7190 Autolive 32.Indd

South Africa’s leading source of news and information on all aspects of the motor industry Issue 32 | 11 October 2012 www.autolive.co.za BAKKIE WARS As Ford’s Ranger makes market inroads, Isuzu’s new KB is set to launch in early 2013 See story starting on Page 2 Automechanika Ford’s Chief Engineer, Kinsey Report A load of old insights Jamal Hameedi Page 8 bee’s-wax Page 5 Page 6 Page 24 Subscribe for free @ www.autolive.co.za Page 2 Editor Stuart Johnston [email protected] General Manager Roger Houghton Bakkie Wars [email protected] Sales The next-gen Isuzu KB pick-up is scheduled for launch early in 2013, and will no Bruno Lupini doubt ratchet up the intense pick-up and double-cab sales wars being fought in [email protected] South Africa. Estelle van Staden [email protected] While Toyota’s Hilux continues to rule the roost in terms of numbers sold here and outside our borders, Ford’s Angelina Michael new Ranger has exceeded all sales expectations. Nissan’s [email protected] Navara and NP300 ranges continue to perform solidly. Address And playing minor key roles are VW’s Amarok and the Suite 106B, MISA Centre very aff ordable GWM built in China. 12 Fir Street, Northcliff Now the game is about to get more interesting with Johannesburg, 2195 General Motors’ Port Elizabeth plant gearing up for not only right-hand-drive production of the new KB, but left - Tel hand-drive variants too, which could see the factory on the +27 (0)83 450 9255 bay introduce a second shift later in 2013. Fax At the launch of the new Chevrolet Cruze hatch (see page 14), we spoke to GMSA’s Vice President for Planning, +27 (0)86 505 8957 Ian Nicholls, discussing the new Isuzu and other GMSA- Website related happenings. www.autolive.co.za AL: How pleased are you with the way GM is performing, coming into the closing part of 2013? © 2012 WCM Media CC IN: I’m very pleased with the way GM is performing. Ian Nicholls, Vice President for Planning at Production Globally coming off its near bankruptcy, the focus the GMSA. Marketing Support Services company now enjoys has seen it put all that behind +27 (0)12 346 2168 it and we are seeing continued growth around the seniority of people that have been assigned to work [email protected] world. But also here in South Africa, I’m very happy with GM in Europe. And it’s not only an Opel situa- with the success of all of our brands. Chevrolet has tion in Europe, it’s an economic situation pertaining Layout and Typesetting shown tremendous growth in this market, as well as to the whole region. Bonita Tuson Isuzu and Opel. AL: Th ere has been talk that VW was interested in acquir- Disclaimer AL: We tend to almost dismiss Opel as an aft erthought ing Opel? While reasonable precautions have in this market nowadays, possibly due to the strength IN: No, General Motors is committed to addressing the been taken to ensure the accuracy of the Chevrolet brand. What is happening with situation and Opel and Vauxhall will continue to be of the advice and information given Opel here? GM’s brand in Europe. And there are selected markets to readers, neither the Editor, the IN: Opel is defi nitely here to stay. Let’s not kid ourselves, around the world, where Opel will play a role. Proprietors, nor the publishers Europe is a very tough market at the moment and AL: Opel has a long history here. can accept any responsibility for Opel is battling in Europe. But I’ve never seen this IN: Yes, in fact the brand goes back here to the 1930s. As any damages or injury which may amount of resource within general Motors being far as commitment goes here, we’ve launched Meriva arise therefrom. applied to addressing the situation in Europe. And when I say that, I’m not only talking money, but continued on page 4 Subscribe for free @ www.autolive.co.za Page 3 Missive from Rob cash-guzzling disaster of an SOE which Editor’s Note has utterly failed to deliver its mandate Rob Handﬁ eld-Jones is well known for safer roads. as a journalist, race driver, driving However, Ismail’s attitude is not sur- It’s been a worrying time for the instructor and industry commentator, prising given that the Acting CEO of the motor industry in South Africa, particularly concerned with road RTMC, Collins Letsoalo, (who is himself with the truck drivers’ strike ac- safety. This is an edited version of the not a road safety expert) claimed in a pres- tion and isolated internal disputes latest letter we received from him. entation to the Parliamentary Portfolio causing plant closures or