Nissan SA’s Mike Whitfield to lead African Association of Automotive Manufacturers

Established in 2015, the AAAM is a body that continuously works with governments by assisting in the shaping and implementation of policies which will attract investors to the African automotive industry. The aim of the AAAM, the only African body, aims to help grow and expand the automotive industry across the continent by aligning global stakeholders with the developing automotive industry in Africa. The AAAM select its office bearers annually.

No stranger to automotive bodies within the African continent, Mike Whitfield, served as the president of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA). Whitfield who started at Nissan South Africa as a marketing trainee in 1981 also served as the vice-president of the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers.

Now chairman of Nissan South Africa, Whitfield also saw a steady progression to his current position at Nissan after being appointed director of the heavy vehicle division in 1993 and managing director in 2008 after finally being promoted to his current title in July 2019. Since his most recent appointment, Whitfield has been assisting the brand within 50 African countries and is currently serving as managing director in Egypt.

“Being President of AAAM will allow me to utilise my extensive experience in the motoring industry, as well as in my previous roles at AAAM to build on the work done to date. Now that we have Dave Coffey our CEO for AAAM in place, we can bring to fruition some of the exciting projects that AAAM is working on,” said Mike Whitfield.