September 2022
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: The invisible safety net
30 . Finance: Cash is king
32 . Wellbeing: Take time to recharge
newS
05 . News
11 . Industry News
19 . RMI News
22 . Association News
featureS
18 . Behind the scenes: Taking a modern approach
24 . Association of the month: Keeping the industry fuelled
26 . Interview: Managing Golden Motor Supplies
34 . Labour: Legal absurdities
35 . Legal: The principles of restraint of trade
regularS
36 . New models: Honda Civic and Mercedes-Benz EQA
38 . Motorsport: Simola hillclimb winner competes internationally
39 . Member Update
40 . Sales: July 2022 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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September 2022
taught us the importance of good communication, of collaboration
with peers and colleagues and of the importance of continuing to add
changes and be ready and agile to learn new things,
the convenience of technology, but never at the ex
pense of personal connection.
email, or WhatsApp or telegram message than
happen in 2020, and at least we were slight
left us no other choice.
power of personal interaction,
particularly in a member driven
association such as ours.
this side, we are experiencing a great
loss – the skill of interacting directly with another human being on a per
writing or new technology is used.
to improve efficiencies, we should not completely ignore the benefits and
uses that personal interaction bring when sharing important information. I
members may prefer the digital channels, but they will never absorb our
culture if communication is confined to that, and isn’t our cultural essence
what really differentiates us as an organisation at the end of the day? It is too
easy to become distracted and disconnected when the cameras are off and
We need to continue to inspire our employees and embrace the human
essence. Our employees and members are invaluable assets, so we need to
that employees and members don’t expect everything to be spun positively,
instead they are seeking authentic conversations, ones that require not only
content, but contact and context as well.
So while we continue to evolve and I guess as an industry, seek to attract
and retain Gen Z – the digital natives – who truly have never known a world
without accessible digital technology, remember it also may be the fight for
talent and loyalty that will still demand more mobility and flexibility in how
we reach out to one another.
at Zwartkops attracted excellent crowds while the Festival of Motoring was
well attended by the public too and offered a lot of activities to keep them
entertained. By all accounts the event was a relative success despite the lack
of motor manufacturers present, with only a handful using the opportunity
to showcase their latest offerings
Similarly, the logistics sector of South Africa recovered further during the
month of July, following three months of subdued overall activity. This is
according to the Ctrack Transport and Freight Index, which closely tracks six
sub-sectors of the logistics sector for a true reflection of the industry.
Many challenges remain for the sector and the economy in general, in
cluding high fuel prices, rising interest rates and the negative impact of reg
ular load shedding. However, vastly different trends are evident when zoom
ing into the different sub-sectors of the industry. Four of the six components
that make up the Ctrack Transport and Freight
Index increased on an annual basis during July,
transport, followed by Road and Air Freight. Sea
Freight activity also recovered further in July and
moved into positive territory, with annual growth
While first quarter of 2022’s real GDP growth
was stronger than expected, the economy lost
momentum in the second quarter due to the impact of the KZN flooding,
regular load shedding, higher inflation and rising interest rates and we will
most likely see a quarter on quarter contraction in economic growth once
the quarter two results are released. Fortunately the higher level of the July
Ctrack Transport and Freight Index, signals a stronger start to the third quar
I trust that you will enjoy this issue of Automobil and as always be wel
come your feedback.