Audi South Africa head Paul Sansom
Volkswagen Group company Audi South Africa has appointed former Audi UK sales director Paul Sansom as head of the business with effect from August 4.
He took over the position from Ryan Searle who had been appointed as the MD of Audi Taiwan.
Sansom joined the Volkswagen Group UK in 2003 and had held the Audi UK sales director position since 2012, while Searle had joined Volkswagen South Africa in 2002 and had been head of Audi South Africa since 2008.
The company noted that Audi South Africa had experienced substantial growth under Searle's leadership, with the brand having more than doubled its sales volumes and having significantly increased its share of the premium market over the past five years.
“The board of management of the Volkswagen Group of South Africa would like to thank Searle for his considerable contribution to the Audi brand in South Africa and would like to welcome Sansom to his new role as head of Audi South Africa,” Audi South Africa said in a statement.