Mazda Motor Corporation has appointed South African Craig Roberts as new managing director of Mazda Southern Africa. Currently head of sales and an executive for Mazda SA, Roberts has widespread experience within the automotive sector.
Brian Joss – He will assume the managing director position on April 1.
Roberts will be taking over from David Hughes who came from Australia in 2013 with a clear mandate; set-up Mazda Southern Africa as a stand-alone entity and establish a new dealer footprint.

Within a year of his arrival, a new Midrand based MSA head office was built and a full sales and service dealer network of 52 was identified to cover South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland.
On October 1 2014, MSA started operating independently as a new national sales and service company with a lean headcount.
Under Hughes’s leadership, the company has increased sales from a start-up volume of around 4 000 units in 2014 to an all-time sales record of over 12 000 units in 2016.
“Craig Roberts is an outstanding senior manager and he has proved himself with a stellar record as head of sales.
With a person of his experience and business acumen, we did not need to look far for our new MD. I am confident that he will lead our Southern Africa organisation to even greater heights in the future,” Hughes said.