GoNow Auto SA is managed by Adri Roe, who was responsible for bringing Daewoo to South Africa, managing a profiting business when it was taken over by General Motors. Ms Roe has been involved in the South African automotive industry for the past 12 years after running one of the most successful Hyundai dealerships of the then Hyundai Motor Distributors South Africa for 5 years.
She was Marketing Director for Daewoo Motor South Africa for 5 years, responsible for option selection and purchasing of new car stock from South Korea, as well as the set-up of a national dealer network now operating under the GM banner.
After the GM take-over of Daewoo and subsequently the Delta Motor Group in South Africa, Ms Roe was general manager for Chevrolet South Africa: Marketing and Sales, responsible for the local launch of Chevrolet SA, as well as the set-up of a country-wide dealer network.
"With GoNow we looked at manufacturers in China with the potential of growing internationally, not just in the Chinese market," she explained.
Unbelievably China has over 400 manufacturers and assemblers of automotive products. "We looked at cars, bakkies, buses and light commercials from dozens of them, eventually focusing on a handful of manufacturers with better quality vehicles more suitable for our market."
LCV manufacturer GoNow Auto was originally selected by Chris Asmal in 2003, but a major problem at the time was that its vehicles were only available in left-hand drive. "He not only had to convince the Chinese that there was a market for their product in other parts of the world, but also right-hand drive countries," said Roe.
RHD development started shortly after, with 6 LHD vehicles shipped to South Africa in November 2005 for testing in local conditions as well as the SABS homologation process.
The official distribution agreement with GoNow Auto was signed on 14 December 2005 for South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia, Malawi, DRC, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Mauritius.
"As a distributor our focus is on quality product that is technically sound and safe. After receiving the first right-hand drive models, we have made dozens of improvements to the vehicles, including more than 40 changes to the finish and trim - excluding equipment changes," said Ms Roe.
