Volkswagen adds new brand to South African portfolio

Source: Unsplash

The announcement of Ducati as the fourth brand in Volkswagen Group Africa’s brand portfolio in South Africa was made at the annual media event hosted in Kariega. The addition of Ducati diversifies VWGA’s brand portfolio which includes Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Audi and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

VWGA’s responsibilities include the management of retail operations and import of Ducati motorcycles, as well as parts and accessories, for the South African market.

VWGA is planning to grow the Ducati brand and broaden the client reach by integrating the Ducati brand into three dealer sites, which will be located in Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal.

Audi SA appoints Ricci Birchfield as new head of marketing, product and PR

3 Feb 2025

The current approved retailer in Gauteng has been retained for the region. A new retailer in Cape Town, which is an existing Audi dealer, has been appointed. The plans are in progress to appoint a retailer in Durban for KwaZulu-Natal.

VWGA has appointed Tertius Cronje to head the Ducati brand in South Africa. Cronje has 24 years of experience in the automotive retail business gained in the local and international markets. His experience includes 10 years in the motorcycle retail business.

Double-digit market share in South Africa by the end of 2026

Simphiwe Nghona, head of sales and marketing at VWGA, said:

“Ducati is a premium international motorcycle brand with a strong and proud heritage.

“Over the years, it has built a loyal and passionate client base in South Africa which our company is excited and looking forward to servicing from now on.

“We are confident that the current and future Ducati clients will positively benefit from our established sales and after-sales processes, as well as our dealer network.”

“Nghona added: “We have set an ambitious growth target for the brand in its first two years of full operations under the VWGA stewardship.

“Our target is to achieve a double-digit market share in South Africa by the end of 2026 from the current market share base.

“The brand growth will be boosted by a range of exciting models which will be introduced in South Africa over the next two years.”