To advertise here call Kay‑Leigh Els on 072 2626 839 or e-mail her South Africa’s leading source of news and information on all aspects of the motor industry at [email protected] Issue 02 | 9 June 2011 www.autolive.co.za Sparks set to fly As already reported (see Issue No 1 of AutoLive), the Mitsubishi Triton will soon no longer be made in this country. Its demise is in-line with local production trends of the past decade (full story on page 2). The changing face BMW’s next 3 Series Ford’s “Home” May NAAMSA of local vehicle – Plant Rosslyn Ranger readies for sales: VW pips manufacturing looks ahead Fourth Quarter rollout Toyota, again pg 2 pg 5 pg 6 pg 7 Subscribe for free @ www.autolive.co.za Page 2 Sparks set to fly TRISTAN WIGGILL Editor As already reported (see Issue Stuart Johnston No 1 of AutoLive), the [email protected] Mitsubishi Triton will soon no longer be made Deputy Editor in this country. Its de- Tristan Wiggill mise is in-line with lo- [email protected] cal production trends of the past decade. Toyota Innova General Manager The simple fact is, Roger Houghton over the years – particu- [email protected] larly over the last eight It also appears the 11th genera- years – South Africa has tion Toyota Corolla will not be made produced fewer and fewer passenger in South Africa when production is Sales car and LCV models for both export This allowed it to double its total Polo expected to start in 2012. Reports have Kay-Leigh Els and local markets. Manufacturers are exports, from approximately 28 500 emerged that claim Corolla produc- [email protected] moving away from multiple varieties in 2009, to 55 000 in 2010. This year, tion is moving to Turkey, a country and platforms to focus on increased the rate of Polo production is breaking which already makes the Corolla Verso Address output of single models, primarily South African production records. (which is an import here) and the two- Suite 106B, MISA Centre motivated by government incentives. Recent models that have been door Auris (not imported here). 12 Fir Street, Northcliff In 2002, South Africa manu- lost or phased out include the Ford If this is indeed the case, it Johannesburg, 2195 factured 25 base car and light com- Focus, Mazda3 Nissan Tiida, Triton will free up production capacity at mercial vehicle models. After July, and Citi Golf. And now General Toyota’s plant in Prospecton, Durban, Tel when one eliminates the low-volume Motors South Africa (GMSA) has de- where a major facelift on Hilux and +27 (0)11 431 1228 Triton, SA will produce a total of just cided to slash initial Spark produc- Fortuner models will be launched in 14 models. However, the good news tion figures and export numbers in the second half of this year. Fax is that over the same eight-year pe- half, as the company focuses on beef- Meanwhile, a third model in +27 (0)86 505 8957 riod the average volume per model ing up Isuzu production at its Port the IMV (Innovative Multipurpose produced in SA has almost doubled Elizabeth plant. Vehicle) programme line could be Website – from 15 606 units in 2002 to 29 944 Original Spark production vol- added to the range, in the form of www.autolive.co.za units in 2010. umes were expected to be 15 000 units the Innova people carrier. If it were A major reason behind this trend a year, of which 50% were due to be produced locally, the Innova could is the Motor Industry Development exported to New Zealand, Australia become a valuable extra model for © 2011 WCM Media CC Programme (MIDP). The MIDP en- and other right-hand-drive markets the export market and bring with it courages OEM’s in South Africa to in the Asia-Pacific. jobs in both the manufacturing and Production specialize in one or two high-volume But GMSA will now confine mar- component industries. The Innova is Marketing Support Services models on behalf of parent companies. kets for the Spark to sub-Saharan currently made and sold in the Far +27 (0)12 346 2168 In this way, OEM’s can obtain econo- Africa, and will align all GMSA’s ve- East, and is an eight-seater, which is mies of scale benefits via exports and hicle assembly programmes to these similar, but larger than the Avanza. Layout and Typesetting in turn, import low volume models markets. Toyota will also introduce an- Johann Seidel not manufactured in the country. This The first batch of Sparks are set to other new model, the Etios, which is approach also assists the component leave GMSA’s production line at the made in India (see story on page 8). Disclaimer suppliers to attain higher volumes. end of this year. With a strengthened The SA government is in talks While reasonable Substantially increasing local relationship with Isuzu, GMSA will with Toyota about the possibility of precautions