autoforum sept 2012

WWW.AUTOFORUM.CO.ZA September 2012

I N F O R M E D A N D I N N O V A T I V E

PAGE 27NEWS AFRICA

NEWS AFRICA

IN PARTNERSHIPWITH AUSTRALIANBODYSHOP NEWS

InsideOEM VS REPLAcEMENT PARTS: A HAPPY cOMPROMISE?

NISSAN ANNOUNcES R1BN SA INVESTMENT

PUT A cAP ON TRUckING LOSSES

GE AND FORD IN BATTERY

LIFE ExTENSION PROjEcTIN

NOVA

TION

S

RSA: R20.00 (incl. VAT)Other Countries: US $12.00

Fleet Owners Be Warned – Legal Ambush Ahead

BMW ZAGATO ROADSTER

AutoForum - September 2012

PAGE 2

The Auto Electrical Solution

The largest independent

Auto Electrical company

in South Africa.

Motor Electrodiesel SA)(Pty)LtdThe Auto Electrical Solution

Tel : +27 21 505-4000

M.E.D Workshop

offers a

24hr service.

15 000 sq² new facility

Have you got an invitation to our opening party?If not, contact MED at [email protected]

THE AUTO ELECTRICAL COMPANY TO OFFER A MINIMUM

OF 12 MONTHS WARRANTY ON A OF ITS PRODUCTS

ONLY

LL

www.medsa.co.za

The Auto Electrical Solution

The largest independent

Auto Electrical company

in South Africa.

Motor Electrodiesel SA)(Pty)LtdThe Auto Electrical Solution

Tel : +27 21 505-4000

M.E.D Workshop

offers a

24hr service.

15 000 sq² new facility

Have you got an invitation to our opening party?If not, contact MED at [email protected]

THE AUTO ELECTRICAL COMPANY TO OFFER A MINIMUM

OF 12 MONTHS WARRANTY ON A OF ITS PRODUCTS

ONLY

LL

www.medsa.co.za

September 2012

EDITOR: CLARE RUTKIEWICZ

CONTRIBUTORS:AUSTRALIAN BODYSHOP NEWS DAVE SCOTTROY COKAYNE COLIN WINDELLGRAHAm BUSH ROBERT KAISERmICHEL mALIK ADVERTISING:GRANT WEST WARWICK ROBINSONC: 076 727 8161 C: 082 855 7750 T: 011 466 3733F: 086 627 1135 SImONE TREKI C: 082 499 4668

PRODUCTION: KAZ NEL

EmAIL: [email protected]

PUBLISHER:SWIFT PUBLICATIONS & OLYmPIC PARK TRADINGPOSTNET SUITE 174PRIVATE BAG X11HALFWAY HOUSE1684

Editorial Well spring has sprung, and that of course means

its time to clean house. Not only sorting out the

physical detritus that builds up in any business,

but really getting to grips with little losses and bad

business planning that means major cash losses at

the end of the year. If you are in the fleet industry,

Dave Scott’s articles on new regulations in the

sector and capping fuel losses are simply not to

missed. The past months have seen many compa-

nies fighting fires day to day - now, however, is the

time to sort out all the “little” issues that have been

slipping past.

Thank you to BMW SA forour cover photo.

AutoForum has an ABC circulation of 12684 ABC (Jan - June 2012)

CONTENTSCover StoriesNissan announces R1bn SA investment 16

BMW Zagato roadster 19

OEM vs replacement parts: A happy compromise? 28

GE and Ford in battery life extension project 42

Put a cap on trucking losses 44

Fleet owners be warned – Legal ambush ahead 47

56

54

44

20

24

News ForumAPEAL Study shows bigger not always better 14

Nissan announces R1bn SA investment 16

Sunday Times Top Brands 2012 18

SAE launches academy on automotive composites 18

New roadster unveiled 19

Automotive Brand Awards 2012 20

Barriers to change in the UK 22

MISA Women's Forum breakfast 24

Waste tyre plan approval gets players hot under the collar

26

BodyShop NewsFranchise vs. replacement parts litigation: Is it really necessary?

28

BASF coatings expands Chinese ops 32

ASRW attracts all the big coatings names 32

Trade TalkHighlights of global and local industry news 06

www.Autoforum.co.za

While reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the advice and information given to readers, neither the editor, nor the publishers, can accept any responsibility for any damages, injury or loss which arise there from. The opinions expressed by contributors to this magazine are not necessarily shared by the editor or the publishers.

Advertisers Guide

I N F O R M E D A N D I N N O V A T I V E

Aer-O-Cure OBC

Alert Engine Part 41

Alfa International 15

Audi Part 39

Autocosmos/Electrolog 60

Bosch 17, IBC

BSE 35

Diesel Electric 23

Drivelines 5

Federal-mogul 43

First National Battery 25

GmSA 11, 31

Highveld Garage Equipment 40

Hofmann megaplan 51

Intergrated marketing 61

Ital machinery 22, 61

John Bean 19

Leaderquip 49

mastercraft 33

mED 2-3

midas Group 45, 57

mISA 29

motor merchandise 27

Nissan 13

Partquip 9

POS Service Holland 49

Snap-on 19

Spec Tools 21

Trysome 51

VW Parts 7Wheelquip 37

Business ForumSo, who do you really work for? 34

Interest rates, credit demand and affordability to support car sales 36

New report shows websites must cater for tablet users 38

Commercial VehiclesTrucking losses must be capped 44

Be warned - Legal ambush ahead 47

Unitrans’ MAN TGS handover 48

Track your trailer and cargo 50

InnovationsGE and Ford in battery life extension project 42

Show TimeBosch hosts its service conference for 2012 52

Bosch golf day another hit 54

AfriMold 2012 in October 53

SAAW 2012 just around the corner 55

Thekwini Car, Truck, Bike and Outdoor Show 56

Midas celebrates suppliers in 2012 58

After-Marketplace DirectoryDirectory listings 62

New ReleasesLatest offerings of local products 60

AutoForum - September 2012Trade Talk AutoForum - September 2012 www.AutoForum.co.za

Auto graduates In August, Sewells celebrated the graduation of 12 more motor sector business people from its Group Advanced Dealer Management (ADM) programme, while guest speaker - Jeff Osborne, CEO of the Retail Motor Industry (RMI) - gave an overview of current South African industry trends.

The company confirmed that it is currently re-establishing the ADM’s relationship with Melbourne University, which will allow course graduates to add post graduate certification to their achievements. The university will also contribute and deliver around two to three days of course content, typically including inputs on leadership, culture management and change management.

The ADM programme focuses on teaching candidates what it really takes to become a Motor Dealer Principal - the top person in the large, dynamic and intricate businesses serv-ing South Africa’s motoring customers.

AEB for EU commercial vehicles We reported on it a few issues ago, and now it is official. The European Commission has confirmed that new regula-tions in the near future will mean that all new cars in that region will be compelled to include autonomous emergency braking technology (AEB).

The system works by virtue of radar, lidar (laser) or video technology, which can assess whether a road hazard or obstacle (including pedestrians) could cause a potential collision, and then warns the vehicle driver, while priming the brakes. Should the driver not amend driving speed, the system automatically brakes to avoid an impact.

A study recently carried out by the European Commission found that the technology could reduce road accidents in the EU by 27% - which, it says, equates to 8 000 lives. In terms of costs, it could save countries millions - Germany alone is expected to save €100 million.

All commercial vehicles will be required to be fitted with the technology by November 2013 in order to gain European Type Approval, and passenger cars are expected to follow thereafter.

Euro NCAP has already indicated that it will include AEB in its assessment process from 2014. As Michiel van Ratin-gen, Secretary General of Euro NCAP said: “We don’t want to force them [car makers] into this immediately, but we’ve made it very clear that the best way to ensure a five-star rating from 2014 is to have AEB on the vehicle.”

Gilbert Mfuya, from Toyota Ltd Toyota Zambia, received a special award for

achieving the best performance overall

Eric Calverley, Service Manager Grand Central Motors, Midrand, received a

special award for a compiling the best business plan

PAGE 6

Volkswagen’s Economy Parts are an addition to the current range of parts

that maintain Volkswagen’s quality standard. They are specifically designed

for Volkswagens and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles that are out of warranty

and are five years or older. For more information, please contact your nearest

participating Dealership or visit vw.co.za today.

Volkswagen Economy Parts. The intelligent choice for older Volkswagens.

Introducing Volkswagen’s Economy Parts range. The affordable way to keep your older Volkswagen a Volkswagen.

Visit vw.co.za and follow us on facebook.com/vwsa

*Part applicability dependant on chassis number. Prices are recommended retail inclusive of VAT & subject to change without notifi cation. Prices valid from 1 May 2012 to 1 December 2012. While stocks last.

OG

ILVY CA

PE TOW

N 49911/E

Front Brake DiscPart No.: JZW615301Beetle 2003 - 2007 Golf 4 1998 - 2006 Jetta 4 1999 - 2006 Price: R 412.52

Front Brake DiscPart No.: JZW615301AGolf 5 2004 - 2007 Caddy 2004 - 2007 Price: R 467.32

Front Brake DiscPart No.: JZW615301DBeetle 2003 - 2007 Golf 4 1998 - 2006 Jetta 4 1999 - 2006Polo 2003 - 2007 Price: R 439.71

WiperbladesPart No.: JZW998002GGolf 5 2006 - 2007 Price: R 221.66

WiperbladesPart No.: JZW998002HGolf 4 1998 - 2006 Jetta 4 1999 - 2006 Price: R 138.92

Starter Battery (72Ah)Part No.: JZW915105APassat 2001 - 2007Transporter 1999 - 2007Golf 4/5 1998 - 2007 Crafter 2006 - 2007Caddy 2004 - 2007Jetta 4 1999 - 2006LT 2003Polo 2003 - 2007Touran 2004 - 2007Price: R 1 026.00

Starter Battery (44Ah)Part No.: JZW915105CJetta 4 1999 - 2006 Caddy 2004 - 2007 Passat 2001 - 2007Touran 2004 - 2007Sharan 1999 - 2000 Transporter 1999 - 2004 Golf 4/5 1998 - 2007Polo 2003 - 2007 Price: R 658.05

Rear Brake PadsPart No.: JZW698451Caddy 2004 - 2007 Eos 2007 Golf 5 2004 - 2007 Passat 2001 - 2005 Price: R 571.79

Starter Battery (61Ah)Part No.: JZW915105Transporter 1999 - 2007Golf 4 1998 - 2007Jetta 4 1999 - 2006Passat 2001 - 2007Touran 2004 - 2007Caddy 2004 - 2007Beetle 2003 - 2005Polo 2005 - 2007Sharan 1999 - 2007Price: R 1 026.01

Front Brake PadsPart No.: JZW698151Golf 4/5 1998 - 2007Jetta 4 1999 - 2006 Polo 2003 - 2007Beetle 2003 - 2007Caddy 2004 - 2007 Price: R 399.00

Rear Shock AbsorberPart No.: JZW513025Beetle 2003 - 2007 Golf 1998 - 2006 Jetta 1999 - 2006 Price: R 700.96

Front Shock AbsorberPart No.: JZW413031AEos 2007 Golf 5 2004 - 2007 Passat 2006 - 2007 Price: R 1 187.95

Front Shock AbsorberPart No.: JZW413031BBeetle 2003 - 2007Jetta 4 1999 - 2006 Golf 4 1999 - 2006 Price: R 939.26

Rear Shock AbsorberPart No.: JZW513025EPolo 2003 - 2007 Price: R 364.80

Spark Plug (each)Part No.: JZW905603DBeetle 2003 - 2007 Golf 4/5 1998 - 2007 Jetta 4 1999 - 2006 Passat 2001 - 2007 Polo 2003 - 2007P rice: R 63.73

Front Brake PadsPart No.: JZW698151AGolf 4 1998 - 2001 Jetta 4 1999 - 2001 Polo 2003 - 2007 Price: R 636.12

49911 VW MBR 297x210 OPTION 01 V9.indd 1 2012/06/11 11:04 AM

Trade Talk AutoForum - September 2012 www.AutoForum.co.za

Hyundai recalls in US Hyundai in the US recently recalled a number of its vehicles as there were concerns that the cars’ airbags could malfunction.

The US arm of the automaker recalled 199 118 Santa Fe SUVs after finding that the front passenger airbag might not deploy in an accident, when a smaller adult seated there could be incorrectly detected as a child. The PODS device can, however, easily be re-programmed to avoid this error and due to its use exclusively in the US, does not involve vehicles in other markets, such as SA.

It also recalled 22 512 Sonatas in that country in an effort to replace one or two of the side curtain airbags, which could be inflated without being triggered in an accident. This is due to cer-tain manufacturing lots of the inflating gas cylinder that have been found to contain easily fractured welds.

