Paul Turnbull
Kia South Africa has appointed Paul Turnbull as its new CEO.
Turnbull joins the Korean brand from sibling Hyundai Automotive South Africa. He succeeds Gary Scott, who takes up the position of chief digital officer at Kia’s parent company, Motus Holdings.
Turnbull (51) was born and raised in Johannesburg. He started his career in the automotive industry at 22, joining Wheels of Africa, which held the distributorship for Hyundai in South Africa at the time, as a sales coordinator.
He became the company’s youngest dealer principal in 1997 at the age of 25.
Wheels of Africa was liquidated In 1999, with the Hyundai distributorship moving to Associated Motor Holdings, a division of Imperial Holdings, which in 2018 unbundled into Motus Holdings.
Within these networks, Turnbull was promoted to regional director in 2005, and, in 2023, to MD of Hyundai’s retail division.
Turnbull says he is positive about the growth opportunities for the Kia brand in South Africa.
“I’m excited to join the Kia brand, despite the current economic headwinds that is affecting the entire automotive industry,” he says.
“Kia is a brilliant brand with brilliant products, and there are boundless opportunities for the brand to accelerate the remarkable growth it’s seen in the 25 years it’s been active in South Africa.
“The industry is facing many challenges at the moment, but we remain bullish about growing Kia’s market share beyond 5% in the next two years,” notes Turnbull.
“It is imperative for us to grow the trust and confidence our shareholders and retail investors have in the brand through increased profitability in the retail network.”
A key focus for Turnbull is to reset expectations and “to ensure that the right people are in the right places”.
He has also greenlit further investments into the training and development of staff.