From Mini-Boom to Crunch Time
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South Africa’s leading source of news and information on all aspects of the motor industry Issue 21 | 19 April 2012 www.autolive.co.za FROM MINI-BOOM TO CRUNCH TIME That’s the news for 2013 says economist Full Story on Page 2 Fire near Van A Hyundai Supercharging Rand Easter Show Reenen’s “Special Report” according to RGM in Pictures Page 6 Page 8 Page 10 Page 23 Subscribe for free @ www.autolive.co.za Page 2 Editor Stuart Johnston Current Mini-Boom Expected to be of Short [email protected] General Manager Duration According to Leading Economist Roger Houghton [email protected] By RogeR HougHton downturn. He said economic Sales sustainability depended to Bruno Lupini a great extent on high pro- The current mini credit ductivity and this was not [email protected] boom being enjoyed by the the case in South Africa Address South African economy is at present and the present Suite 106B, MISA Centre to be of a fairly short dura- mini-boom was being led 12 Fir Street, Northcliff tion – six to nine months by finance houses extending Johannesburg, 2195 – according to leading credit. economist George Glynos, However, he said the Tel of Econometrix Treasury coming wave of inflation, +27 (0)83 450 9255 Management (ETM). He was fuelled by increases in the speaking at a media briefing prices of fuel, electricity and Fax organised by Transunion water as well as the e-tolling +27 (0)86 505 8957 Auto Information Solutions are going to eat into house- Website in Midrand recently. hold funding and deplete the Transunion Automotive, amount of money for buy- www.autolive.co.za in conjunction with ETM ing new capital items such Leading economist George Glynos of Econometrix © 2011 WCM Media CC has jointly developed a very as cars. Treasury Management (ETM). interesting consumer credit Glynos explained that Production index which tracks a wide the global economic and fi- the crises of 2008, while continuing to give monetary Marketing Support Services variety of factors and it is in- nancial playing fields had Germany has its own set support with no sign of a +27 (0)12 346 2168 teresting to see how closely it changed dramatically since of problems as it still has to turnaround to signal a recov- [email protected] follows trends in NAAMSA’s the melt-down of 2008 and recapitalise its banks,” ex- ery. The equivalent of 15 tril- new vehicle sales graph. governments were now plained the economist. lion dollars has been printed Layout and Typesetting This is the tool that directly involved. in mon- “Japan, a country that in the past two years and this Bonita Tuson Glynos used to highlight etary matters, not least of used to enjoy huge trade has done nothing more than Disclaimer economic trends in the past all to fulfil political prom- surpluses, is now in a deficit paper over the cracks,” said and that helped lead him to ises. This was particularly situation, which is very wor- the MD and Chief Economist While reasonable his conclusions of a probable the case in the European rying. It is not only a major of ETM. precautions have been economic slowdown in SA Union as stronger countries global economy but also a se- “South Africa is certain- taken to ensure the from mid 2013. tried to prop up the weaker rious player in the global mo- ly not an island in the current accuracy of the advice Glynos said the qual- members. tor industry, where the big word and is certain to be af- and information given to ity of growth being enjoyed “The economies of Japanese motor companies fected by changing global readers, neither the Editor, currently was unlikely to be Japan, the United Kingdom are all battling to be globally economic circumstances, as the Proprietors, nor the sustained in the longer term and the United States have competitive due to the strong well as having its own chal- publishers can accept and pointed to mid-2013 as a not recovered from the glo- yen. lenges such as rising inflation any responsibility for any danger period in terms of the bal crunch and are in a far “All that is happening and comparatively low pro- damages or injury which beginning of an economic worse position than before is that the central banks are ductivity,” said Glynos. ■ may arise therefrom. Subscribe for free @ www.autolive.co.za Page 3 Editor’s Note Return of Infiniti By the time the next edition of AutoLive reaches you we will know Infiniti, the luxury automotive marque FX performance SUV, EX luxury com- whether those Magic Kingdom-like from Japan, last week announced that it pact SUV, the Sporty G Coupe, the spir- structures that adorn Gauteng’s