Dealer guide app awarded TransUnion Auto Information Solutions launched its mobile Dealer Application only a short while ago, but clearly its pres-ence is being felt in the market. The app walked away with the title ‘2012 MTN App of the Year’, after being honoured as the country’s best enterprise app for Android devices in early Au-gust. It also came second in the enterprise IOS (Apple) device category, after Discovery’s HealthID product.

The app was applauded for its convenience, ease-of-use and navigation.

George Palmer, Business Development Executive at Trans- Union said: “The TransUnion Dealer app presents a new way of looking at vehicle valuations. It blends traditional valuation data with vehicle pedigree data, helping the dealer to make a more informed decision at the point of decision making, on a

device of his choice. We view this new converged approach as providing the dealer with previously unavailable insight that allows him to manage his risk more effectively.”

The company believes, however, that this is an ongoing process and promises that the product will continue to be enhanced with additional features. And while the app is purely for the motoring and associated industries at present, the company has confirmed that a similar app for consumers is in development.

Nomalanga Nkosi, GM for Business Marketing at MTN Busi-ness, told the awards attendees that: “The key is to not simply add another new app to an app store. Rather we are looking for an innovative idea that is set to change the way business is conducted.”

PAGE 8

AutoForum - September 2012Trade Talk AutoForum - September 2012

New Mastercraft lifting equipment range A continued relentless commitment to innovation, practical-ity and quality ensures that both professional artisans and DIY enthusiasts can be confident that Mastercraft tools will get the job done. Indeed, the company is so confident of its quality that it guarantees every tool against any defects in material or workmanship - giving users a no-nonsense swap-out, lifetime guarantee.

As the official hand tool supplier to the Toyota Motorsport team - which participates in the ABSA Off Road Champi-onship, the SA Rally Championship and the toughest race in the world, the Dakar Rally - Mastercraft tools believes it has the toughest tools that can withstand the toughest conditions.

To even better serve its customers’ needs, the 24-year-old brand recently announced a new addition to its family of products. The new Mastercraft range of Lifting Equipment encompasses Trolley Jacks, Bottle Jacks, Scissor Jacks, Jack Stands, Garage Jacks and Garage Creepers, and will be available in stores from this month. As with its hand tools, the company confidently stands by its products and quality, offering an industry-leading 5-year guarantee. And just to ensure that you always have the right tools available in your workshop and service centre, the compa-ny has started making certain products available for online purchase and direct delivery. Check out its website www.mastercrafttools.co.za.

Mastercraft is exclusively available from Makro, Builders Warehouse and Express stores nationwide, and can be found on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/master-crafttools for all the latest news on everything Mastercraft.

Holden engine bust in Australia Detectives in South Australia recently cracked an unprec-edented, multi-million-dollar theft racket operating from inside the country’s largest car manufacturer, and which saw seven people arrested.

In an article in The Australian newspaper, Michael Owen reported that police had warned that more arrests were imminent as a special operation delved deeper into a “high-level and sophisticated” criminal network. A police taskforce - code-named Operation Echidna - uncovered the national theft racket involving hundreds of V8 motors and transmissions worth more than $2.5 million (around R17 m) stolen from the Holden plant.

Organised Crime Investigation Branch Officer-In-Charge, Detective Superintendent Peter Harvey, said the police probe began in January. A Holden spokesman said the company had been aware of the criminal activity since 2010. Police believe the stolen engines and transmissions were sold through Internet auction sites such as eBay, via an email contact list and by word-of-mouth. An audit by Holden found that 140 V8 engines and 175 heavy-duty transmissions were missing, believed stolen. Those ar-rested range in age from 26 to 40 and face money-launder-ing and theft charges. All were to appear in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court in late August.

www.AutoForum.co.za

PAGE 10

AutoForum - September 2012Trade Talk AutoForum - September 2012

Smoother Ride for Sinethemba Monroe recently donated a set of four shock absorbers to Sinethemba home in Benoni, which looks after up to 27 children at a time. The organisation not only feeds and clothes the children, but is also involved in educating them and teaching them to live as part of a family – all in an effort to equip the children for their future integration into society and in establishing their own successful family. Says Philip Lutz, Marketing Manager Southern Africa - Aftermarket Ride Control: “Safety is always high on our agenda and we are delighted to have supplied the home’s vehicle with a set of four shock absorbers making the ‘fam-ily’ and road a safer place.”

Learning to drive – the right way Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) has introduced its new Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) programme, kicking off with some Grade 12 students in Mpumalanga in late August.

The initiative forms part of Ford’s DSFL safety aspect of the programme, Strive for Safer Driving, and was initiated in the US in 2003 after a panel of safety experts identified the need to teach newly licensed teens the necessary skills for safe driving, beyond what they learn in standard driver education programmes.

Twenty high schools in Mpumalanga nominated ten learn-ers each to participate in a ride and drive educational event, which included professional driving instructors to educate them on seat belt usage, speeding, drinking and driving and distracted driving as a result of texting and driving. While the students learned critical driving skills such as skid control and accident avoidance, they also received valuable life and financial skills training.

GWM in asbestos gasket debacle Great Wall Motors (GWM) recently sent out a press re-lease to the media in an effort to control fears regarding a new finding that certain of its vehicles were fitted with asbestos-containing gaskets. The offending gaskets were found in Australia and may also affect certain models in SA. The manufacturer was quick to highlight an assessment conducted by occupational health and safety consultants Hibbs and Associates in Australia, which concluded that there were negligible health risks for drivers, passengers and mechanics working on the vehicles. The report states: “Even if carried out in an uncontrolled way, handling and removing these gaskets constitutes a very low asbestos related health risk.”

Chairman of GWM South Africa, Tony Pinfold, commented: “Rest assured that a thorough investigation has been undertaken into the matter of the asbestos found in the gaskets of some of our vehicles in Australia. As the amount of asbestos in these gaskets is negligible, it poses no direct threat to the drivers or passengers of the affected GWM vehicles.”

Pinfold continued that GWM in China has ceased using the supplier of the gaskets and has recalled all the parts in question, whilst GWM South Africa is currently sourcing al-ternative replacement parts. “Not all GWM vehicles contain these gaskets, which mainly appear in older models. As an extra precautionary measure, they will be replaced free of charge at the customer’s next service at an approved GWM service centre.”

According to the release, only selected older GWM pick-up and SUV models are affected locally, such as the older 2.2, 2.8 TCI and 2.5 TCI pick-ups and the older SUVs with 4G64 and 4G69 engines.

www.AutoForum.co.za

PAGE 12

Nissan NP300 Hardbody makes perfect business senseNissan describes its NP300 Hardbody bakkie as the proverbial legendary boxer in the ever competitive 1 ton segment within the SA market ring.

As a model that has existed since 2002, the brand has not only stood the test of time, but it has become stronger and better suited to the tough conditions of work life in both SA and the rest of the world. At present, 15 models are available – which comprises 10 Workhorse models and 5 Hi-Rider models.

The former are aimed at making the lives of business, fleet, agricultural, construction and private business users, that much easier. Tested over the years in real working world environs, the vehicle’s tough and rugged build quality promises to get the job done - first time, every time.

And while the Hi-Rider model can also perform these tasks with ease, it boasts a little more comfort and luxury while doing so – with features such as air conditioning, power windows, ABS, dual airbags, roll bar, styled rear bumper, body colour fenders and front bumpers, which come standard. Other safety features include an ABS ladder frame chassis and safety crumple zones.

Some of the highlights of this range are its undeniably excellent reliability and renowned durability, its low running costs and its competitive list price. In addition, the bakkie boasts a low total cost of ownership (TCO) and is easy and cost effective to maintain – factors that make it just plain good business common sense.

The brand has built its image as a hard worker, “salt of the earth” bakkie – and for good reason. The tough and rugged

style has stood the test of time, as does its reinforced load bed, reinforced chassis (which is suitable for tough off-road conditions), proven technologies and capabilities, and excellent specification versus its competitors at the strongest price position. Add in a service interval of 15 000km, a 3 year / 100 000km warranty, a 3 year / unlimited km anti-corrosion warranty, along with its availability with either diff lock or Limited Slip Differential (LSD), and the question you should be asking yourself is this: why exactly am I not driving it right now?

What is not not to trust about a company that has been producing vehicles in SA since 1965, and which produced it’s 1 000 000th vehicle by 1992? Nissan is represented locally by more than 115 dealers and extends into the rest of Africa. The company boasts a 300 unit-per-day production cycle and its plant has been ISO 9002 certified since 1995, achieving the highest safety rating by NOSCAR for 20 consecutive years.


The latest global news

APEAL Study shows bigger not always better

The JD Power and Associates’ APEAL Study results are in and suggest that even

in the US, bigger is not always better – with the finding that owners of small cars and light trucks are often just as satisfied with their ve-hicles as owners of larger ones.

The Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study released recently found that smaller vehicles are, in many cases, more appealing than the larger vehicles they re-placed. In 2012, the average APEAL Study score for vehicles in the compact/sub-com-pact segment is 765 points (on a 1 000-point scale), which is the same as the average for mid vehicles in the study just four years ago. Similarly, in the latest report, the average APEAL Study score for vehicles in the mid pre-mium segment is 844, the same as the aver-age for large premium vehicles four years ago.

As Vice President of Global Automotive at JD Power, David Sargent, explains: “New-vehicle buyers who downgrade are not making the

sacrifice that they once were. Automakers are heavily focused on providing the US market with appealing smaller models, and buyers may be surprised at just how good some of them are.”

According to the report, 27% of new-vehicle buyers who replaced a vehicle “downd”’ - meaning they purchased a new vehicle in a smaller segment than the vehicle they re-placed. In contrast, only 13% of buyers “upd,” while 60% purchased a new vehicle in the same segment as their previous vehicle.

“For many years, almost twice as many vehicle owners have downd, compared with those who have upd. Although larger models continue to attain higher APEAL Study scores than smaller models, as they typically provide higher performance, have more pleasing styl-ing, are more comfortable and include more features, owners who downd find that today’s compact models are not the ‘econoboxes’ that they may have imagined. For example, most

Chevrolet Sonic

PAGE 14

compact vehicles are more substantial than in the past and perform much better on the road. They also have many of the features and appointments that were previously found only on larger model, such as navigation system and vari-ous entertainment options. Vehicle owners who downd are finding that they are actually upgrading when they buy a new vehicle.”

And owners of smaller cars are extremely satisfied with the fuel economy of their new vehicles - overall vehicle appeal continues to improve, increasing seven points year over year, but the area of greatest improvement is that of fuel economy. And that’s nothing to be sneezed at as 47% of owners say fuel mileage was one of the most important factors in choosing their new vehicle, up from 40% in 2011.

Other interesting findings from the latest study include the fact that Chevrolet received the highest number of segment awards of all brands in the study for its Sonic, Volt and Avalanche models, while the Audi A8 achieved the highest APEAL Study score of any model in the industry in 2012. Porsche was the highest-ranking nameplate for an eighth consecutive year.

2012 APEAL Study is based on responses gathered in the US between February and May 2012 from more than 74 000 purchasers and lessees of new 2012 model-year cars and light trucks who were surveyed after the first 90 days of ownership.

Chevrolet Volt


The automotive component manu-facturing sector is to benefit signifi-

cantly from the investment of more than R1 billion by Nissan in SA – a move that is set to double the capacity of the au-tomaker’s Rosslyn assembly plant to 100 000 units a year and allow for the production of a new one-ton pickup. The new model is for both the domestic and global export markets, particularly in Africa.

According to Nissan SA MD Mike Whit-field, a target had been set of increasing the local content in the new pickup to 70%, up from 50% in the current Nissan Hardbody. Whitfield said this was in line with one of the aims of the Auto-motive Production and Development Programme (APDP), which replaces the MIDP from next year.

But Whitfield confirmed Nissan SA would be unable to achieve its 70% local content target using its current

existing suppliers. He explained that the company was already actively involved in discussions to bring additional sup-pliers to SA, but it was too early to comment on who these suppliers were. He added that the R1bn investment was expected to create about 800 new di-rect jobs within Nissan SA and another about 4 000 jobs in its supply chain.

Whitfield confirmed that production of the pickup is scheduled to commence in the latter part of 2014, but said it was too early to talk about actual planned production volumes for the new model. He added that the APDP was a ma-jor driver of both the investment and planned capacity increase, as it has a minimum annual production threshold of 50 000 units to qualify for incentives

and benefits.

The MD said the Rosslyn plant last year pro-duced 54 000 vehicles, which included the current NP200 half-ton pick-up, the Hardbody one-ton pick-up and the Renault Sandero model, which is pro-duced in terms of the global Nissan-Renault alliance. However, only 25 000 units were produced in the plant in 2008.

The investment announcement co-incided with a SA visit by Toshiyuki Shiga, Chief Operating Officer of the Nissan Motor Company of Japan. Shiga

said the capacity expansion in SA was important for Nissan’s global strat-egy, because Nissan Motor Company had an ambitious global growth plan, and emerging markets were a key focus, none more so than the African continent.

