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The Annual MSX NADA 2019 Business of the Year Awards (BOTY) looked a little different this year as winners were announced virtually in an awards ceremony hosted recently via Zoom.
In congratulating the winners, Gary McCraw, Director of the National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA), a proud member of the RMI, said: “No matter what challenges are thrown our way and how insurmountable they appear to be, one must take stock and find innovative ways to address issues head on. The current pandemic meant we had to engineer a new and inventive way to celebrate our top performing businesses.”
Now in its 22 nd year, the MSX NADA Business of the Year Awards honours the exceptional performance of managers and their teams at automotive dealerships across the country. It is the only independent validation of dealership profitability.
MSX International (MSX) measures the financial performance of over 1,000 South African franchised dealers and the awards recognise the top performers across five categories. This year’s BOTY finalists included dealerships from every corner of South Africa, from Polokwane to Cape Town, Pongola to Rustenburg.
“To be a BOTY winner demonstrates exceptional achievement. Dealerships are complex businesses requiring enormous attention to detail and a concerted effort to improve the customer experience. They operate in a highly competitive environment and generally don’t tick the “easy to manage” business boxes such as high margin, simple inventory and low fixed costs. The margin of error is thin, indicating that each of the winners has established talented teams that thrive on performance and deliver great customer experiences”, says Athol Quin, MSX International Director: South Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa.
SA’s first lady of rugby, Elma Smit was the event MC. Six Springbok rugby greats were commissioned to each make a WhatsApp Video announcing each of the category winners. From Bryan Habana to Faf de Klerk, the short announcement videos added a touch more excitement to the event.
Listed Group of the Year – presented by Cobus Reinarch
McCarthy Toyota Pinetown took the honours in this category, with Gordon Bannister, the dealer principal, accepting the award. The other finalists were Barons N1 City and McCarthy Toyota Midrand.
Private Group of the Year – presented by RG Snyman
This category was won by NTT Toyota Groblersdal. Upon receiving the award, Neille Faber thanked his team for their dedication and hard work. Other finalists in this category were, Honda Auto Polokwane and one more dealership from the NTT group, NTT Volkswagen East London and.
Independent Dealership of the Year – Lwazi Mvovo, Springbok Rugby player, presented the award
Toyota dealerships swept the carpet clean in this category with Vaal Toyota Sasolburg’s Hannes Strydom taking to the ‘stage’ to accept the winner’s trophy. He acknowledged his ‘fantastic’ team on winning this award. The other finalists Pongola Toyota and Rustenburg Toyota and Hino.
Luxury Dealership of the Year – presented by Rosko Specman, who plays for the SA 7’s team
This category was all Audi’s for the taking, with Audi Centre Arcadia winning the award. Phillip Clough, the dealer principal thanked Steve Keys, CEO of Bidvest Automotive and Paddy O’Brien, previously from Sewells who was also in the ‘audience’ for their support and encouragement and for promoting entrepreneurship. Audi Centre Arcadia and Audi Centre West Rand were the other finalists in the Luxury category.
Commercial Vehicle Dealership of the Year – Eben Etzebeth presented the award
Hino Pietermaritzburg won this award, which was the second year for the dealership, albeit a different category. Pratesh Singh, the dealer principal thanked the whole team at the dealership, acknowledging that without them the award would not have been possible. Unitrans Volkswagen Commercial and Hino Pinetown were the other two finalists.
The Most Improved Performance Group Member Award was presented by Bryan Habana, Order of Ikhamanga (OIS)
This category is measured on continuous improvement on its return on assets (ROA). The nominees in this category were Paarlberg BMW, Imperial Toyota Kempton Park and Nelspruit Honda & Suzuki. The Most Improved Performance Group Member award went to Paarlberg BMW.
Top Three Dealers in South Africa – Faf de Klerk presented the award to the winner
NTT Toyota Groblersdal, McCarthy Toyota Pinetown and NTT Volkswagen East London were announced as the top three contenders. A new category in the BOTY Awards line-up, was taken from the six category winners, who were assessed based on top scoring and overall performance.
The 2019 South African BOTY Dealer of the Year Award went to NTT Toyota Groblersdal. “Thank you, MSX and the other sponsors, for this honour,” said Neille Faber, who humbly and emotionally accepted the award on behalf of the dealership. He thanked Fred Welpton, CEO of the NTT Group for his ongoing support and paid tribute to the whole team at NTT Toyota Groblersdal, acknowledging that without, them this award would not have been possible.
“Even in difficult times we have a duty to recognise and acknowledge excellence. We trust that each dealership’s unique formula for success will carry them through the current challenging times,” concluded Gary McCraw.
MSX / NADA Business of the Year Awards for 2019
Listed Group
McCarthy Toyota Pinetown – winner Barons N1 City
McCarthy Toyota Midrand
Private Group
NTT Toyota Groblersdal – winner
NTT Volkswagen East London
Honda Auto Polokwane
Independents Group
Vaal Toyota Sasolburg – winner
Pongola Toyota
Rustenburg Toyota and Hino
Luxury
Audi Centre Arcadia – winner
Audi Centre Menlyn
Audi Centre West Rand
Commercial
Hino Pietermaritzburg – winner
Unitrans Volkswagen Commercial
Hino Pinetown
Most Improved Performance Group
Paarlberg BMW – winner
Imperial Toyota Kempton Park
Nelspruit Honda & Suzuki
Top 3 Dealers in South Africa – Of all dealers
NTT Toyota Groblersdal – winner
McCarthy Toyota Pinetown
NTT Volkswagen East London