will once again sell its range of sedans, ited G Cabriolet and the unique Infiniti M freeway system will be operation- coupes and cross-overs in South Africa luxury sedan. al, and adding yet more financial from June 2012. Infiniti enthusiasts will be able to burden to the bulk of this coun- Already a competitive contender in purchase and service their vehicles at try’s motorists. Not content with countries around the world, the –re-intro- Infiniti Centres in Gauteng, KwaZulu- two massive hikes in fuel prices in duction of Nissan’s luxury performance‘ Natal and the Western Cape. The first the past few months, we are brac- brand to South Africa is unique to the centres will open in Hatfield, Pretoria ing ourselves for an additional cost African continent. and Melrose Arch, Johannesburg in of 30c per kilometre to be added to the so called privilege of using Although Nissan issued a statement mid-2012, followed by Durban and Cape a motorway system that, one suspects, was upgraded largely to im- this week that this would be the first time Town, which will open in the fourth press, rather than serve the needs of the people who live here. Infiniti would be introduced here, it is quarter of this year. It was hardly a coincidence that the highway improvement true that in the early 1990s Nissan sold a Continued Whitfield: “Infiniti’ de- scheme was set to be finished in time for the World Cup of just handful of Infiniti Q45s here, although the livers a unique combination of peace of under two years ago. It’s great when lane closures aren’t in place brand disappeared soon after its introduc- mind, hospitality and driving pleasure. to finish the job some two years later. But is it great enough to tion and only about 20 examples were sold. Our tagline, ‘Inspired Performance’ illus- warrant an additional 30 c a kilometre? Take an average commute The big problem was that the Inifiniti was trates that Infiniti cars are so much more for the people who live in Pretoria but work in Jo’burg. At a con- subject to prohibitive import taxes which than machines that move you from one servative 100 km daily commute to and from work for the bulk of set its price at R360 000, which was very place to another. Infiniti has an emotional, those people on the N1 and M1, that translates to around R660 a firmly in Merc S-Class territory then. inspirational appeal, offering a very per- month. So the proposed monthly cap of R550 will be a formality. Some 18 years later, Nissan SA sonal style of modern luxury for people in- With an increase from around R10 a litre to the R11 a litre Managing Director Mike Whitfield is de- spired by originality and design who seek mark in two recent fuel price hikes, and given an average fuel con- lighted by this latest development: “We are enriching experiences.” sumption of around 10 litres/100 km, that means in fuel bills and thrilled to be bringing Infiniti to South In South Africa, Infiniti will be toll costs, the extra cost masterminded by our government for the Africa” says Whitfield, “and we are confi- strengthened by a financial division: Pretoria- Jo’burg commuters amounts to around R770 in total. dent that it will be as successful here as it is Infiniti Financial Services, which will fo- Not a bad little haul for the so-called government of this so-called in many other regions around the world.” cus on vehicle finance in the luxury market democracy. Infiniti is the luxury automotive brand and offer innovative products and services If any government with a sophisticated electorate had tried to from Japan with a model line-up of sedans, to both companies and individuals. foist this kind of system with all the hallmarks of incompetence coupes, SUVs and crossovers featuring ex- The South Africa Infiniti introduc- and corruption for which our rulers are becoming world famous, hilarating performance, emotive design tion follows those in Indonesia, Panama it would be out on its ear, come next election time. and cutting-edge technology. Initially, the Malaysia and Singapore last year , while Sadly here, it seems the ANC will be content to push things Infiniti model range for South Africa will this year will see Infiniti expanding into to the very brink of revolution before it acknowledges any kind comprise the highly distinctive Infiniti Chile and Australia. ■ of accountability. As one Randburg resident opined in a SAPA- conducted street survey published on Page 7 of this edition, “if they can’t even sort out electricity bills, why should I trust them to manage the toll billing correctly?” Like that man from Douglasdale, I’d be tempted to take my chances too, at least for now.