Shinga said the APDP was completely in tune with Nissan’s own ambitions in the increasingly important African market and the wider Nissan Power 88 plan. Nissan has two key objectives in terms of this six-year global midterm business plan: increasing both its mar-ket share and operating profit margin to 8% by 2016, up from 5.8% and 6.1% respectively in 2010.

He said vehicles sales on the African continent contributed more than 90 000 units to Nissan’s global vehicles sales last year. He continued that the continent was regarded as a huge opportunity by vehicle manufactur-ers, because it had about 16% of the world’s population, but accounted for

only just more than 1% of total industry new vehicle volumes. He expects most growth to come out of North Africa and South Africa.

The investment is set to firmly establish South Africa as a global base for the production of pickups, with Toyota, Ford, Nissan and Isuzu all producing products in the country for both the domestic and global export markets.

Whitfield said in excess of 400 000 pickups should be produced in SA annually in the next three to four years. “This is not too dissimilar to what happened in Thailand, which built its production base based on pickups.”

Nissan announces R1bn SA investment - Roy Cokayne

A target had been set of increasing the local content in the new pickup

to 70%, up from 50%

Roy Cokayne is a senior financial reporter for Business Report.

NEWS FORUM

PAGE 16


The 14th annual Sunday Times Top Brands Awards were held in

early August in Johannesburg, and once again highlighted the best loved and most ‘top of mind’ brands in the country.

The uniquely decorated event ran under the sub theme “Quick, think of a brand” and invited guests to guess the brand of 10 products placed on plinths in the venue. These were later replaced by some of the top rated brands.

Commissioned by Avusa Media and conducted by TNS, the survey sees in excess of 400 of the country’s most influential senior business people interviewed, in addition to 3 500 con-sumers over the age of 18. The survey evaluates overall brand familiarity, user experience, non-user perception, and

actual brand presence in the South African market. The combined results of these aspects delivered the winning brands in 38 consumer categories, and 13 business sector categories.

The overall findings indicate that, in many instances, category usage has increased significantly from the 2011 survey – attributed largely to consumer optimism emerging from the recession-ary mindset.

According to Neil Higgs, Senior Ad-viser and Head of Innovation at TNS South Africa, the company’s consumer confidence measure shows that South Africans were relatively bullish regarding the first quarter of the year, “with con-sumers willing to spend more on luxury goods such as cars, sports clothing and cosmetics”.

Within the consumer brands section, car brands saw a particularly large increase in category usage. Positions were shuffled in this growing category with Toyota making a great leap into first position, while Volkswagen pushed Mercedes out of second position – thanks to the former’s overall improve-ments. Despite BMW having improved its scores, however, it fell from first to third place.

The petrol station category also saw a significant increase in usage and Engen walked away with top honours, followed by BP and Shell.

NEWS FORUM

Sunday Times Top Brands 2012

According to SAE International - a global association of more than

133 000 engineers and related techni-cal experts in the aerospace, automo-tive and commercial-vehicle industries - following around 40 years of promise, the next decade will see an explosion in the use of composite materials.

With the aerospace and general avia-tion sectors having used the technol-ogy for years, the society believes that the automotive and alternative energy markets are now on the cusp of broader implementation. It points out that car manufacturers are already implementing and launching carbon fibre composite development programmes and working with both do-mestic and foreign producers of carbon fibres and composites.

In light of this, the organisation has launched a new ‘Automotive Compos-ites Technology Engineering Academy’, which, it says, will provide an overview of different composite materials in terms of material types such as carbon, glass and natural fibres. The focus of the academy, however, will be on carbon

fibre processes, typical applications and benefits, as well as their shortcomings and limitations.

With the significant weight-savings as-sociated with composites, it is essential for automotive engineers to become knowledgeable about this technology, which may revolutionise the way carbon fibre is used in vehicles and, ultimately,

be instrumental in meeting international government mandates for fuel economy.

SAE says that participants of its course will become familiar with different composites terminology, quality issues, costs and automotive market needs and will gain a holistic understanding

of automotive carbon fibre applications.

The Academy will run next

from 22-26 October at the organisa-tion’s Automotive Headquarters in Troy, Michigan in the US.

For more information on the SAE International Automotive Composites Technology Engineering Academy, or to register, visit http://www.sae.org/pde-vent/ACAD08; or email [email protected].

SAE launches academy on automotive composites

PAGE 18

Soon after their first collaboration – the BMW Zagato Coupé – German automaker BMW and Italian coach-

builder Zagato, decided that it was time to take their part-nership a step further, with a foray into building a joint roadster model of their praised previous project. Why a roadster? Simply because the partners believe that “no other concept embodies the pure fascination of motoring quite like this breed of car. With the roof down, two seats and exceptional performance, it allows the driver to experience dynamic thrills and driving pleasure with all the senses.”

As Zagato Chief Designer, Norihiko Harada, explains: “This car is not designed only as an elegant convertible, but also as a masculine and extremely dynamic sports car which evokes a powerful driving experience.”

We could blab on and on about how beautiful the new model is – but quite frankly, a picture says a thousand words. Some highlights worth mentioning, however, are the aircraft wing inspired roll-bars; the distinctive two roof domes – the “doppia gobba” - and the interplay between the exterior and interior. Its makers explain that the BMW Zagato Roadster consciously allows the boundaries be-tween inside and outside to blur.

Founded in 1919, Zagato is currently the only automotive body manufacturer still in independent ownership, and is run by the third generation of the founding family.

New roadster unveiled

PAGE 19

AF201209.FH9 Wed Aug 22 12:47:30 2012 Page 1

Composite

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

� ��

��

��

��

��

��


An international jury of experts recently selected the winners of

the Automotive Brand Award 2012, from over 350 entries from the automo-bile industry and its partners in brand communications.

In each of eleven competition catego-ries the jury awarded up to 15 winners and, of these, a total of eleven works were named ‘Best of Best’. Further awards were given for ‘Innovation of the Year’, ‘Team of the Year’, ‘Brand of the Year’ and ‘Agency of the Year’.

“Given the many trailblazing entries, the jury did not have an easy job selecting the winners. The considerable number of top achievements meant we faced the difficult challenge of highlighting the best in the industry,” explained Andrej Kupetz, General Manager of the German Design Council. “I am par-ticularly delighted that the automobile industry can present such strong brand management. As we know not least from our own studies, consistent brand communication is a key factor in a com-pany’s success.”

The winners of the Automotive Brand Contest 2012 will receive their awards at the Automotive Designers’ Night later this month, on the first press day of the Mondial de l’Automobile in Paris. With over 1.2 million visitors and approxi-mately 13 000 m2 of exhibition

space, the motor show is among the most important international automotive exhibitions.

The German Design Council’s aim behind the Automotive Brand Contest is to focus the public’s attention on the significance of brands and brand design in the motor industry. The council be-lieves that as a neutral and international design competition for car marques, suppliers, and design and branding agencies, it offers participants a unique forum that has cemented its place in the sector despite having only been launched last year. Participants com-pete in categories including Exterior, Interior, Concepts, Brand Design, Cam-paigns, Events and Architecture as well as the special categories In-novation, Team, Brand and Agency of the Year.

AUTOmOTIVE BRAND CONTEST 2012 WINNERS:

Best of the Best

Category: Interior• Product: Audi A3• Company: Audi AG• Design: Audi Design Team

Category: Campaign• Product: BMW Motorrad Welcome

to Planet Power• Company: BMW AG• Design: Serviceplan

Category: Brand Design• Product: BMW i - Visionen

gestalten• Company: BMW Group• Design: becc agency GmbH / GMK

Markenberatung

Category: Events• Product: Colour One for MINI by

Scholten & Baijings• Company: BMW Group• Design: Scholten & Baijings

Category: Connectivity• Product: BMW “Night Vision”• Company: BMW Group• Design: Interone GmbH

Category: Concepts• Product: Concept Style Coupé• Company: Daimler AG• Design: Daimler Werksdesign

Category: Digital• Product: Mercedes-Benz.com• Company: Daimler AG• Design: Scholz & Volkmer GmbH /

Neuland+Herzer GmbH / fischerAp-pelt AG 4/5

Category: Architecture• Product: Porsche Pavillon, Auto-

stadt Wolfsburg• Company: Dr. Ing. h.c. F.

Porsche AG• Design: hg merz architekten muse-

umsgestalter / HENN ARCHITEK-TEN / jangled nerves

NEWS FORUM

Automotive Brand Awards 2012

Mercedes-Benz Concept Style Coupe

PAGE 20

Category: Corporate Publishing• Product: Christophorus• Company: Dr. Ing. h.c. F.

Porsche AG• Design: KircherBurkhardt GmbH

Category: Exterior• Product: Volkswagen up!• Company: Volkswagen AG• Design: Volkswagen AG

Category: Parts & AccessoriesProduct: up! Box• Company: Volkswagen AG• Design: Volkswagen AG

SPECIAL mENTIONS

Category: Campaign• Product: BMW Head-Up Display

Flexform• Company: BMW AG• Design: Serviceplan

Category: Parts & Accessories• Product: Scheinwerfer Concept

Style Coupé• Company: Daimler AG• Design: Daimler Werksdesign

Category: Corporate Publishing• Product: 5ooL - A Fiat Design

Approach

• Company: Fiat Group Automobiles• Design: Fiat Group Automobiles

Category: Interior• Product: Kia cee’d 5/5• Company: Kia• Design: Kia Design Center Europe

WINNERS IN SPECIAL CATEGORIES

Brand of the Year• Product: Team Volkswagen Design• Company: Volkswagen AG• Design: Volkswagen AG

Innovation of the Year• Product: BMW i8 Concept• Company: BMW Group• Design: BMW Group

Team of the Year• Product: BMW Designteam• Company: BMW Group• Design: BMW Group

Porsche Pavillon, Autostadt Wolfsburg

PAGE 21

AutoForum - September 2012NEWS FORUM

The UK association, the Institute of Ad-vanced Motorists (IAM), is calling on the

government in that country to redesign crash barriers in order to make them more motorcy-cle-friendly.

The organisation points out that while crash barriers have saved the lives of thousands of drivers, hitting a crash barrier is a factor in eight to 16% of rider deaths. When motorcy-clists hit a crash barrier, riders are 15 times more likely to be killed than car occupants, while barrier support posts can make injuries up to five times worse.

IAM asserts that the majority of UK crash bar-riers are designed to protect car drivers and passengers when a car hits a barrier; it will redirect a car away from a hazard and slow

it down over a short distance. The car’s seat belts and airbags help to minimise injury. For motorcyclists, however, hitting a crash barrier can mean serious injury or even death as the rider’s body takes the full impact.

Writing in the summer issue of the IAM mem-bers’ magazine - Advanced Driving - IAM Chairman Alistair Cheyne OBE said: “Roads in general and crash barriers in particular are largely designed with four or more wheels in mind. The needs of more vulnerable motorcy-clists must become a priority.”

“Britain leads the world on road safety, but lags behind on this issue. Existing standards and guidelines for road infrastructure – and barriers in particular – must be changed so they take proper account of motorcyclists.”

Barriers to change in the UK

PAGE 22

Stopping power

GO Advertising 65384

For more information, please call 08600 03227 toll-free.

Brakes

BRAKES

Take chances with brakes and shocks and you’re taking chances with life.

Our Diesel-Electric branches only supply quality safety-tested international brand names on brakes,

along with shock absorbers. For your peace of mind, make us your fi rst stop,

when it comes to brakes and shocks.

AutoForum - September 2012NEWS FORUMNEWS FORUM

The MISA Women’s Forum once again delighted attendees at the annual MISA Women’s Breakfast at Avianto in Muldersdrift, in mid-August.

Martlé Keyter introduced the charity initiatives that the MISA Women’s Forum is currently in-volved in, within each province, as well as some of the upcoming awareness campaigns. These include “Tea for Two” workshops in September 2012, which are free HIV/Aids awareness work-shops for domestic workers and their employers.

The “Tea for Two” events will be held on the following dates and the contact person can be reached via email:

• Johannesburg: 01 September – Karen Schoonraad on [email protected]• Bloemfontein: 08 September – Lorraine van Zyl on [email protected]• Cape Town: 15 September – Ilse Conradie – [email protected]• Pretoria: 15 September – Elmarie Greef on [email protected]• Port Elizabeth: 22 September – Heidi Reid on [email protected]• Durban: 29 September – Louise Bennett on [email protected]

Congratulations went to the Gauteng regional finalist for MISA Woman of the Year, Mateboho Mtsweni, who follows in the footsteps of 2011 MISA Woman of the Year, Iris Francis. The winner of the 2012 MISA Woman of the Year title will be announced on 7 November 2012 in Johannesburg.

