October 5, 2017
Witness
Motoring across KwaZuluNatal since 1904.
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Drivers licences will collect penalty points from next year, with a three month suspension for 13 points. PHOTO: FILE
Cheapest cars to run in SA MALCOLM KINSEY THE current 2016 Kinsey Report cov ers 69 vehicles, and this year I have excluded a few vehicles which were in last year’s study, some because their July sales volumes were very low — under 15 units sold in the whole of SA — and others because of their similarity to related models from the same manufacturer. Many of the vehicles this year are the same models as in the 2015 re port which makes it possible to track price changes during the last 12 months. Our motor industry requires mas sive volumes of foreign exchange to import all the vehicles we need in SA and with current adverse exchange rates, the prices of vehicles and parts have inevitably had to increase, some dramatically. The locally assembled vehicles which are exported to other coun tries are not able to come near matching the amount spent on im ports. South Africa exports about 28 000 vehicles per month, but this is not enough to counter the foreign exchange problem. With a few excep tions, there have been increases in the cost of the 2016 basket of 34 parts, some of which are quite as tounding. Wheel rims in some cases are over R20 000 each, doors in ex cess of R15 000 and if your car is fit ted with “intelligent lights” a replace ment may be in the R30 000 to R45 000 bracket. Many manufactur ers offer these in place of the rela tively affordable halogen for their up market vehicles. These components are in the crash parts category and in general this is the area where there has been the steepest price in crease. Service parts have remained more affordable — probably because the manufacturer is paying during the life of the service or maintenance plan. Repair parts also, have remained somewhat in check. Fan belts have become expensive for some brands because they are now more technical, almost like a large rubber band which will never need tensioning. All prices in this study were sourced in July 2016 and almost ex clusively from dealers in the Durban/ Pinetown/Umhlanga areas. The Kinsey Report is for new and used car owners, as parts prices im pact the finances from day one, whatever insurance policies you may have. As I stress every year, it pays to shop around, but when consider ing alternative parts can prove more expensive than buying the real deal.
THE Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto), or point system as it is more commonly known, will be fully implemented in 2018 after many delays since 1998.
The Datsun Go (left) is the cheapest car to maintain or repair in South Africa, while in the family favourite category, the Toyota Quest 1,6 (right) gives its owners the least pain when it comes to paying for parts. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED The Mahindra KUV100 (left) is SA’s cheapest compact crossover to maintain and repair, while the Toyota Fortuner (right) takes this title in the big crosovers. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED
THE latest comparison of car part pri ces by Pinetownbased Malcolm Kinsey shows Toyota is still kind in offering the lowest prices compared to the rivals in many categories, but also offer a few surprises in the nine categories below. CITY CARS Overall winner here is the Datsun Go with the lowest prices in all three sec tions: service, repair and crash parts. Second spot goes to the Polo Vivo, which boasts the lowest percentage of parts cost to price of vehicle and second lowest crash parts cost. Third is the Hyundai i10, scoring well on crash parts. The Tata Bolt, which we have included for the first time, fared well in the repair costs category (sec ond) and service costs (third) but was knocked back by the price of the rear fender, which includes the whole side of the vehicle from the front door. SUPER MINI Top spot goes to the VW Polo 1.2 TSi with both the most economical basket and best basket to purchase price of the car — a good indication of allround val
ue for money. It also scores first in repair and crash parts and second in service. Second overall goes to the Renault San dero, which scores well in all three sec tions. Third is the Renault Clio, which just edges out the Ford Fiesta 1.0T by R191. FAMILY FAVOURITES For the third straight year this category is won by Toyota Corolla, the 1.6 Quest just pipping the 1.6 Prestige by a few thousand on the overall parts basket and also the percentage value for money. The Quest lowest parts basket cost includes the least expensive crash parts. The Corolla Prestige in second place has the third least expensive service price and the second best crash parts prices. Third is the Nissan Almera 1.5 with competitive prices in each section. The VW Golf GTi, comparatively ex pensive as a package, scores well in re pair parts — in second place. COMPACT CROSSOVER Winner here is the Mahindra KUV 100, followed in second place by the Peugeot 2008, ahead of the Ford Ecosport 1.0T
