Johannesburg - The top jobs may still elude women as men still call the shots in South Africa’s automotive industry. But slowly things are changing, following the announcement that Martina Biene, currently head of Volkswagen small and compact product line, will become chairperson and managing director of Volkswagen South Africa - the most senior role by a woman in the pale and largely male-dominated motoring industry.
Audi South Africa recently announced the appointment of Mulalo Makungo (Ratshikhopha) as National Sales Operations Manager. “Women are no longer spare wheels in the automotive industry,” said Asha Sivenath, Nissan South Africa’s, Human Resources General Manager, who once worked on weekends as a student promoting sunglasses for Edgars.
“I always loved cars and would spend hours racing toy cars with my cousins. But I knew I wanted a career working with people,” she told the Sunday Independent.
Biene was the head of Volkswagen passenger brand from October 2018 until August 2020 and has 20 years of experience with the German manufacturer having worked in sales, marketing, product planning and marketing for luxury vehicles and the Volkswagen brand in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and South Africa.
Her task is to keep VWSA’s strong position in South Africa, exemplified by the stunning success of the VW Polo and introduction of a range of new SUVs, and to pursue Volkswagen’s plans to grow the brand in the sub-Saharan Africa markets.
Globally, Sivenath said there has been an increase in the number of woman leaders across Nissan, the Japanese-based manufacturer. “We appreciate though that there is always room for a more diverse team.
“At Nissan South Africa, last year we announced new hiring targets that prioritise the recruitment of women, particularly of colour. Ultimately, this will mean an increase in woman representation at management and executive levels to 25% by 2025,” she said.
Sivenath is proof of the growth within Nissan South Africa as its first woman HR general manager in manufacturing. But adding to her bow, in May she was promoted to General Manager: Talent Management for Africa. In South Africa, Nissan has invested more than R56 million for the training and development of women employees, which has seen many women rise through the ranks to become part of management structures.
Sivenath added that there were a number of programmes in place, including, in part, mentorship, a range of leadership development programmes and succession planning. “As Nissan and the industry in general, it’s important to have business goals and tailored programmes designed to support and help grow more female leaders. That’s how we can change the reality and subsequently, the narrative,” she said.
She said the company has already seen an increase in woman management globally from 6.7% in 2008 to 13.9% in 2020, because of career development support and training provided for women.
But Sivenath admits that the stigma of motoring being a “manly” sector remains, in some cases deterring young women from involvement in the sector. “But, again, as we continue to see representation of female leaders shaking up the sector whether it is from an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) perspective or from a media and influencer perspective, more young women will see it as a space they can take up as well. Women in the automotive space are constantly breaking boundaries and leading the way for continued growth,” she said.
Asif Hoosen, Head of Retail and Planning at Audi South Africa, said Makungo has 10 years’ experience in the automotive industry and has worked with the Barloworld and McCarthy Groups at Head Office level and across various other brands in the automotive sector, including BMW, General Motors, Burchmores and Traders Online. More recently, she was Business Manager for the Volkswagen Brand since 2017.
Makungo, a Johannesburg mother of three, holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Financial Accounting from the University of Cape Town and is a qualified Chartered Accountant.
“We believe that Mulalo brings great passion, energy and experience within various retail backgrounds in order to drive new sales opportunities at Audi South Africa. We are excited to have her on board at the Four Rings and wish her all the best in her new role,” he said.
Transformation in the industry, however, is not about women assuming senior industry roles. But it’s also about ownership and this is where, Akhona Mosiane, believes she has been given a rare opportunity to make an impact. “I am not title-driven but I know there aren’t many women who can say they own a heavy-truck dealership group,” she said in a media statement. “I’ve been given an opportunity to be at the forefront of making sure I am not the last. My duty is to make it easier for other women to get into the industry and fulfil their entrepreneurial dreams.”
Mosiane, 35, is the majority shareholder of GardenRouteMan (GRM) Auto, a dealership group that currently owns three MAN truck dealerships in Gqeberha, East London and George. Mosiane, alongside her partners Maarten Roode and Allen Busse, have spent many years with MAN and in the automotive industry at large.
Mosiane was once dealer principal for the Volkswagen dealership in Soweto, but has been involved with various dealerships for MAN – a brand that forms part of the Volkswagen Group - since 2019.
“Transformation is an imperative for VWSA, and supporting businesses such as GRM Auto is a massive step in the right direction,” said Nonkqubela Maliza, Director of Corporate and Government Affairs at VWSA.
“Through the B-BBEE Initiatives Trust, we are able to consistently work toward the goal of an inclusive automotive industry and play a part in alleviating the problem of unemployment in the Eastern Cape and the larger South Africa.”
This is where the B-BBEE Initiatives Trust helped transform Mosiane’s business fortunes. “I tried various avenues without luck, and had heard of the Trust so I contacted them and explained our situation and business plan.
“The request put forward to the Trust was at the eleventh hour, but the willingness and absolute professionalism we received still gives me goosebumps. We stayed in touch, and on 27 February this year they sent me the letter to confirm the funding – one day ahead of our deadline.
“The Trust understood what the meaning of ‘opportunity’ was, and gave us their undivided attention as soon as they were convinced we could build a good business.”
Neeraj Kessery, CEO of the B-BBEE Initiatives Trust, said the trust, having been operational in the sector since 2016, understands the stringent requirements of the sector and the tight timelines. “The trust is proud to state that several of the companies funded by us are partially, if not fully, women-owned.”