MISA Women's Forum Breakfast

From left to right: Philip Botha (MISA Deputy CEO), Iris Francis (2011 MISA Woman of the Year), Ansie van Rhyn (MISA Women’s Forum Vice-Chairperson), Louise Bennett (MISA Women’s Forum Chairperson), Martlé Keyter (MISA Women’s

Forum National Co-ordinator), Alexa Strachan (Guestperformer – Johannesburg), Dana de Villiers (MISA CEO)

Iris Francis - 2011 MISA Woman of The Year

Martlé Keyter - MISA Women’s Forum National Co-Ordinator

PAGE 24

MISA Women's Forum Breakfast

PAGE 25


The idea of recycling waste tyres in SA should be cause for celebration, but so far

the various plans that have been submitted and that we have reported on, seem to be causing a whole lot of uproar.

In mid August, the RMI sent out an update on the Waste Tyre Plan situation to its members that reads as follows:

Etienne Human CEO of the SATRP Company also issued a comment via email following the RMI’s letter. He outlined the current situation regarding the SATRP’s submitted plan and the following:

“A problem has arisen in that the DEA is of the opin-ion that since the Redisa waste tyre plan has been finally gazetted the meaning of WTR 6 requires all suppliers of tyres to the SA market to subscribe to the Redisa Plan within the 60 day period from date of gazetting which was 23 July 2012. The SATRP Company’s legal team does not agree with the inter-pretation received from the DG of the DEA regarding WTR 6 in this regard.

The SATRP Board has unfortunately no other op-tion but to approach the High Court to ask for an urgent “Declaratory order” to interpret the WTR in particular Regulation 6. If granted it will also provide the subscribers of SATRP relief of being forced to join the Redisa Plan whilst they wish to subscribe to the SATRP plan. It is hoped that the matter will be before Court around 11 September 2012. The SATRP Company is confident that the SATRP Plan as submitted to the DEA is the most economi-cal and practical solution to the waste tyre problem in South Africa.”

Waste tyre plan approval gets players hot under the collar

NEWS FORUMNEWS FORUM

PAGE 26

In association with BodyShop News Asia and Australian BodyShop News

NEWS AFRICA

NEWS AFRICA

Body repair insight

Contents

28FRANcHISE VS. REPLAcE-MENT PARTS LITIGATION: IS IT REALLY NEcESSARY?

32BASF cOATINGS ExPANDS cHINESE OPS

32ASRW ATTRAcTS ALL THE BIG cOATINGS NAMES


The matter of franchise (OEM) vs. replace-ment parts (not illegal, counterfeit parts)

in the motor industry aftermarket continues to be a controversial subject that has, over the years, not only been the cause of intense de-bate, but also litigation. The spotlight once again fell on the subject after a Northern Gaut-eng High Court ruling in a case between BMW and Grandmark International recently.

In this case, BMW sought a court order to prohibit Grandmark from selling certain replacement body parts for BMW 3 Series vehicles. The 44-page judgment is a complex and technical legal document and speaks of deficiencies in the case submission by BMW, which appears to have had a definite influence in court and favoured Grandmark’s defence. However, a number of important principles were also touched on in the judgment. Signifi-cantly, the court held that a body part such as a bonnet for a vehicle cannot necessarily be regarded as an aesthetic design, which enjoys protection in terms of the Copyright Act, and here a number of reasons were cited. It will be interesting to note whether this case would go on appeal and if so, what the outcome would be.

Without going into the complex arguments in this judgment, the fact is that the franchise vs. replacement parts issue is a matter that seem-ingly will just not go away. It is unlikely that OEMs who spend fortunes in research, design and manufacturing of vehicles would not want to protect their interests in the aftermarket. The P&A Divisions of their operations are, after all, an important part of their businesses in terms

of customer support and revenue generation. There is, of course, also the matter of product specification, which may affect the safety or soundness of a vehicle, the concern being that the fitment of replacement parts, which may not be equal in specification to the franchise part, may result in reputational damage to a brand. On the other hand, the aftermarket is seen as a business opportunity for manufac-turers who are able to manufacture and supply replacement parts as an alternative to fran-chise parts. To the consumer, the value propo-sition of replacement parts would typically lie in a pricing differential. This was also quoted in the BMW vs. Grandmark case, where Grand-mark alleged that the prices of some of the body parts it sold were up to three times less than the prices of franchise parts.

Do replacement parts have a role to play? The market has already voted yes to this question, otherwise there wouldn’t have been profitable replacement parts manufacturers and distribu-tors in the market.

Should OEMs be overly concerned with the presence of replacement body parts as an al-ternative to their franchise parts in the market? Perhaps the answer is a yes and no. Ambigu-ous answer? Not really. Consider the following:

• Manufacturers’warrantiescovernewve-hicles. Such warranties usually provide as-surance to the buyer that defective compo-nents will be rectified by the manufacturer.

• Inadditiontothemanufacturers’warranty,most vehicles sold today are covered by some service or maintenance plan, of which

BODYSHOP NEWS

BODY

SHOP

NEW

SFRANCHISE VS. REPLACEMENT PARTS LITIGATION: IS IT REALLY NECESSARY? - Robert Kaiser

PAGE 28

there are many varieties, limited by distance travelled and vehicle age.

• Itthereforefollowsthatthemanufac-turer’s warranty and/or service plan covers its products for the first years of its life and servicing and repair of vehicles by non-OEM franchise establishments usually only becomes an opportunity for that sector once manufacturers’ warranties and ser-vice/maintenance plans have expired. The loss of warranty also applies in cases of body damage where it is usually a condition of warranty that any collision damage to a vehicle un-der warranty may only be repaired by an OEM accredited collision repairer. Franchise dealers endeavour to retain customer loyalty post the warranty/service/maintenance plan stage and do enjoy a measure of success in their efforts, but they are sometimes at a disadvantage in terms of labour rates and parts pricing.

• TheConsumerProtectionActmaydeter replacement parts manufactur-ers and dealers from manufacturing and selling poor quality parts, as the legal liability is high.

• IthasalsohappenedthatsomeOEMs have, in fact, recognised replacement parts as part of their parts stockholdings. (Remember the so-called xxx parts introduced by some manufacturers?) These would presumably be for older models and the pricing would be less than the franchise part.

• Ifabodypartforavehicleisrequired,it means collision damage has hap-pened. If it is an older vehicle, the pricing of parts may well determine whether it is feasible for a vehicle

to be repaired or not. An insurance company would rather write a vehicle off than repair it at a cost where the margin between the cost and the value is not high. This can leave a consumer with a cash settlement, which is not enough to replace the vehicle. It is also a fact that a signifi-cant proportion of such older vehicles are not comprehensively insured in the first place, leaving the vehicle owner with a hefty repair bill that he/she may not be able to afford. Used parts are not always an option and re-placement parts at a lower price than the franchise equivalent may actually save the day and render a vehicle viable for repair. The specification may not be exactly the same as that of the replacement part (metal alloys could for instance differ, affecting rust resistance for one) but if it is a vehicle beyond warranty and service plan backup, chances are that it is older than four or five years and viability of repair cost may well be an issue. Using replacement parts to prevent a write off situation could therefore make sense, especially in a country such as South Africa where the age of the vehicle pool is high and there is a significant segment of the motor-ing population who are used vehicle buyers.

That said, there is still the matter of safety and quality, which are not only in the interests of the consumer, but from a product reputation point of view, should be very much a concern for the OEM. Irrespective of their age, older vehicles still carry the brand identity.

Perhaps there is a way to create a win-win situation for OEMs, replacement parts manufacturers and distributors as well as the consumer. There could be significant potential in exploring the op-tion of OEMs and leading replacement parts manufacturers taking hands and coming to an understanding insofar as older models are concerned (say, older than five years) in the sense that OEMs could verify quality and standards specifications of replacement parts and signify compliance with minimum specifications. Thus a range of “xxx” type parts could be established for sale and use in the aftermarket by franchise as well as non-franchise workshops (for the older vehicles only) and the sale and distribution of such parts could be undertaken by both franchise P&A divi-sions and the replacement parts sector. In this way, OEMs could exercise a measure of control over the quality of replacement parts sold for its older models. Such a system would offer some protection to the consumer and the rats and mice would be eased out of the market. Older vehicles could be repaired viably and lengthen the lifespan of the vehicle without compro-mising safety and brand integrity. Such an arrangement would result in a more orderly market sector for replacement parts, especially body parts and make it possible for the franchise and replace-ment parts sectors to cooperate in a synergistic manner to the benefit of all, not least the consumer.

THE INTELLIGENT ALTERNATIVE

THE INTELLIGENT ALTERNATIVE

Membership is open to all Offi ce -, Stores -, Sales – and Clerical

employees, Artisans and Apprentices in the Motor Industry.

( 0 1 1 ) 6 7 8 6 3 2 8 , ( 0 4 1 ) 3 6 4 0 1 0 2 , ( 0 3 1 ) 2 0 7 7 5 4 8 , ( 0 5 1 ) 4 4 7 5 3 3 9 , ( 0 2 1 ) 5 5 1 2 8 2 2

JOIN MISA AND EXPERIENCE PEOPLE WHO REALLY CARE AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

TRADE UNIONS ARE NOT ALL THE SAME !

PAGE 29


PAGE 30

BODYSHOP NEWS

AER-O-NEWSNEW SHOP: Value Logistics Limited, Isando, Tel: 011 570 2261

When quality meets the latest designs the end product would be Aer-o-cure’s new installation at Value truck.

Another complete turnkey project by Aer-o-cure

This was a turnkey project with state of the art equipment and the latest in truck spraybooth design.

• 1 x Complete 18 meter Truck drive through combination spraybooth oven

• 1 x Complete Waterbourne combination spraybooth oven

• 1 x Aer-o-mix Paint mixing room

• 5 x Aer-o-preps complete with under floor extraction and overhead vacuum system custom built for trucks.

• 2 x Complete prep bays with computerised overhead infrared and dry flattening vacuum system for small parts.

Panelbeating Area:

• 1 x Car-o-liner Bench Rack BR5500

• 1 x Vision Measuring System

Also part of the installation was a complete compressor with airlines and droppers.

For more information contact us on 011 444 6454 or www.aerocure.co.za

AutoForum - September 2012BODYSHOP NEWS

ASRW ATTRACTS ALL THE bIG COATINGS NAMES

Automotive Service & Repair Week (ASRW) looks set to again be one of the most important events in the US motor sector

calender – this with the announcement that 13 paint and coat-ings companies will be exhibiting at this year’s show.

The big name coatings companies include: DuPont Performance Coatings; BASF; Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes Corpo-ration; Valspar; Matrix System Automotive Finishes, LLC; Axis Performance Coatings/Vogel Automotive Coatings; Chemicar; and ChemSpec USA, among others.

In addition to exhibiting, DuPont Performance Coatings will again sponsor the Opening General Session/Keynote on Thurs-day, which takes place 11 October, and the MSO Symposium.

As Automotive Service Association President, Ron Pyle, com-mented: “Attendees consistently ask to see the major paint companies on the show floor at ASRW, and we welcome these key exhibitors to ASRW 2012. We appreciate the support of each of these companies, as well as their continued commitment to the industry.”

bASF COATINGS ExPANdS CHINESE OPS

BASF’s Chinese operations has announced that it will be investing in a new basecoat plant in

Shanghai.

Falling under the BASF Shanghai Coatings Company Limited banner, the new plant is expected to increase the company’s local production capacity for basecoat by 13 500 tonnes per annum.

The move also means a big step in BASF’s move to be-come an even stronger leading coatings supplier to the Chinese automotive industry. The new coatings plant is planned to start production in the first half of 2014 and will boast cutting-edge, environmentally-friendly manufacturing processes and technologies.

Peter Fischer, Senior Vice President, Coatings Solu-tions Asia Pacific at BASF commented: “In China, BASF has been supplying coatings reliably to interna-tional and domestic car makers for more than 15 years. As a long-term partner, we have witnessed how China has become a world leader in automotive production. Our investment in additional local coatings production facilities reflects our commitment to address the cur-rent and future needs of our automotive customers in this dynamic market.”

PAGE 32

AutoForum - September 2012BusinessForum Business insight

Graham Bush is one of SA’s leading retail experts, inspiring thousands of business people over the past 30 years. His relaxed style and humour delivers powerful messages through motivational talks and presentations, and he contributes to several trade magazines.

After 20 years in the corporate world, Graham started ‘The Bush Kitchen...food for thought’, and often uses recipes and cooking as analogies for practical life and business skills. www.thebushkitchen.co.za

So really – who do you work for? Your company? Your boss? Your-

self? Or do you work for your customer or client?

When I first look at the question, the answer seems fairly obvious for my situation. I work for my readers. You are in many ways my boss – if I don’t keep writing interesting material, you may stop visiting my column or, worse still, stop subscribing to the journal completely – that will not make the Editor happy! (Perhaps then, I work rather for the Editor? Or the Publisher?)