have been production volumes will also qualify assemble the next generation Isuzu building the Quantum minibus taxi taken to ensure the OEM’s to receive incentives under KB in both left – and right-hand drive, locally, too, as at present all the taxis accuracy of the advice government’s Automotive Production increasing the brand’s reach to more are imported and thus create vital and information given to and Development Plan (APDP) from markets in sub-Saharan Africa. The employment in those countries in- readers, neither the Editor, 2013. current generation Isuzu KB is limited stead of within SA. the Proprieters, nor the Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) to right-hand-drive production. However, the government would publishers can accept is a prime example of model trimming. GMSA still hopes to achieve the have to offer Toyota some sort of any responsibility for any Historically, it built cars on five plat- 50 000-unit-a-year production level incentive to do this, and this could damages or injury which forms. This was reduced to three plat- to receive government incentives well cause an outcry from rival may arise therefrom. forms in 2008 and then to two in 2010. from 2013. manufacturers. Subscribe for free @ www.autolive.co.za Page 3 Editor’s Note 1st edition reader feedback “Well done. Brilliant, informative, interesting, comprehensive, thorough… Welcome to the second almost complete. The private vehicle testing / roadworthy industry rarely gets edition of AutoLive, known a good mention and it only, quite frankly, has itself to blame. I do hope that for the record as AutoLive your wonderful publication is going to seek out the newsworthy and positive No 2, June 9, 2011. actions of this misunderstood industry. It is still early days for your publi- In this edition of South Africa’s exciting new e- cation and I sincerely wish it every success and a very long innings,” Wally zine that covers all aspects Cracknell, SGS Automotive – KZN Consultant. of the motor industry, we focus strongly on the com- “I would like to congratulate you on AutoLive! It is a great initiative that will ings and goings of current make a great contribution to the retail motor industry,” Christo Claasen, and future models that are Automotive Compliance Consultant. being manufactured right here in South Africa. Toyota features strongly in this scenario, so look out “Congrats on the launch of AutoLive. Nice to have online news of motor hap- for the story on the likelihood of Corolla being phased penings,” Theo Stead, former retailer at BMW Tygervalley (1964 -2005). out of its Prospecton plant near Durban (this is not to say the popular nameplate will disappear from our “Hi, congrats on the AutoLive edition I just received. It is great and I wish you market). Corolla production could, in all likelihood, be every success with the publication. I am convinced it will do very well!” Robert replaced by a locally-made newcomer in the all-impor- Kaiser, RMC. tant A/B segment, to keep Toyota’s SA production lines humming along at full capacity. We also examine the switchover BMW SA will be “Heartiest congratulations on your first issue. In my view it came out extreme- making to the next-generation 3 Series in a few months ly well and I have no doubt that it will find favour with its readers. I wish you time at Plant Rosslyn, and give BMW SA the opportu- every success with this exciting venture! Warm Regards.” Brand Pretorius. nity to set the record straight from its point of view via effervescent communications wiz, Guy Kilfoil. BMW is much in the news this issue, with driv- ing impressions of its new 6 Series Convertible and an exclusive interview with media liaison man, Edward Makwana. We also report in some depth on the upcom- ing Ford Ranger and its implications for local manufac- turing across a broad scale. There is lots of useful comment on the latest NAAMSA sales figures, too, as well as a lot more inter- esting stuff on trucks, tyres, sales and social issues that affect the motor industry. On a personal note, it is great to have Danie Dreyer and his team on board as the new designers of AutoLive. Dreyer’s company, Marketing Support Services, has been involved with motoring layouts for many years, in- cluding the popular Wheels motoring annual. It was gratifying to receive so many positive com- ments about Issue No 1 of AutoLive, particularly from the heavy hitters within our industry. We’d like to take the opportunity to invite you to air your views on our publi- cation, or anything else that’s on your mind in connection with cars, trucks, components, gadgets and the motor industry in general, including, of course, the colourful people involved in this important sector of our economy.