for the various sales channels.
Prior to this appointment, he headed up market entry and local production strategy for one of the Volkswagen Group brands and was responsible for Volkswagen’s marketing communications, market entry and mobility strategy in Rwanda.
He has held various other senior positions in the Volkswagen Group in South Africa, including heading up the Audi Sales division from 2002 to 2004 and managing Volkswagen Marketing from 2005 to 2008. Thereafter, he was appointed as head of Audi South Africa (2008-2014), followed by a three-year stint as the head of Audi Taiwan.
Ryan also brings his extensive experience and knowledge of the retail sales business within the large Barloworld group to the Ford SA sales director position. He started in the industry in 1994 as an Audi sales executive before being promoted to sales manager a year later. In 2000, he was appointed Dealer Principal of Barons VW Wynberg in Cape Town, a position he held for almost two years before relocating to Johannesburg to join Volkswagen Group South Africa as Audi national sales manager.
Having matriculated from St Andrew’s College in Grahamstown in 1989, Ryan went on to complete his Bachelor of Social Science degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 1992 with Economics and Political Science as his majors. He followed this up with an Honours degree in Economics the following year.
The bakkie war has intensified with the local launch of Mitsubishi’s next-generation Triton, an evolution in the iconic bakkie’s 46-year legacy.
Unlike in the past, when dealerships primarily waited for customers to come to them, we now take a more proactive approach, bringing our vehicles directly to places where people gather, allowing them to experience the product first-hand, including offering test drives,” says Gerrie van der Kaay, Dealer Principal at Supergroup Dealerships Jetour Midrand.
JAC Motors added ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) to its X200 2.8L TDI 1.5-tonne single-cab, enhancing safety for both the crew and cargo. This latest upgrade complements the ABS-equipped X200 1.3-tonne double-cab targeted at organisations with labour-intensive crews.
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