Anyway, back to the subject of who do we work for? This subject came up in a meeting I had with a very successful business owner and one of his

‘entry-level’ employees. The employee was adamant that he worked for the customer (perhaps a lesson he recently learned in a training course?) yet the business owner made it quite clear that he, the employee, worked for him (the owner). Now, we have all heard the clichés that ‘customers pay our salaries’ and ‘we are here for the customer’ etc., and all of the above is correct – as long as we know who the customer actually is!

So, again I ask the question, ‘Who do you work for’?

How you answer this question will always define your perspective on the work you do. Because at the core of

service is an understanding of who you serve.

Typically, we instinctively answer the question with the name of our company. Or we say: “I own my own business, so I work for myself.” Then, when presented with that fourth option, we feel a little guilty, backtrack, and decide that we really work for the customer. Of course we work for the customer.

While it seems like a trick question, there’s no real wrong answer. Employees do work for their boss. Owners do work in the best interest of their company. And that’s not a bad thing. It’s reality. It’s business. But most importantly, it’s a balance, and I believe that this balance is the key. Your

So, who do you really work for? - Graham Bush

PAGE 34

customers and clients should always be a priority, but they can’t be the only priority. Embrace the dichotomy. It’s what keeps the system alive.

So when it comes to answering the question, in the end I feel it’s not about who you work for, but rather it’s about what you do and how you make your professional relationships work. You need to focus more on that, because businesses will come and go but you will be still around – hopefully.

But that’s not really who we work for. Almost everyone has to exchange some of their time or some of their personal value for money. We make that exchange because we get something in return out of it.

Among the benefits are:•Money-Thisisthebiggestthingthatmanyofusworkfor.Moneytranslatesintoa

roof over our heads, food on the table, and things we enjoy.•Fulfillment-Somepeoplearepersonallyfulfilledbytheirwork–IknowIam.Their

jobs bring them personal joy and make their lives better. There are many others, though, that don’t get this kind of fulfillment from their work.

•Prestige-Othersworkfortheprestigeoftheirjob.Theyliketobeseenaspresti-gious by others and often that becomes a major factor in what they choose to do. “How will this affect my image?”

There are countless other reasons why we do the work we do. Perhaps it’s because of our significant other – we’re forced to find work in a certain area because of their job. Maybe it’s because of your own specific talents and skills, whether you enjoy the work or not. Some people even choose jobs because it makes their parents happy.

In the end, I work for meThese reasons all lead back to a handful of key sources. Maybe the sources are personal in nature, like fulfillment and prestige. Maybe you need to work at this job to keep food on the table for your kids. Maybe you’re working to make your parents proud. Those reasons all have one thing in common: you. Never, ever lose sight of the fact that you’re the one in control here. It is your choice.

You work for yourselfYou make the decision to work at your job because of a collection of positives and negatives that led you to believe that your current place is the right one for you. If another offer came along with a better balance, would you not take it?

Ultimately then, we all eventually work for a customer of some form or another, the important thing to remember is that our customers will be constantly growing and changing. As a result, we try to stay close to them in order to effectively understand their needs.

In today’s connected world, businesses that succeed are the ones that are flexible and good listeners. It is vital to constantly engage with your customers and continue to learn from them.

The beauty of being thoughtful about the customers that you want to serve is that it should be fun – otherwise what’s the point? Continually asking genuine and meaningful questions about their business will assist you in solving their problems and making their lives better and, at the same time, growing your relationship with them. You must get closer to your customer, get smarter about their business and understand it better; after all, it is them that you work for.

PAGE 35


Interest rates, credit demand and affordability to support car sales - Colin Windell

The August cold snap that came from ‘left-field’ and took just about

everyone by surprise – scuppering quite a few planned long weekend get-aways – left the country shivering and looking anywhere for a touch of warmth or some form of consolation.

Some came via the success of our swimmers and rowing team at the Olympic Games in London with additional ‘warmth’ coming from the sales figures from July where all the major segments registered solid gains compared to the corresponding month last year.

July 2012 aggregate industry domestic sales had improved by 8 381 units or 18.3% to 54 067 vehicles from 45 686 units in July last year. Total domestic sales for the seven months of calendar 2012 remained 11.6% ahead of the corresponding seven months in 2011. July 2012 export sales at 27 625 vehicles had also registered gains rising by 2 862 units or 11.6%.

Overall, out of the total detailed (disaggregated) reported industry sales of 51 476 vehicles (excluding MBSA), 80.3% or 41 317 units represented dealer sales, 12.3% represented sales to the vehicle rental industry, 3.8% to industry corporate fleet sales and 3.6% to Government.

Of those dealer sales, some 35 000 would have gone to corporates as fleet vehicles, company cars and to car allowance recipients – borne out of the 20.8% growth shown in the light commercial sector, this always an

accurate barometer of business activity and confidence.

Sales of new light commercial vehicles, bakkies and mini buses at 13 781 units during July reflected an increase of 2 370 units compared to the 11 411 light commercial vehicle sales during the corresponding month last year.

Sales of vehicles in the medium and heavy truck segments at an estimated 823 and 1 619 units, respectively, had recorded an increase of 60 units or 7.9%, in the case of medium commercial vehicles, and a rise of 134 units or 9.0%, in the case of heavy trucks and buses, compared to the corresponding month last year.

“The market remains surprisingly buoyant and total vehicle sales are already 11.6% ahead of the same period last year,” says Calvyn Hamman, Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing at Toyota South Africa Motors.

“One should be cognisant of the fact comparative 2011 sales figures were influenced by the after-effects of the March 2011 tsunami in Japan. Despite this the market has been strengthened by high volume purchases by rental companies in preparation for the summer season.”

“The market remains a mixture of contradicting signals, notably negative sentiment amongst private buyers and positive expectations amongst vehicle retailers. We remain cautiously optimistic for the rest of the year and

expect a 7% increase in overall sales for the year.”

According to Malcolm Gauld, GMSA’s Vice President Sales and Marketing, sales recorded in July pushed the year-on-year growth somewhat above the 10% levels suggested by industry forecasters early in the year.

“It is our view this higher than anticipated growth is unlikely to be sustained through to the end of the year. It is more likely that the industry will see month-on-month growth in single digits in the coming months in a softer market.”

“The past month again saw relatively strong sales through the government and rental channels, as the process of fleet renewals continues. However, the dealer channel performance mirrored the prior month’s volumes, with widespread industry offers targeting the retail customer.”

“A positive for the industry going forward is the reduced cost of finance. This is being mitigated by the continued high cost of fuel and the threat of imported cost pressures.”

The contribution by car rental companies is expected to remain high over the next few months as the car rental industry continues to re-fleet, according to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa).

“Exports of South African produced motor vehicles, including MBSA export sales data, during July at 27 625

Colin Windell is the Editor of Fleet Magazine.PAGE 36

vehicles registered an improvement of 2 862 units or 11.6 % compared to the 24 763 vehicles exported in July last year,” says Naamsa’s spokesperson.

“The momentum of industry export sales should improve further over the balance of the year as various vehicle export programmes are ramped up and exports of light commercial vehicles are expected to increase substantially.”

Analysing the overall results, the organisation says: “Despite prospects of further slowing in the domestic economy, the automotive sector continued to perform remarkably well. A number of factors are expected to support domestic sales and these include historically low interest rates, further improvement in vehicle affordability in real terms, improving demand for credit by households and businesses.”

“The recent 0.5% reduction in interest rates should also underpin sales of consumer durable products, particularly new motor vehicles. The highly competitive trading environment, attractive incentives and new model introductions will also support demand.”

TOP PERFORMING: NEW PASSENGER VEHICLESJuly 2012

Model Volume1. VW Polo Vivo 2 6232. VW Polo 2 2103. Toyota Etios 1 7534. Toyota Corolla 1 3725. Ford Figo 1 1766. BMW 3-Series 1 041 7. Toyota Fortuner 9828. VW Polo Vivo Sedan 8269. Chev Cruz 76410. Chev Aveo 638

TOP PERFORMING: NEW LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLESJuly 2012

Model Volume1. Toyota Hilux 2 7812. ChevUtility 1 7463. Ford Ranger 1 5594. Nissan NP200 1 3595. Isuzu KB 1 3526. Toyota Quantum 1 2017. Nissan NP300 Hardbody 954 8. VW Amarok 4779. Toyota Landcruiser PU 23110. Mahindra Scorpio Pik-up 164

Source: Naamsa

PAGE 37


Tablets have invaded our lives and virtually everywhere you go it

seems, somebody – or their child – is tapping away on an iPad or similar. And it’s not just your social life that seems to have been invaded, it’s the board-room and even the workshop too. In fact, according to JD Power and Asso-ciates, tablet proliferation now means that even automotive manufacturers are forced to consider how they will meet the needs of both desktop computer and tablet users. So great is the trend that many manufacturers have already integrated tablet-friendly layouts on their desktop sites to meet the needs of both groups of new-vehicle shoppers, which is contributing to the increase in overall satisfaction with manufacturer websites.

The semiannual 2012 Manufacturer Website Evaluation StudySM (MWES)—Wave 2 for the US market, was released early last month. The survey measures the usefulness of automotive manufacturer websites during the new-vehicle shopping process by examining four key measures (in order of importance): information/content, navigation, appearance, and speed.

The second wave of the study for 2012 found that a higher percentage of new-vehicle shoppers now own tablets than in January, when the first wave was released (35% vs. 20% in January). This, the research house says, indicates a shift in the way shoppers consume information found on the Internet.

OEMs, however, are not only focused on attracting tablet users, but are trying to meet the needs of both desktop and tablet shoppers, often utilising a single site. As more new-vehicle shoppers use tablets, their expectations continue to change, making it increasingly important that OEMs incorporate

navigational elements to help these shoppers use their websites, regardless of the type of device used. As Arianne Walker, JD Power’s Senior Director of Media and Marketing Solutions explains: “Many websites have introduced content in a layout that places information below the illusory fold, so when loading the webpage, visitors must scroll more to get to that content. While this is acceptable to tablet users, it can be frustrating for desktop users.”

“Many of the highest-ranking websites execute this tablet-friendly design with floating menus, providing shoppers on either a desktop or a tablet with quick and easy access to any content throughout the website.”

According to the report, overall satisfaction with the usefulness of automotive brand websites has increased 46 points to an average of 818 (on a 1 000-point scale) in Wave 2 of the 2012 study – up

from Wave 1 released earlier this year. And it’s not just the US that the trend is relevant to. The Canadian Manufacturer Website Evaluation Study showed a

New report shows websites must cater for tablet users

Continued on page 40

PAGE 38

BELT DAMPERPart No. 06B903133E Model: A4 ; 2001 - 2005 (1.8 - 2.0 ltr) A6 ; 2002 - 2011 (2.0 ltr)

Price: R 640,14*

THERMOSTATPart No. 06B121111K Model: A4; 2001 - 2009 (1.8 - 2.0 ltr) A6; 1998 - 2005 (1.8 - 2.0 ltr)

Price: R 1 086,47*

TENSIONERPart No. 06B109243E Model: A4; 1999 - 2009 (1.8 - 2.0 ltr) A6; 1998 - 2005 (1.8 - 2.0 ltr)

Price: R 774,88*

TOOTH BELTPart No. 06B109119F Model: A4; 1999 - 2009 (1.8 - 2.0 ltr) A6; 1998 - 2005 (1.8 ltr)

Price: R 458,96*

PRESSURE PLATEPart No. 06B141117C Model: A4; 1995 - 2008 (1.8 - 2.0 ltr) A6; 1996 - 2005 (1.8 - 2.0 ltr) Year: 1998-2005

Price: R 1 124,34*

OIL SENSORPart No. 1J0907660B Model: A3; 1997 - 2003 (1.8 ltr) A4; 1999 - 2008 (2.7 - 3.0 ltr) A6; 1998 - 2008 (2.4 - 3.2 ltr) A8; 1999 - 2003 (3.3 - 6.0 ltr) ATT; 1999 - 2002 (all)

Price: R 674,83*

CLUTCH PLATEPart No. 06B141031L Model: A4; 1995 - 2008 (1.8 - 2.0 ltr) A6; 1996 - 2005 (1.8 - 2.0 ltr)

Price: R 1 251,28*

Audi Genuine PartsQuality guaranteed at a discounted price.

Audi Genuine Parts originate during the development of an Audi and all parts are made to work together perfectly. Because of Audi’s stringent quality requirements and the excellent fi tting accuracy of the parts, you can be certain of their safety, reliability and performance, now available at a discounted price.

Audi Genuine Parts are exclusively available from your Audi partner.

Visit your nearest Audi Dealership for more details.

guaranteed at a discounted price.

Audi Genuine Parts originate during the development of an Audi and all parts are made to work together perfectly. Because of Audi’s stringent quality requirements and the excellent fi tting accuracy of the parts, you can be certain of their safety, reliability and performance, now available

Audi Genuine Parts are exclusively available from your Audi partner.

Genuine Parts* Prices are recommended retail inclusive of VAT and are subject to change without notifi cation.* Part applicability dependent on chassis number.* Valid from June - December 2012.