Mahindra sees profits in electric cars MAHINDRA, the only electriccar maker in India, said at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York the business case for clean technology no longer requires government subsi dies. Chairperson Anand Mahindra, who also announced a partnership with Ford to cooperate on developing elec tric and autonomous vehicles, told the assembled investors he thinks the tip ping point has been reached and clean tech will soon be more in demand, and more affordable, than traditional inter nal combustion engines (ICE). Mahindra admitted global demand for electric cars has been sluggish to date in part because they remain more expensive than ICE engines. But Bloomberg’s New Energy Finance pro jected in July that full electric or hybrid vehicles will make up a third of the glob al auto fleet by 2040. “This is not a tradeoff. This is the single biggest business opportunity for the next couple of decades,” Mahindra told the Business Forum. “Anyone not looking at these oppor tunities is going to miss out on growth.” Mahnidra said his company, which sells the e2o micro electric car and is competing in Formula Electric races around the world, is looking for a joint
Mahindra’s allelectric Formula E race car is currently third in the world rankings. PHOTO: MAHINDRA venture partner in China — the world’s biggest market for electric cars. He said government had an impor tant role to play to level the playing field for emerging clean technologies, but with green business choices now start ing to pay dividends, companies don’t need government subsidies to justify expanding into sustainable areas. Mahindra said business still needed government leaders to clearly commu nicating their country’s transport di rection, and cited as a good example Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
SA drivers must change for Aarto
who recently announced a commit ment to solar energy in India. Modi announced an ambitious initi ative that will see most of India’s vehi cles powered with electricity by 2030. The Indian government’s top policy planning body, Niti Aayog, plans to present a blueprint that envisages an allelectric market before 2030, an offi cial said in New Delhi last week. “Businesses look for stability, they look for direction. You don’t need that much more if you’re just smelling op portunity,” Mahindra said. — WR.
by a mere R23. Mahindra is lowest in both the ser vice and repair section with the Peugeot best in the crash parts section.
Evoque holds on to the third place, which it achieved last year. In fourth is the Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD, which is a welcome newcomer and has the third least expensive crash parts basket.
CROSSOVER This category is again won by the Toyo ta Fortuner; convincingly in both least expensive parts basket and percentage calculation. Second goes to the RAV 4 2.0 — up seven places from last year — and third to the Ford Kuga 1.5T — also very much improved this year. All three have the least pricey crash parts and it is interest ing to note that all three have managed to beat inflation with their overall bas kets being lower than in 2016.
DOUBLE CABS Toyota adds another win with their Hi lux 2.8 GD, clinching best basket price and affordability percentage. Second is the Nissan Navara and third the Isuzu KB 300 — all tried and tested favourites. GWM Steed 6 gets a lookin with impressively low servicing parts costs. The first three are in that order, as the most competitive for crash parts prices.
EXECUTIVE CROSSOVER More Toyota strength in both overall parts basket price and percentage. All the vehicles in this section have auto matic transmissions — the manual op tions not being as popular. Winner is the Toyota Prado 3.0 VX, followed by the Volvo with good prices in service (first), repair (second) and crash (second) parts. The Range Rover
SINGLE CABS A Nissan first and second, the NP 200 ( half tonne) and NP 300 (1 tonne) take honours here. These genuine workhors es may lack a creature comfort or two but know their value in the work place. The winning NP 200 is currently the only small bakkie available in SA (but I have heard that the Chev UTE will be produced in Port Elizabeth by Isuzu
Mazda, Toyota and Dyson to built electric cars JAPAN’S Mazda and Toyota, and the UK’s electrical wholesaler Dyson have announced a deal to jointly de velop basic structural technologies for electric vehicles (EVs). The three companies have also de cided to establish a new company consisting of selected engineers from each company to ensure the ef ficient implementation of the new projects. The companies say that the huge investments and time required to cover all markets and vehicle seg ments is a pressing issue for individu al automakers when responding to the widely varying demand for vehi cles. And the goal of the collaboration is to ensure flexible and rapid re sponse to new market trends. The agreement covers a diverse range of models, from minivehicles to passenger vehicles, SUVs and light trucks, and aims to innovate the de velopment process by combining the strengths of each company, includ ing Mazda’s bundled product plan ning and prowess in computer mod ellingbased development, Dyson’s electronics technologies, and the To yota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform.
