Chery names its first bakkie Grootman
Chery has named its first bakkie for South Africa Grootman, a name chosen by South Africans. The model is planned to make its local debut in the first quarter of 2027.
- Product News
- 2 October 2026
Waldemar André Christensen is the new Vice-President and Managing Director of the Volvo Group Southern Africa. He replaces Marcus Hörberg, who will be joining the Volvo Trucks team in France.
Waldemar started his career at Volvo during 2011 in his native Norway. He has vast experience in commercial product management, government and fleet sales, as well as dealer and retail operations. He was also the MD of Volvo Trucks in Norway from 2016 to 2019.
Most recently, he was head of Truck Sales Operations for the Volvo European regional value chain, located at Volvo headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden.

He holds an MBA, and his qualifications are centred on business, administration, law and entrepreneurship.
“I am so excited to be given this opportunity and look forward to supporting our South African customers in building sustainable businesses for the future,” he says.
“The Volvo Group Southern Africa team members have extensive experience in the local transport environment, and I greatly value their insights and knowledge, especially now that the global logistics industry is facing some challenging business conditions. We look forward to taking Volvo Trucks to new heights, all for the benefit of our customers, our staff and society at large,” he reckons.
Volvo Group Southern Africa’s head office is in Jet Park, Gauteng, and the company has a Volvo Trucks assembly plant in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Local operations include brands like Volvo Trucks, Volvo Penta, Volvo Bus and Volvo Financial Service. It currently employs 1 000 staff around the country.
South Africa’s new vehicle market recorded aggregate domestic sales of 61 645 units in September 2026, an increase of 12.7% compared with the 54 706 units sold during September 2025.
SA Auto Week 2026 is scheduled to take place in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, from 13 to 16 October, with the event marking five years of SA Auto Week.
South Africa’s domestic new-vehicle market strengthened in September, recording 61 645 sales, its highest monthly total of 2026. Sales increased by 3 747 vehicles, or 6.5%, from August’s originally reported total and were 12.7% higher than in September 2025.