BRAKE DISC

Part No. 8E0615301P Model: A4 Derivative: All Year: 1998 - 2008

Price: R 676,98*

BRAKE PADS

Part No. 8E0698151M Model: A4 Derivative: All Year: 1999 - 2008

Price: R 892,94*

CLUTCH & PRESSURE PLATE (Luk)

Part No. 03L141015P Model: A3 Derivative: 1.9 TDi and 2.0 ltr Year: 1998 - 2012

Price: R 3 155,57*

WHEEL BEARING WITH HUB

Part No. 8E0498625B Model: A4; 1999 - 2009 (1.8 - 2.0 ltr) A6; 1998 - 2005 (1.8 - 2.0 ltr) A8; 1999 - 2003 (1.8 - 2.0 ltr)

Price: R 1 195,10*

RELEASE BEARING

Part No. 0B1141165 Model: A4; 2001 - 2009 (1.8 - 2.0 ltr) A6; 1998 - 2005 (1.8 - 2.5 ltr)

Price: R 402,85*

49821-Parts Offensive Print V2.indd 1 2012/06/11 11:44 AM


similar increase of 37 index points in overall satisfaction from 2011, a further indication of the marketplace changes that are driving higher satisfaction. Other marketplace changes contributing to increased satisfaction scores include shoppers using newer browser versions and automotive manufacturers that have made technical adjustments to their site, which improves shoppers’ perception of website speed.

The study also found that whether manufacturer websites have undergone a full redesign or made incremental changes, many of the most improved websites utilise the following best practices for both desktop and tablet users:•Highercontrastinnavigationalele-

ments, including clearer buttons•Largertextandlessclutter,which

increases readability•Easieraccesstotoolsimportantto

the shopper

The website that was ranked highest in overall satisfaction with a score of 847 was that of the Dodge brand, followed

by Mercedes-Benz (846); Porsche (843); Jeep (838); and Lexus and smart in a tie (836).

The 2012 Manufacturer Website Evaluation Study—Wave 2 is based on evaluations from more than 10 000 new-vehicle shoppers in the US, who indicate they will be in the market for a new vehicle within the next 24 months.

Manufacturer Website Ranking(Based on a 1 000-point scale)Dodge 847Mercedes-Benz 846Porsche 843Jeep 838Lexus 836smart 836Acura 835Chrysler 833Ford 833Honda 831Cadillac 829GMC 826Infiniti 826Mitsubishi 824Kia 821Hyundai 820

Lincoln 820Buick 817MINI 817Suzuki 817Toyota 816Subaru 814Jaguar 809Chevrolet 805Mazda 805Ram 805BMW 803Land Rover 798Volkswagen 798Scion 796Nissan 795Volvo 794Fiat 786Audi 784

The website that was ranked highest in overall satisfaction was Dodge, followed by Mercedes-Benz

PAGE 40

Autoforum Ads.fh11 8/1/11 4:27 PM Page 1

Composite

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K


GE and Ford in battery life extension project

General Electric researchers, in partnership with Ford Motor Company and the Uni-

versity of Michigan in the US, have announced that they intend developing a smart, minia-turised sensing system that has the potential to significantly extend the life of electric car batteries. The development is expected to, in turn, propel electric vehicles (EVs) miles down the road toward commercial viability.

As Aaron Knobloch, Mechanical Engineer at GE Global Research explains: “The car battery remains the greatest barrier and most promis-ing opportunity to bringing EVs mainstream. Improvements in the range, cost and life of the battery will all be needed for EVs to be com-petitive. With better sensors and new battery analytics, we think we can make substantial progress at increasing battery life. This, in turn, could help bring down its overall cost and the cost entitlement of buying an electric car.”

The project - entitled ARPA-E - will see GE combine a novel ultra thin battery sensor system with sophisticated modelling of cell behavior to control and optimise battery man-agement systems, in an effort to both improve the life and reduce the lifecycle cost of EV bat-teries. Current sensors used in EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) measure the health of the battery by looking at factors such as its temperature, voltage, and current. However, these measurements provide a limited under-standing of a battery’s operation and health. The goal of the ARPA-E project will be to develop small, cost-effective sensors with new measurement capabilities. Due to their small size, these sensors will be placed in areas of the battery where existing sensor technologies

cannot be currently located. The combination of small size and ability to measure new quan-tities will enable a much better understanding of battery performance and life.

A group of scientists from the University of Michigan, led by Anna Stefanopoulou, a professor of mechanical engineering, will use the data generated by GE sensors to verify advanced battery models. They will ultimately create schemes that use instantaneous sensor data to predict future battery-cell and battery-pack behaviour.

“Ensuring a battery’s health over many cycles requires taking frequent snapshots of its condition as it ages. Control systems on cars have to be able to use this vast amount of data quickly and efficiently. Information provided by advanced sensors will allow us to create and verify finely resolved physical models to underpin battery management schemes,” said Charles Monroe, a chemical engineering pro-fessor on the University of Michigan team. He added: “The big challenge is to make battery management programmes adapt and work fast.”

The use of sensors in conjunction with real-time models will enable novel algorithms that optimise how the battery system is managed, to extend its life. To demonstrate the capabili-ties of the sensor system and analytics, Ford will integrate them into one of their vehicles for validation.

The goal of this three-year, $3.1 million pro-gramme is to demonstrate a working sensing system in an actual electric vehicle.

INN

OVAT

ION

SINNOVATIONS AutoForum - September 2012

The latest automotive technology

PAGE 42

Buy Ferodo & help Childline talk to more children.

By buying Ferodo, you are not only keeping safe on the road, but ensuring the safety of many

South African children. For every pack of Ferodo brake pads or Ferodo brake discs bought, we’ll

give R2.00 or R5.00 to Childline respectively.

Valid from 1 October - 30 November 2012

Customer care number: 0800 555 832

It’s

a G

o | F

M-F

ERO

DO

| C

hild

line

| 185

4 | A

F

The Ferodo brand is a registered trademark of

1854_Ferodo_Childline_Autoforum_Ad_v1_FA.indd 1 2012/08/31 2:01 PM

AutoForum - August 2012

Dave Scott is a member of the S.A. Guild of Motoring Journalists, and is a monthly contributor to the press on transport and trucking related

subjects. In 2002 and 2003 Dave Scott was the S.A. Guild of Motoring Journalists winner of the category ‘Business Motoring’. As a member of the S.A. Institute of Tribology he takes a keen interest in the application of lubricants to road transport maintenance and the cost of ownership.

His key writing focus is on fleet management including the technology of trucks and road transport.

TRuCkING LOSSES MuST bE CAPPEd - Dave Scott

Regulation 205.Fuel tank, electrical wiring & batteryNo person shall operate on a public road a motor vehicle (a) if the fuel tank, carburettor, fuel recep-

tacle or fuel pipe thereof is defective or so exposed that it constitutes a source of danger;

(b) if the filling orifice of the tank is not fitted with an effective cap; or

(c) unless the electrical wiring and battery are properly installed, insulated and main-tained so that such wiring and battery do not constitute a source of danger.

The profit is in the tank – that’s whether the truck is working for a professional hauli-

er or just a business that ‘needs a lorry’. And then there are businesses that strive to be green. So why then are fuel caps in such poor condition? One would think that regardless of our Regulations (Reg205) that fuel losses are a key focus area for any truck operator and it all seems so simple to prevent leaks, spillage and evaporation. In the eyes of most truckers and their drivers the diesel tank cap is merely a plug to be removed and replaced after refu-elling – it’s this attitude that quietly bleeds off the profit in the tank.

Stant Corporation, a leading US developer and manufacturer of automotive fuel systems, fuel caps, radiator caps and thermostats, sum-marises the evolution of the fuel tank cap: ‘From the beginning of automobile production until 1970, fuel caps were generally con-sidered simply plugs to keep rain and other contaminants out of the gas tank. In most cases, they were simple unsophisticated metal caps although some were designed with vent holes to equalise the pressure between the outside atmosphere and the inside of the tank as fuel was drawn out. But, beginning in the early 1970s, two significant forces have driven the evolution of fuel cap design: safety and environmental concerns.

•Safetyconcernsfocusedonkeepingthefuelin the tank to reduce fire danger.

• Theenvironmentalconcernscentredonthegrowing problem of contamination from fuel-vapours which were escaping from the fuel systems and contributing to ground level ozone. Fuel caps have not been fully vented since the 1960s. Modern fuel caps typically have valves that relieve positive and/or negative pressure once it reaches a certain level.

Plastic bag cap – the ultimate trucking disgrace on a relatively new line-haul unit

Continued on page 46

PAGE 44

gC M Y CM MY CY CMY K


Press reports in the US indicate that “the gas (petrol) cap is one of the largest sources of controllable man-made evaporative emissions in the world”. A US study – ‘The Gas Cap’ – reported in a paper from the SAE Service Technicians Society – estimates that ‘17% of vehicles running on US highways have missing or defective gas caps. This translates to 476 000 tons of vaporised hydrocarbons, 147 000 000 gallons of vaporised gas and 9 200 000 wasted barrels of crude oil per year”. Given the size of the US vehicle population, these claims would be in the right context. The point is that if the US figures are based on 17% of the vehicle population, then South Africa could easily base our local estimates on 20% of the powered vehicle population – lower maintenance and average vehicle age aggravate the situation.

Fuel caps are a critical component of the fuel system in modern passenger cars. In some vehicles if the fuel cap is not correctly designed, calibrated and installed it can cause the on-board diagnostic system to display a warning message to the motorist. We have still to get to this technology stage in trucking where the pre-trip inspection is still vital in spotting a fuel cap problem.

Fleet age has much to do with leaking caps. Fuel cap seals get damaged and perish and it’s not on the service checklist. I witnessed a truck turning in a yard with an overfilled tank where diesel fuel in the tank surged to the filler neck as the vehicle turned and fuel sloshed out of the defective filler cap. Was this seen or reported? No!

Unhygienic tank fills are another cause for cap seal failures. The fuel cap is removed and placed face-down on top of the tank where grime and road detritus has collected. The same cap is then not cleaned and tightened back onto the tank complete with a new layer of ‘grinding paste’.

To top it all there are just sloppy driver checks where fuel caps get ‘lost’ – it’s like leaving your credit card in an ATM with the PIN number. After all, most extra-heavy line-haul truck tractors are carrying around R9 000 fuel where access must be strictly authorised and controlled, better than an ATM.

No trucker can afford to ignore this bottom-line profit issue. And it’s just amazing how a simple and small attempt to be ‘green’ will save money. In addition, Regulation 205 (b) is so easy to enforce where our traffic inspectorate can play a role – c’mon guys, let’s not play around with such an obvious item!

Reference & acknowledgement:SAE – Service Technicians Society – ‘The Gas Cap – more important than you think’ www.stant.com/Consumer-Products/Caps/Evolution-of-the-Fuel-Cap

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

Anti-siphon filler necks are becoming a standard OEM fitment nowadays but inventiveness combines with greed to even bypass

this to get at the profit in the tank

The ultimate in fuel security – this tank is not only capped but sealed as well with a colour-coded seal that carries an ID number. The colour-coding is also switched on a monthly basis. The message is clear – do not dare tamper with this tank!

PAGE 46

The problem with changes in the Regulations is that they are often

so long in gestation that we miss the moment a change is gazetted for comment, prior to becoming a law of the road.• GazettenumberGG 35413 of 8 June

2012 was available for comment until 6 July 2012 and

• GazettenumberGG 35528 of 18 July 2012 had a comment date limit of 18 August 2012

If you have missed these important gazettes you can access them via

the website of road transport guru Alta Swanpoel on her website, www.altaswanepoel.co.za as pdf documents under ‘Presentations’.

GG 35413 is a 158-page document filled with a frothy architecture of proposed legislation, written in ‘legalese’ with all the sub-clauses and ‘thou-shalt-not’ headings - which the average trucker just has not got the time to read. GG 35528 is similarly a 56-page document for insomniacs who need bed-time reading material. But they do contain very important amendments that are far-reaching and will have an impact on the way we operate road transport.

From a trucking viewpoint, it’s better to be aware of the forthcoming changes and start a process of implementation instead of waiting for promulgation dates and crisis.

Here are just a few items that are expected to come into law:

• Haulagetractorprovi-sions – here is a unit that is finally being recognised as a legal unit, but is subject to many regulation amend-ments. Haulage tractor drivers will have to have E-coded driver licences, (EC1 or EC) and the unit will need to be fitted with intermittently flashing amber lights that are visible in both directions. The focus from an agricultural viewpoint has been payload and not paying

drivers upgrade-scaled wages for driving haulage tractors with sparkling lights. Also, to achieve the tonnage expected of 48 ton GCM on a single drive axle is limited when operating on single tyres on trailers where 8 000kg and not 9 000kg per axle applies – 9 ton only applies to dual tyre fitment.

