Mike McNaughton started his career in the fitment industry (tyres and exhausts) in 1979, and from then through to 2005, he owned and operated various businesses within this sector, including a Fasfit and Hi-Q Franchise. During this time he was awarded many accolades within the industry and served on the board of FasFit for a period of 6 years.

In 1996, Mike purchased then "Kelly Volkswagen", together with an empowerment partner, Stephen Dondolo, and a farmer from Kirkwood, Jannie Potgieter, Market Square Volkswagen Uitenhage was then born.

Under the trading name of “Market Square Volkswagen” they were awarded “Club of Excellence” seven times and won the overall “Dealer of the Year” award for 2003. At the age of 40 Mike saw the need to marry solid theory with what he had learnt in practice over the years and on the advice of Prof. Kobus Jonker began studying towards a diploma at the then PE Technikon. Mike went on to not only complete the diploma, but also a degree and finally attained his MBA. He has lectured in the field of marketing and sales and still serves as an external examiner and moderator.

Our commitment to you and your business is that we understand that time is money and you cannot afford downtime, therefore we will endeavour to keep your fleet running 24/7/365.

In 2005, Mike was awarded the Golden Pin Award, which is the second highest award for an individual’s contribution to VW Worldwide. In November 2009, he received the Diamond Pin Award in Germany.

After 1996, more dealerships were bought and in 2000, the Kelston Motor Group was formed. The Kelston Motor Group is well positioned to deliver cars anywhere in South Africa and a client is able to view the wide range of stock in any of our dealerships at a click of a button.

The Group has implemented a business model which includes the pooling of stock and resources as well as a centralized administration centre for the group as a whole. With the addition of new dealerships, some over extensive geographic distances, concepts such as stock sharing became problematic. Kelston thus custom designed an internal administration system that is effectively used to assist all staff to have access to information at all times.

Our Vision is to be the largest supplier of our brands, and it is this desire, passion & drive to have the best car dealerships in the country with excellent and unparalleled Customer Service in all spheres of our customer interaction.

The Kelston Motor Group has a widespread clientele base

The Kelston Motor Group clientele base extends, not only across the Eastern Cape, but across South Africa due to our reputation for excellent service and our customer focused approach. The Kelston Motor Group is committed to contributing to employee welfare and the development of our people. The Group believes in a policy of recruiting and promoting from within the organisation, thus training to fill posts internally is the norm, and management skills are cultivated and nurtured from existing staff showing potential.

This philosophy has been personified in countless success stories, for example 9 staff members moving from being a salesman to owning shares in the group. Furthermore, The Kelston Motor Group strictly adheres to the franchise policy of providing at least seven days of training per year per employee in the group. Passion, quality and values are Kelston Motor Group’s main focus. We always ask:

Are we doing things the Kelston way?

Whether it’s the quality of the vehicles, the level of customer service or the value we add to everything we do, we strive to conduct business with these 3 key imperatives in mind.