Women are becoming a more visible part of South Africa’s automotive industry, both as customers and as business leaders.
Lightstone data shows that women accounted for 39% of financed vehicle purchases in 2025, compared with 32% a decade earlier, reflecting their growing influence in a market where vehicle decisions have traditionally been associated with men.
For Jessica Ranjith and Lynette Du Preez, however, the automotive industry is not simply a changing market. It is where they have built businesses, careers and reputations.
Their paths into the Supa Quick network are very different, Jessica has spent more than three decades building a career in the fitment industry, growing a business she started with her husband into two established branches in Dundee and Ladysmith, while Lynette grew up around the family business, briefly pursued aviation and eventually returned to the industry she had known since childhood.
Jessica Ranjith is the owner and Director of Supa Quick Dundee and Ladysmith, bringing more than 30 years of experience in the automotive fitment industry to two businesses that have become established parts of their local communities. Her journey into leadership was shaped by partnership, loss and ultimately the decision to build on a business she had helped establish with her husband.
Jessica and her husband opened Supa Quick Dundee in 1996, introducing the town to its first Supa Quick franchise. After 16 years of working alongside him, Jessica took over the business following his passing in 2012. Learning to manage the business on her own was a significant transition but with the support of her management and staff, she gradually gained confidence and went on to expand the business, opening a second branch in Ladysmith four years later. Today, Supa Quick Dundee celebrates 30 years in business, while the Ladysmith branch marks its 10-year milestone.
Her leadership is centred on honesty, integrity and building genuine relationships with customers. Jessica believes motorists should receive proper advice about their vehicles and understand the work being recommended, rather than simply being told what needs to be done. That approach has helped her develop long-term relationships with customers while creating a professional and welcoming environment across both branches.
Jessica also places strong emphasis on the people behind the business. With 11 employees in Dundee and 10 in Ladysmith, she sees her teams as an important part of what has allowed the businesses to grow. Her branches also contribute to their communities through employment opportunities, charitable initiatives, cultural events and local support.
For Jessica, leadership is not about having all the answers from the beginning. Her own experience of taking over the business taught her the value of patience, listening and remaining approachable, lessons she now shares with other franchisees looking to grow into leadership positions.
Lynette Du Preez: From a family workshop to running the business
Lynette Du Preez is the owner of Supa Quick Polokwane, where she leads a team of 19 while carrying forward a family connection to the automotive industry that stretches back to the founding of Supa Quick in South Africa. Her route into the business, however, was not as straightforward as following the family tradition.
Her father was one of the founding members of Supa Quick when the brand launched in South Africa in 1986 and Lynette spent much of her childhood around the workshop. She recalls riding her bicycle around the business and learning about cars from a young age but when it came time to choose a career, she initially looked beyond the family business.
Lynette pursued aviation, obtaining her Private Pilot Licence and progressing into her Commercial Pilot Licence before eventually returning to the industry she had grown up around. She joined the family business full-time in 2005 and deliberately started at the bottom, learning how the different parts of the operation worked before moving into leadership. That experience remains important to her today because she understands the business from the perspective of the people working on the floor as well as the person running it.
When the family business later moved from Speedy to Supa Quick Polokwane, Lynette continued building on that experience and developed her own approach to customer service. She says her goal is for every customer to leave the store thinking, “WOW, that was good service,” with her team focused on providing professional advice and helping customers understand the work their vehicles require.
Her interests outside the business reveal the same practical side of her personality. Lynette enjoys building with Lego and Meccano, gardening and stock-car racing, and says she would like to become more involved in the mechanical side of the sport. She also believes strongly in giving back, with the Polokwane branch supporting school and sports tours, contributing towards youth initiatives and donating swings to local early childhood development centres.
Her philosophy is straightforward: “Where there is a will, there is a way.” It reflects a career that has taken her from childhood Saturdays in a family workshop, through an unexpected detour into aviation and back to the automotive industry where she has built a business and leadership role of her own.