• Consignorandconsigneeprovi-sions – these are brand-new Regula-tions 330A to 330D and bring both the dispatcher and receiver into the prosecution net for overloading. The consignor must use a way of es-tablishing that axle mass limits are not exceeded. It looks like on-board weighing load-cells and weighbridges will be a good business to run in the future.

• Drivinghourlimits,logbooks,etc–maximum time at one stretch will be limited to five hours and maximum time behind the wheel is 15 hours in a period of 24 hours, with a minimum continuous rest period of nine hours.

• PrDPbreathalcohollimits–Truckdrivers will not be allowed any alcohol limits for breath or blood testing – 0.00 milligrams for 1000 millilitres

at the time of testing. Consistent, random checks on drivers are going to be essential.

• Numerousformshavechangedandthere are many other amendments that also need to be considered.

Alta Swanepoel runs her annual legal-update workshops around May every year – it’s a good bet this time round will be a sell-out if the Department of Transport publishes the amended Regulations before that date. The point is that self-regulated compliance is better than insurance assessor losses – do not fear law enforcement, but rather the massive claims that follow an accident on the road where ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Reference & acknowledgement:www.altaswanepoel.co.zaGG_20120608_35413_FOR_COMMENTS.pdf, GG_20120718_35528_Bill_for_comments.pdf

bE WARNEd - LEGAL AMbuSH AHEAd - Dave Scott

“The two recent Gazettes contain very important amendments that are

far-reaching and will have an impact on the way we operate road transport”

Road transport guru,

Alta Swanepoel

PAGE 47

AutoForum - September 2012COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

MAN Truck and Bus (S.A) (Pty) Ltd has partnered with blue-chip

fleet company Unitrans, to replace its 800 000 km fleet cycle. AutoForum was fortunate enough to take part in the handover of thirteen MAN TGS 26.440 6x4 truck tractors to the Unitrans Freight and Logistics division in Centurion in August.

Bruce Dickson, Deputy CEO, MAN Truck & Bus SA explained that five demo units have already undergone testing over a period of six months.

The results of the testing proved that both the 440 and 480 derivatives have optimum power-to-weight ratios and are able to comfortably satisfy Unitrans’ lead time requirements. At the same time, they were suitably equipped to reduce driver fatigue through automated transmission, braking technologies and enhanced cab comfort.

MAN also recently handed over 27 MAN TGS 26.480 truck tractors to Unitrans in Durban and Cape Town earmarked for the fuel and chemicals division.

uNITRANS’ MAN TGS HANdOVER

Bruce Dickson, Deputy CEO MAN Truck & Bus SA

MAN and Unitrans staff

PAGE 48


MiX Telematics has launched its new Trailer Tracking solution,

which, it believes, will improve fleet utilisation and efficiency while reduc-ing trailer loss. This is irrespective of whether the trailer is coupled with or detached from the horse or truck trac-tor, or even if it is stationary or mobile.

The company sees the trailer tracking sector as having the potential to be-come one of the fastest growing sectors in the local telematics market, thanks to the need for tracking solutions that will allow fleet managers to both man-age and track their trailers as well as their associated high-value or high-risk loads. This is an especially important area for businesses that usually rely on outsourced or sub-contracted truck tractor companies for information on their trailers and loads.

As Gert Pretorius, MiX Telematics (Africa – Fleet Solutions) Managing Director explains: “Until now, fleet managers have had to rely on information derived from their truck tractors to manage their trailers. This has made the separation

between a truck tractor and its trailer both unsafe and inconvenient – espe-cially when high-risk or high-value loads are involved.”

“It’s crucial to know where your high-value and high-risk assets and loads are at any given time. In addition to tracking your fleet, you can now benefit from round-the-clock access to the location of all your assets, and ultimately gain insight into your operations by under-standing and managing utilisation.”

The product is suitable for trailers with and without a permanent power source, and uses GPS and GPRS technology. This allows both the wired and wireless tracking units to be tracked indepen-dently from their tractors, without hav-ing to connect to the tractor’s onboard computer. In the case of the wireless unit, it can operate effectively for up to 12 months between battery exchanges.

Fleet managers then have access to a secure online trailer management system via a connection to FM-Web – a 24-hour, secure web-based fleet

information service – which allows them access to distance travelled, routes tak-en and servicing and licensing reminder information. The system is also acces-sible via smartphone, tablets, and the mobile phone app, MiX Fleet Mobile.

The company also recently announced that it has acquired Pretoria-based software solution company Intellichain. This, it explains, means that it can now offer integrated supply chain manage-ment solutions as part of its portfolio. The move will provide an integrated platform, which seamlessly combines telematics hardware with process software and which can be configured into industry specific solutions that further cater for customers’ unique requirements. Intellichain MD Willem Cilliers com-mented: “An intelligent technology approach and better use of real-time tracking information equips customers in the supply chain arena with evolving functionality, enabling effective man-agement of operations and continuous business growth.”

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

TRACk YOuR TRAILER ANd CARGO

PAGE 50

P00055.indd 1 2012/01/26 1:59 PM


Show TimeAutoForum - August 2012

Bosch hosts its service conference for 2012 - Warwick Robinson

SHOW

TIM

EEwald Faulstich delivered a familiar mes-

sage to the regional Bosch service meet-ing held recently in Johannesburg: “In terms

of servicing the mobility user, I main-tain that franchised work-shops are still going to be

the solution for workshop owners to grow their busi-nesses”. He pointed out the fact that OE workshops are the real competitors that

all service franchises need to be aware of, and that the need to stabilise dealer profit-ability means that expanding

their service offering is the logi-cal step OE suppliers will have to take.

But this means that to remain relevant and competitive, workshops need to accept that technology is a driving factor in being able to cater to the late models vehicles. This is inte-gral to Bosch’s automotive strategy. “In theory, the diagnostics market has enormous potential as part of the larger global aftermarket busi-ness, which is worth an estimated $240 billion” and it is a key element in the offering. “Bosch Service franchisees see the benefit in terms of being able to diagnose, service, and repair with parts, all within the Bosch offering.“

It is all part of the “genetic code” that Faulstich sees the key to success, “but you cannot only implement a few of the elements, if you want customers to have a consistent experience in terms of product, quality and service across the group”. He was very transparent about where Bosch makes its profit – and that the service concept is an accepted cost to further their interest in the margin from diagnostics and parts. “The fact is that succeeding as a group is dependent on purchasing from within the group,” he explained, proving this by displaying the top performing Bosch service workshops plotted onto a graph. It was inter-esting to see how they correlate directly to the workshops with highest volumes of purchas-ing from within the group. “This relationship is a two-way street, and members who are

not purchasing from within the group make the entire group, franchisees included, suffer proportionately.”

Lilian Hansen, Marketing Manager for the Service Network, also presented a discussion on how franchisees can benefit from concen-trating on what customers expect as stan-dard levels of service in today’s market, and expanded on a number of simple and highly effective ways that this important interaction with the brand can be improved. “Many times it is interesting to note that some complaints we receive stem directly from the communi-cation to clients, not the actual work being done,” she explained. Hansen also discussed the business model of the Bosch Service Plan, which she describes as “medical aid for your car”, and how the money generated out of the initiative was being driven back into the network. “This product has the potential to generate a 20% growth in revenue for some of the smallest shops,” she explained.

Franchisees were then led through a number of technical and training presentations, includ-ing Bosch Automotive’s Marketing Manager Sujit Nayak reinforcing the “no vehicle is com-plete without Bosch” message and strategy. He also presented his three-phase supply chain management projects. His focus is on making sure that not only is availability of parts continually increasing, on a growing number of vehicles, but that pricing on these parts is competitive. “We have information that shows that of the 710 cars in the top 80% of vehicles being serviced, Bosch can claim availability of 98%,” he said. “But the concern is that this is not being effectively communicated to members.”

The day ended with a Q&A session, and in a style befitting the “two-way street theme”, the members were actually asked whether they felt these conferences offered them value. It was interesting to note that all present felt that the value derived was substantial and that, if anything, they would prefer that timings would allow more resources from each workshop to attend.

Ewald Faulstich

PAGE 52

SHOW

TIM

E

AfriMold 2012 in October

The annual AfriMold trade fair will be held next month, from 10 to 12 October, at the

Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand. As always, the event plays host to SA’s major players in the tooling, precision engineering, mould making, design and application devel-opment industry, providing an opportunity to network, while supporting and growing the sector.

Organisers of the event are dedicated to using the show as a platform to not only boost an industry that is experiencing slow growth, but also to provide international exposure and input to enhance the sector’s competitiveness and relevance. One of the event’s key objec-tives is to unlock opportunities for its exhibi-tors, to gain the preferred contracts that are currently going out of the country, as well as to obtain agencies from international visitors who are hungry to participate in the South African market and to increase their client base.

Several industry players are also looking to AfriMold to support their initiatives to enter into joint ventures (JVs) and partnerships with foreign companies.

As Ron MacLarty, AfriMold organiser, ex-plains: “The facts are that AfriMold visitors are directly and fully engaged with the industry

by mere virtue of being there in person, while the passing trade of potential customers, over just three days, can be measured in the thousands.”

“So the reality for our exhibitors is that each visitor to AfriMold is a qualified, motivated prospect for new business and one who is being presented to exhibitors in the context of a trade fair that engages all of the senses, creating a persuasive environment to enable the sales and networking process.”

Running alongside the exhibition is the AfriMold Conference, which is presented by the Tool Making Association of South Africa (TASA). This year’s conference will address the role of science in elevating current practice to the domain of leading economies and promis-es to bring a high level of technical knowledge, together with important issues. These include production management; intellectual property and registered designs; effective business and legal contracts; global competitiveness; training; skills development; and employment creation.

To pre-register for the AfriMold Conference or for information on how to participate as an exhibitor, go to www.afrimold.co.za.

PAGE 53

AutoForum - September 2012SHOW TIME

Bosch Golf Day another hit

The annual Bosch Golf Day, held in August at the Centurion Golf Club, proved once

again to be a huge success - with 20 four balls and a three ball participating in warm conditions on a dry winter course. Most play-ers agreed the first nine holes were the most difficult, with narrow fairways and more wa-ter hazards than the second nine. As in past years, this event aims to raise funds for se-lected charities and projects.

This year the funds raised through auctioning a number of collectable items will be split be-tween the MTR Smit Children’s Haven in Port Elizabeth and the Bosch Skills Development Programme.

PAGE 54

SAAW 2012 just around the corner

It’s just weeks away from the next staging of the 2012 South African Automotive Week

(SAAW) expo and, according to the organis-ers, over two thirds of the space is already booked. More than 300 exhibitors are expect-ed to participate in the expo, of which a great number should be international companies, if the website hits are anything to go by. An esti-mated five thousand trade visitors and media from across both South Africa and the globe are also expected to visit the event.

The SAAW website - www.saaw.co.za - has logged hits from an average of 25 different countries weekly, with much interest in the show from web users in Germany, Poland, China, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Hungary, India, Italy and Australia. The organ-isers also confirm that a number of delega-tions, including those from Thailand, China, the United Kingdom and the United States, will be attending the event.

As Show Director Andrew Binning explains:

“There is a lot of international interest in the third SAAW, which is seen as one of the most important meeting places for anyone in the automotive industry who wants to do business in Africa.”

“This geographic spread shows that Africa is firmly in the sights of international original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), component and parts suppliers.”

As always, SAAW will host a number of conferences focusing on key challenges and opportunities in the South African automotive industry, including the main conference, held under the auspices of the Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC). The latter will see motor industry leaders and strategists from around the country join global experts on the podium and in workshops to plot the way for-ward for the local automotive industry.

SAAW 2012 will take place in Nelson Mandela Bay from 10-13 October, 2012.

PAGE 55

SHOW

TIM

E


Thekwini Car, Truck, Bike and Outdoor Show

In August, Shongweni outside Durban was once again the host of the third annual Thek-

wini Car, Truck, Bike and Outdoor Expo. Event organiser, Clyde Lawrence explains that although the show started out as an event focused on the truck and fleet sector, it has grown to include the passenger ve-hicle and outdoor sectors, as interest was generated from all segments of the trans-port and motor industry. Says Lawrence: “The Car, Bike and Outdoor segments attract public. Dealer networking attracts both trade and customer.” This year’s show attracted just short of 10 000 attendees – not bad for an event that mixes both public and trade in a single venue and over the same time period. Lawrence asserts that of those figures, around 60% were mem-bers of the trade. Lawrence continues: “The Thekwini Car, Truck, Bike and Outdoor Expo is set up to allow exhibitors the possibility of displaying product at a very economical cost to exhibitor. The concept lends itself to a country-type setting, which is very relaxed yet at the same time, professional. This year, we added Aviation to our exhibitor listing. Whilst only supported by a few aviation companies, the concept of future aviation involvement is very promising. We had helicopter rides over the three day period with over 300 people taking helicopter flips. I have had confirmation from various aviation distributers and dealers of their intent to exhibit next year. Further to this, we are going to introduce a new segment to the event – that being Heavy Industrial.”