The new company will engage in the following: • Research into the characteristics (common architecture) that define optimum performance and func tions of EVs from the standpoint of both individual components and the whole vehicle. • Verification of component instal lation and vehicle performance real ised by the characteristics achieved in item 1. • Examination of the optimum con cept for each car classification with regard to each component and each type of vehicle realised by achieving items 1 and 2. Through this joint technological development project, by dedicating an equal amount of development re sources, ensuring efficient develop ment processes, and taking advan tage of existing production facilities, Mazda and Toyota intend to focus their resources on fundamental vehi cle values to enable the creation of appealing EVs that embody the unique identities of each brand and avoid the commoditisation of EVs. The companies also aim to create a business structure that is open to participation by other automakers and suppliers. — WR.
next year, which is good news). The NP200 features well in all de partments, service, repair and crash parts. The larger NP300 is second in service parts and third for both repair and crash parts. Toyota’s Hilux 2.4 scores third overall and best for crash parts pricing while Mahindra Scorpio takes third place for service parts prices. EXECUTIVE SALOONS These are once more all automatic transmission vehicles. Like the execu tive crossovers, the demand in this luxu ry category is almost exclusively for au tomatics. Volvo clinches first spot again with the S60 with the BMW 320i close be hind. The BMW score a first for per centage value for money. The Jaguar XE comes an impressive third, not too far behind. The Jag has four items, front and rear discs and the two shock absorbers, which make its repair parts the most ex pensive, while the Mercedes C200 is second in servicing parts and best in re pair parts. • www.kinseyreport.co.za
Where does this leave motorists? MD of MasterDrive Eugene Herbert said private and professional drivers should brush up on their driving skills, as the Aarto system aims not to punish law breakers but change driver behaviour. He said South African drivers have a culture of pushing the limits, but will have to break these habits and to keep their points. Each person starts with a zero point balance. Every time you are caught commit ting a traffic offence, points are added according to the offence’s seriousness. Once you have 13 points, your licence is suspended for three months. For every three offencefree months, one point is deducted from your balance. If your licence is suspended three times, it can be cancelled. Where does this leave businesses? Aarto can have serious ramifications on businesses. “Harsher consequences for traffic offences mean harsher conse quences for your business. “If a driver is suspended, they cannot drive for you anymore, leaving you to source and train new drivers. Additional ly, if the driver accumulates points in their private capacity it will affect your business operations as well. “Business owners need to also be aware that the owner of the vehicle is held responsible for demerits unless you notify RTIA that someone else was driv ing. This also creates a larger administra tive burden and requires changes to em ployment contracts.” How can you prepare? Businesses, particularly, should be pre paring for it before implementation. “A substantial amount of administra tion requirements need to be in place be fore implementation to protect your fleets.” Examples of demerits Exceeding the speed limit — six demer its. Failure to obey a road sign, or failing to stop at a stop sign — two demerits. Driving without or with an expired driving licence — four demerits. Driving under the influence or drugs — six demerits. Overloading by between 12% and 13,9% — five demerits. To find out more about how you can get ready for Aarto implementation, vis it www.masterdrive.co.za You can join their Aarto programme to best prepare your business.
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‘Tyres & Braaiers’ looking for new hosts across South Africa WOULD you like to host comedian Nik Rabinowitz and chef Hezron Louw at your unique braai or have you got an outlandish vehicle that you’d like to take them for a spin in, on Tyres & Braaiers? The duo continues their journey around South Africa in the second sea son of the unconventional cooking show on SABC 3, starting Wednesday, October 18 at 8.30 pm and they’re looking for potential guests to star on
the show. Each week Tyres & Braaiers brings together cars, cuisine and SA culture. Season two of the series, produced by Urban Brew Studio, will again savour Mzansi’s diverse interpretations of the ultimate braai and feature some of the most exceptional vehicles in the coun try, whether its home built, classic or pimped up. Director Frankie Opperman said: “With adventurous and interesting
stops along the way, Nik and Hezron end each episode off at a local braai in the area and you have the opportunity to host them. “The braaiers only have one objec tive — to be unique, through delicious recipes, interesting braai methods and amazing company.” SABC 3’s Hamilton Ngubo said: “We are looking forward to a brand new season of the series and a wide variety of sumptuous braai ideas from the
length and breadth of SA, in time for the summer.” If you’d like to be a part of Tyres & Braaiers please send your braai recipes or details of your cool and unique vehi cle to tyresandbraaiers@sabc.co.za Don’t miss the amazing places, peo ple and cars that make up our nation on Tyres & Braaiers, every Wednesday evening at 8.30 pm on SABC 3. Be sure to fasten your seat belts as the duo head to all new locations for
more crazy and humorous adventures. — Supplied.
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