May 2023
WWW.aUTOMOBIL.CO.Za
THE DEEPEST BUSINESS REaCH INTO THE Sa RETaIL MOTOR INDUSTRy
CONTENTS
COLUMNS
03 . Driver’s Seat: Jakkie Olivier, CEO of the RMI
03 . Editor’s Letter: Reuben van Niekerk
28 . Tech Talk: Vehicle platforms explained
30 . Wellbeing for leaders: Myth or reality?
31 . Finance: The power of internal controls
NEWS
05 . News
12 . Industry News
14 . New products
15 . RMI News
18 . Association News
FEaTURES
17 . Behind the Scenes with the ARA NEC
20 . Stringent compliance criteria grants access
22 . Interview: Looking back on 46 years in the industry
24 . The state of the Eastern Cape automotive industry
32 . Legal: The benefits of mediation
34 . Labour: Double trouble and double jeopardy
REGULaRS
36 . New models: Suzuki Grand Vitara and Mercedes-Benz GLC
38 . Motorsport: Getting racy at Killarney
39 . Member Update
40 . Sales: March 2023 vehicle sales figures
Editor
Reuben van Niekerk
reuben@automobil.org.za
Sub-editor
Suzanne Walker
Regular contributors
Roger Houghton
Nicol Louw
Publisher
Wilken Communication Management
Tel: 012-4604448
Advertising Sales
Greg Surgeon
greg@automobil.org.za
Automobil is produced monthly by Wilken
Communication Management for the Retail
Motor Industry Organisation. The views and
opinions expressed in the publication are not
necessarily those of the publishers or the Retail
Motor Industry Organisation. While precau-
tions have been taken to ensure the accuracy
of advice and information contained in edito-
rial or advertisements, neither the publishers
nor the Retail Motor Industry Organisation can
accept responsibility for errors, misrepresenta-
tions or omissions, or for any effect or conse-
quence arising therefrom. Permission to repub-
lish any article or image or part thereof must be
obtained in writing from the publishers.
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May 2023
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DRIVER’S SEaT
For information on the RMI and its workings, visit www.rmi.org.za or call 011 886 6300
EDITOR’S LETTER
n this month’s Automobil I thought it opportune to move away from my
standard message and rather reflect for a minute on the importance of
mental and physical wellbeing.
The recent tragic loss of two of our Cape Town-based RMI colleagues,
Randall Langenhoven during March, and Deon Rademeyer during April, has
poignantly brought into sharp focus how fleeting life can be and how devas-
tating such a loss is for family members and colleagues. Our deepest condo-
lences go to the Langenhoven and Rademeyer families. Deon was our RMI
Consumer Affairs Officer in Cape Town and assisted us and the Langenhoven
family when Randall, our Western Cape Regional Manager, unex-
pectedly passed away.
We appreciate what a shock these two passings have been
to our RMI colleagues nationally and the Cape Town office
staff, as well as many members within our organisation who
worked with these two gentlemen.
In fact, 2023 is the year of mental health and wellbeing
and I recently read an interesting article, which referred
to a Forbes survey. It noted that this year’s top reso-
lution for respondents wasn’t the old familiars: eat
better, exercise more, spend less money, or re-
duce alcohol intake. Improved mental health
was the most common response to the
survey, with 45% of respondents putting
it as their top goal for 2023. It seems that,
instead of avoiding the refrigerator and hit-
ting the gym, we’re looking for advice on how
to combat loneliness, strengthen our relationships, and be more at peace
with ourselves – without remaking ourselves.
In the workplace, we need to be cognisant of rising rates of depression
and anxiety and appreciate how stress can impact our physical well-being. It
is very important to find ways of assisting our employees by giving them the
tools to manage the current environment.
Finding a balance between our work and home lives and practising tech-
niques that help us reduce anxiety are becoming increasingly important. As
an organisation, I would like to see us focusing more on these issues.
That well-being must also extend to employees’ families, and we have
a responsibility to guide our employees in thinking about their future and
ensuring they have made provision and have their affairs in order to make it
easier for family members in the event of something unexpected happening.
Losing a loved one is bad enough without trying to sort out complicated ad-
min issues. This is where a valid will and a list of all the essential information
someone might need to organise your estate could make all the difference.
In the coming months, I would like to expand on a number of these issues
and would encourage our Associations to do the same.
I thought I would close my message this month with a quote from con-
centration camp survivor Viktor Frankl. It struck a chord with me as I believe
it is very apt for the current times. He said, “Everything can be taken from a
man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in
any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way”.
Jakkie Olivier
RMI Chief Executive Officer
Don’t discount wellbeing
his year’s Easter weekend road fatalities paint a grim pic-
ture. There was a nearly 40% increase in road fatalities
compared to the same four-day weekend last year, with
185 fatal crashes that resulted in 225 deaths. Compared to last
year, 59 more people lost their lives
Minister for Transport, Sindisiwe Chikunga, points to hu-
man error as the main cause of crashes. These include speed-
ing, unlicensed vehicles and drivers, not fastening seatbelts
and driving with worn tyres.
In response to these statistics, Minister Chikunga plans to im-
plement a 365-day road safety campaign where traffic policing
will become a seven-day, 24-hour job but whether the resources
are available for this to happen imminently remains to be seen.
The fact of the matter is that there are still many unroad-
worthy vehicles travelling on our roads with little enforcement
of the rules or any desire to take these vehicles off our roads. I
recently travelled from Kwa-Zulu Natal back home to Gauteng,
into the evening, and it was frightening to see how many ve-
hicles and trailers were travelling without lights or with only
some of their lights working. Across our entire journey of
700km, we also only saw three law enforcement vehicles.
The RMI’s Vehicle Testing Association has for a long time
been campaigning for the implementation of periodic testing
of vehicles to be made mandatory as it is with large commer-
cial vehicles. The implementation of periodic roadworthy test-
ing into law would make it mandatory for older vehicles to pass
a roadworthy test every two years. Let’s hope the new Minis-
ter of Transport can finally get legislation signed into law as I do
believe it will go a long way in improving safety on our roads.
Businesses in the RMI network should also take it upon
themselves to point out any vehicle issues that cause a vehi-
cle to be unsafe when these vehicles are passing through their
workshops and should do their best to help these customers
rectify the issues and ensure that their vehicles remain in a
safe and serviceable condition.
Reuben van Niekerk
reuben@automobil.org.za
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