Next year’s event also promises to be struc-tured slightly differently. The event will take place in June as opposed to August and will run from Monday to Sunday, from two inde-pendent sites at the same venue. The first four days will comprise the Heavy Transport segment and “will be open to any exhibitor that services the Heavy Transport and Agri-cultural industries. Preferred Exhibitors will be given the opportunity to bring their customers to the expo by special invite, who will then be transported by bus to different demonstration locations in the expo vicinity. After demon-strations by various OEM equipment and

products, the customers will be taken back to the expo site where they will be entertained at the expo marquee. The OEM can then also have a conference, product launch or just spoil their customers.”

The second part of the 2013 show will then comprise the more traditional Thekwini Car, Truck, Bike and Outdoor Expo, which will be open to the public. Sadly the 2012 event was hampered by the fact that a number of other events took place over the same period – a lesson Lawrence will be using to improve future exhibitions. “I realise changes have to be made and I am go-ing to meet with all partaking exhibitors in their respective segments to establish the best way forward for all involved. The exhibitors will be catered for in terms of every need possible.”

SHOW TIME

PAGE 56

CH1178 210x275.indd 1 2012/03/08 3:34 PM

AutoForum - September 2012SHOW TIME

Midas celebrates suppliers in 2012 - Warwick Robinson

SHOW

TIM

EThe aftermarket is still a good place to be trad-ing, with the core market remaining in a state of growth. Despite this, however, the risks surrounding the Euro crisis are still expected to affect our market, due primarily to the volumes of South African products that Europe con-sumes. While the economists are still confident of SA’s growth potential, the reality is that we need to compare ourselves against our neigh-bouring countries.

This was the message in the address to the guests at Midas’ 2012 Supplier Awards evening. CEO Warren Espinoza highlighted the value that suppliers and the Midas Group offer each other in their ongoing relationship. “Midas is a successful organisation that it is, in large part, due to the quality of the suppli-ers we choose - and the relationships that we build with those suppliers.”

This philosophy is clearly yielding good results, with the group’s profitability having remained consistent – NAPA has easily exceeded their previous highpoint of R1 billion again, and Midas’ declared dividend is being paid out of cash reserves.

Espinoza continued: “Our biggest concern is the growth of our supplier brands. Unrealis-tic expectations create inconsistent decision making. Consistency and discipline in route-to-market strategy are the factors that will ensure sustained growth in the long term.” He reiterated that suppliers can concentrate on the task of managing their brands while relying on Midas for its strong point – distribution of their products. He explained how Midas is continually engaged in initiatives to optimise warehouse efficiency, and stressed how the organisation continues improving by analys-ing their projects to date “we have to make sure that we track what the customers actually want, providing optimum distribution, but this entails more than just getting products out of the warehouse as fast as possible”.

Outgoing Chairman of NAPA, Rolf Gudegast also presented a warm farewell to the many suppliers he considered “good friends”, run-ning through his 35 years with Midas and NAPA and explaining his thrill of last year’s R1 billion achievement. He did express his

one gripe though – querying why, after all the achievements, he no longer had his hair...

SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR 2012

NAPASUPPLIER OF THE YEAR 2012 CATEGORY A

FINALISTS: LUK PARTQUIP POWERTECH

WINNER: PARTQUIP

NAPASUPPLIER OF THE YEAR 2012 CATEGORY B

FINALISTS: HELLA MATUS SHIELD CHEMICALS

WINNER: MATUS

MIDAS GROUP (PTY) LTDSERVICE SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR 2012

FINALISTS: TRITON EXPRESS CTP GRAVURE REGENT INSURANCE

WINNER: TRITON EXPRESS

MIDAS GROUP (PTY) LTDINTERNATIONAL SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR 2012

FINALISTS: EVERSPARK KINTOON DELPHI DIESEL SYSTEMS

WINNER: DELPHI DIESEL SYSTEMS

PAGE 58

MIDAS GROUP (PTY) LTDSUPPLIER OF THE YEAR 2012 CATEGORY A

FINALISTS: LUK ATE NGK

WINNER: LUK

MIDAS GROUP (PTY) LTDSUPPLIER OF THE YEAR 2012 CATEGORY B

FINALISTS: CAPE PARTS DISTRIBUTORS SHIELD CHEMICALS TOP CLASS

WINNER: SHIELD CHEMICALS

PAGE 59

AutoForum - September 2012New Releases AutoForum - September 2012 www.AutoForum.co.za

New Warn range of Tabor winches Warn has launched a new range of Warn-branded Ta-bor winches. Solely distributed by Control Instruments Automotive, the new range is competitively priced and includes Tabor 8K, 10K and 12K winches, each of which features separate control packs for various mounting options and includes a unique brake design for smooth winching control. The range also boasts a durable remote control, longer leads and a one-year warranty and are manufactured in the United States. In addition, they are equipped with a three-stage planetary geartrain that promises a du-rable, smooth and reliable performance, while a series-wound motor ensures a powerful and fast line speed.

The units retail for between R6 950 for the 8K and R10 500 for the 12K, and are available from BRS Off-Road Accessories (Selby Johannesburg - 011 493 8405), B’rakhah (Polokwane 015 291 4471), Mr Winch (Durban 031 312 4004), Safari Centre (National 012 809 4410).

PSH SA launches D&V computerised universal alternator and starter motor testerPos Service Holland South Africa has launched the JBT-1 Starter and Alternator computerised universal tester into the Sub-Saharan market. This tester provides the user with capabilities previously only available to OEM manufacturers. With a solenoid pull-in test, voltage drop and contact chatter, it can test virtually every alternator available including BSS, LIN and clutch pulley alternators.

The JBT-1 is capable of analysing Rectifiers/Diodes and Stator windings via its built-in digital oscilloscope and also provides a comprehensive measurement of regulator functions and terminal output signals. All while the regulator terminal switching circuitry automatically configures the test harness to match the required plug connections of the alternator.

A combination of measured electrical values and optimal shaft speed measurements provide for a comprehensive test of the starter and solenoid functionality, and allows for analysis of the starter components with inertial load and speed sensors. The computer-controlled variable

voltage starter power supply tests solenoid pull-in with a programmable voltage, to detect weak and defective solenoids.

The integrated software is capable of providing printed Pass/Fail reports as well as the distribution of test specifications, via the Internet and USBs.

For more information, contact Harald at 011 704 5196.

PAGE 60

Motor Merchandise launches new Battery Charger Manufactured for the professional workshop and car dealer, but versatile enough to be applicable to the DIY enthusiast, the new charger utilises an advanced, microprocessor-controlled, multi-phase charging process. This allows it to deliver an optimal charge to each battery serviced.

Special Soft Start and Battery Recondition modes automatically commence as needed when charging problem batteries and the unit features an Enhanced Maintenance mode for batteries in extended storage. Other product highlights include Smart Clamp Technology, Reverse Polity Protection, Battery Fault Detection and numerous additional safety features to make charging safer for the operator and the equipment being charged. For more information, contact Motor Merchandise on 0860 10 13 17

PAGE 61

After-Marketplace DirectoryTo advertise your listing in AutoForum After-Marketplace Directory

Contact us on 011 466 3733 or Email: [email protected]

DIR

EC

TOR

Y L

ISTI

NG AUTO ELECTRICAL

Auto Cosmos - Electrolog Electronic Parts (Electrical) Catalogue 012 327 6210Bosch Parts, Accessories & Batteries 011 651 9600First National Battery Industrial & Automotive Batteries 011 741 3600MED Motor Electro Diesel AutoElectrical Components & Accessories 021 505 4000Parts Incorporated Africa Automotive Components & Accessories 011 879 6000Trysome Auto Electrical Parts, Accessories & Batteries 011 823 5650AIR CONDITIONING

Connoisseur Automotive Air Conditioning Specialists 021 419 7188Highveld Garage Equipment Air Conditioning Specialists 012 330 0540Macs Automotive Air Conditioning Equipment 011 498 0700Snap-on Equipment Diagnostics Equipment 0861 762 766BODY REPAIR EQUIPMENT

Aer-O-Cure Spray Booths, Chassis Straighteners & Welding Equipment 011 444 6454

BSE Body Shop Equipment 011 452 9688Motor Merchandise Consumables 086 010 1317CLEANING EQUIPMENT

Highveld Garage Equipment Pressure Washers & Vacuum Cleaners 012 330 0540Motor Merchandise Consumables 086 010 1317DIAGNOSTIC EQUIPMENT

Aer-O-Cure Electronic Chassis Straighteners 011 444 6454Beissbarth Wheel Alignment Equipment 011 651 9600Bosch Diagnostic Equipment 011 651 9600Diesel Electric Aftermarket Parts & Accessories 08600 03227Gabriel - C I Automotive Shock Absorbers 086 124 2886Highveld Garage Equipment Engine Analyser & Diagnostic Scanners 012 330 0540Macs Automotive Air Conditioning Diagnostic Equipment 011 498 0700NAPA/Midas Group Aftermarket Parts & Accessories 011 879 6000Snap-on Diagnostics Diagnostics Equipment 0861 762 766Wheelquip Wheel Alignment Equipment 021 949 0010

FLOORING

Tuff Floors Industrial Interlocking Floors 011 873 1292GARAGE EQUIPMENT & TOOLS

Aer-O-Cure Tools & Garage Equipment 011 444 6454Beissbarth Wheel Alignment Equipment 011 651 9600Bosch Diagnostic Equipment 011 651 9600BSE Tools & Equipment 011 452 9688Diesel Electric Aftermarket Parts & Accessories 086 000 3227Highveld Garage Equipment Tyre & Lifting Equipment & Tools 012 330 0540Hofmann Megaplan Complete Range of Garage Equipment 011 472 7279/5954Integrated Marketing Sales, Service & Repairs to all Equipment 011 974 2202/3Ital Machinery Brake & Clutch Machinery 011 483 3737John Bean - Snap-on Equipment Wheel Service Equipment 086 176 2766Leaderquip Tyre & Lifting Equipment & Tools 011 334 1680Macs Automotive Air Conditioning Equipment 011 498 0700

Mastercraft Tools & Garage Equipment 0861 MCINFO (624636)

Motor Merchandise Consumables 086 010 1317NAPA/Midas Group Aftermarket Parts & Accessories 011 879 6000Snap-on Tools Tools & Garage Equipment 086 176 2766Spec Tools Tools & Garage Equipment 011 023 1112/3/4Wheelquip Wheel Service Equipment 021 949 0010PARTS MANUFACTURERS & DISTRIBUTORS

Alert Engine Parts Distributors of Quality Parts 021 590 8250Alfa Brake Drums & Discs Brake Drums & Discs 011 608 0801/3AUDI Parts Genuine OE Parts 086 043 4838Bosch Parts, Accessories & Batteries 011 651 9600Diesel Electric Aftermarket Parts & Accessories 086 000 3227Drivelines C.V's and Driveshafts 011 763 3212Federal Mogul Champion Aftermarket Parts & Accessories 011 630 3000First National Battery Industrial & Automotive Batteries 011 741 3600GM South Africa Aftermarket Parts & Accessories 080 042 2777Macs Automotive Air Conditioning components 011 498 0700MED Motor Electro Diesel AutoElectrical Components & Accessories 021 505 4000Mercedes Benz Commercial Vehicle Aftermarket Parts & Accessories 0800 133 355Midas Aftermarket Parts & Accessories 011 879 6000Nissan SA Aftermarket Parts & Accessories 080 064 7726Partquip Aftermarket Parts & Accessories 011 634 7600NAPA/Midas Group Aftermarket Parts & Accessories 011 879 6000Parts Incorporated Africa Automotive Components & Accessories 011 879 6000RAM Belts & Hoses 011 248 9400SABAT Batteries 08600 SABATSafeline Brake Pads 011 549 7333Trysome Auto Electrical Electrical Parts, Accessories & Batteries 011 823 5650Turbo Exchange Aftermarket Parts 011 402 7085

U D Trucks Aftermarket Parts & Genuine OE Parts 080 000 8800Victor Reinz Aftermarket Parts 011 432 2667VW Parts Genuine OE Parts 086 043 4737SERVICES

Auto Cosmos - Electrolog Electronic Parts (Electrical) Catalogue 012 327 6210Bosch Automotive Training Courses 011 651 9600

Diesel Electric Aftermarket Parts & Accessories, Vehicle service & repair 086 000 3227

MED Motor Electro Diesel AutoElectrical Training Courses & Catalogue 021 505 4000Misa Staffing Association 011 678 6328Trade Fair Travel Travel Packages 031 916 1414

PAGE 62

autoforum sept 2012

Documents

electrical solutiontel

n d i n n o v

new roadster

d workshop

little losses

r1bn sa investmentput

sq new facilityhave

new regulations