Chairman of Nissan Africa South, Mike Whitfield has been elected President of the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) at the organisation's recent annual AGM.

Whitfield, a former president of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) and vice-president of the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers, joined Nissan in 1981 as a marketing trainee. He has since held various management positions in Sales and Marketing before he was appointed Director of the Heavy Vehicle Division in 1993. In 2008, Mike was appointed as Nissan SA's managing director in.

In July 2019, Whitfield was appointed as Chairman of Nissan Africa South, delivering his expertise to over 50 African countries. He is currently based in Egypt as the Managing Director.

"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.

The AAAM was established in November 2015. It is the only African body focusing on the expansion and deepening of the automotive industry across the continent, by working with governments to shape and implement policies that will attract investors, unlock the economic potential of the continent and align a global network of stakeholders committed to the development of the automotive industry in Africa.

Office bearers of AAAM are elected on an annual basis.