Johannesburg, South Africa, 2 April 2026 – GWM South Africa hosted its annual Dealer Conference and Dealer of the Year Awards, bringing together its national dealer network to review performance, align on strategic priorities, and recognise outstanding achievement across the business.
The conference remains a key platform for engaging the network on business direction and performance insights for the year ahead. Supported by a network of over 100 dealerships nationwide, GWM South Africa continues to strengthen its footprint in a highly competitive automotive market.
This year’s event was further elevated by the presence of global leadership, including Nicole Wu, Chief Technology Officer of GWM, and Dr. Richard Zhu, Chief Engineer of Powertrain, who addressed the dealer network. Their engagement underscored GWM’s focus on innovation, advanced engineering, and the alignment between global product strategy and local market growth.
The Dealer of the Year Awards recognise top-performing dealerships across the network, with all dealerships automatically evaluated against a comprehensive set of criteria, including sales performance, customer experience, and operational efficiency.
In addition to the headline awards, dealerships were recognised for their outstanding contribution across key business areas, including sales, fleet, aftersales, marketing and financial services. These categories highlight the holistic performance required to deliver a consistent and high-quality customer experience across the network.
2025 Dealer of the Year Winners:
- Best Dealer – Very Small: GWM Knysna
- Best Dealer – Small: GWM Kimberley
- Best Dealer – Medium: GWM Toti
- Best Dealer – Large: GWM Silver Lakes
- Best Dealer – Mega: GWM Menlyn
- Best Group – Hatfield Group
GWM Menlyn was named the overall Dealer of the Year, in addition to securing the Mega Dealer category, reflecting consistent high performance across all key areas of the business.
Commenting on the awards, Conrad Groenewald, Chief Operating Officer of GWM South Africa, said: “Our dealer network is the backbone of our business. The Dealer of the Year Awards recognise the discipline, commitment, and consistency required to perform at the highest level. These results reflect the strength of our network and its role in driving our continued growth in South Africa.”
Floyd Ramabulana, Head of Marketing at GWM South Africa, added: “Our dealers play a critical role in shaping how customers experience the GWM brand. The calibre of this year’s winners reflects a network that is evolving in capability, competitiveness, and customer focus.”
Opening the evening’s programme was the reveal of the ORA 05, unveiled centre stage as a standout moment of the Dealer of the Year awards. Building on the success of the ORA 3 as a fully electric model, the ORA 05 signals an exciting next step for the brand, introducing a broader range of powertrain options, including petrol and hybrid derivatives, while still embracing its new-energy DNA.
Known for its distinctive design language and progressive approach to mobility, the ORA brand continues to strengthen GWM’s presence in the market, and the ORA 05 is no exception. The reveal offered dealers an exclusive first look at a model that combines head-turning design with greater powertrain choice, reflecting a strategic move to meet a broader range of customer needs.
The ORA 05 showcases the brand’s next step in design-led mobility and reinforces GWM’s commitment to innovation, accessibility and everyday driving enjoyment, making its debut at Dealer of the Year both symbolic and celebratory.