go-slows Committee of Transport that “...so-called in various parts of the country. Unfortunately it appears that certain road safety experts...” were part of the ‘prob- Th ankfully, production has re- RTMC employees see themselves as the lems and challenges’ facing road safety in sumed and things are pretty much sole guardians of road safety and are un- South Africa. He off ered no elaboration back to normal right now. willing to accept any input from others. on this statement. Please feel free to contact Another dark cloud on the Th is is a rather dangerous stance, since it me for a copy of Letsoalo’s presentation as horizon, though, is the one re- can be shown by the use of road safety data well as a recent letter to the Committee garding the impending tolling of the Gauteng Freeway system, that the RTMC is the most ineff ective gov- sent by a group of road safety specialists of which, despite protests, legal action and about a million column ernment road safety structure of the last which I am part in protest at this and other centimetres in print and cyber-space, is set to go ahead. 40 years. numerous inaccuracies and misleading All of this came on the back of a very bullish breakfast Responding to an AA concern about statements his presentation contained. meeting hosted by Standard Bank two weeks ago, with a to- the way in which traffi c enforcement is Th e fact of the matter is the RTMC’s tally positive outlook presented on our new car market for the conducted, Ashref Ismail of the RTMC national rolling enforcement plan has foreseeable future. was quoted as follows in Th e New Age: failed to curb lawlessness. For instance, the Yet, that very day, the Johannesburg daily newspaper Th e “This is why the national rolling alcohol drinking rate for driver fatalities is Times, led with a story that South Africans are “drowning in enforcement plan is critical in ensur- approximately 60%, but drink / driving ar- debt”. Th e article claimed that South African citizens owe “more ing scarce resources are deployed in rests amount to a mere 0.004 to 0.006 of all than R1,36-trillion”, and that despite the positive eff ects of the areas where they can make the big- notices issued. Gary Ronald of the AA is National Credit Act, last month another 170 000 consumers fell gest impact in reducing offences that quite right to point out that the majority behind in their loan repayments. lead to deaths. Unfortunately they of enforcement is speed trapping, and gov- So, while we enjoy a period of growth which, in the new car might not all be in Gary Ronald’s (AA ernment’s own statistics prove this. market is expected to average out at 10 per cent for 2012, there are Public Affairs Head) neighbourhood I shall go further than Ronald how- worrying factors that give the impression more and more that our where he is irked by people driving in ever, and state that the reason speed is fo- entire economy is balanced on a knife-edge. yellow lines or treating stop signs as cused on is because it provides revenue for Th e wage negotiations between the motor industry and Numsa yields. Being sensational and playing municipalities and that there is no profi t next year will be critical to the long term sustainability of our vehi- to a certain sector of the community motive to spend time focusing on mov- cle manufacturers here, and the associated component suppliers. is cheap point-scoring for which the ing violations. I would furthermore put it Being an integral part of the global economy has brought AA will receive support from its own quite bluntly that all attempts at construc- many benefi ts to South Africa since 1995, but it has brought with constituency but it helps little in terms tive engagement with the Department of it a responsibility to plan for the future and that means taking a of constructive engagement.” Transport have failed, so Ismail’s request macro view on the future of our nation. Investors in this country The article also said the following: for same is ludicrous. Th e RTMC and DoT are here, now, for non-emotional reasons. We have to make this ‘Ismail said Ronald was welcome to have shown themselves to be entirely dis- country an attractive proposition on a sustainable long-term ba- move out of his comfort zone and see interested in transparency and account- sis, and that means, for many people and organisations, thinking special operations targeting public ability to road users. It therefore falls to about the long-term implications of short-term actions.

Load more