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THE WITNESS
NOVEMBER 14, 2019
WHEELS
www.witness.co.za
RENTMYRIDE RAISES R8 MLN IN FUNDS SOUTH Africa’s app for private vehicle rentals — RentMyRide — netted R8 million in a fully subscribed funding round, with contributions by both local and international investors. The app allows companies and individuals with more than one vehicle to manage their own small fleet of rental
vehicles, with background checks and insurance of up to R150 000 on a vehicle. CEO Sebastian Brokmann said the funds wil help RentMyRide grow in SA. It is currently available in Bloemfontein, East London, PE, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg. More on on www.rentmyride.co.za. — WR.
Big changes coming Motor Body Repair Association warns that the future will favour agile, smaller businesses ALWYN VILJOEN
WE HAVE A LARGE VARIETY OF ENGINES AND GEARBOXES TO CHOOSE FROM
MANY PERFORMANCE ENGINES AVAILABLE
QUALITY USED LOW MILEAGE ENGINES, GEARBOXES & PARTS
Lexus Spares 1UZ-FE - Full Gasket set - Water Pumps - Cam Belts - Flywheel - Plug Lead set - Coils - Fan Belts - Starters - Dizzy Caps - Airflow Meters - Engine Mountings - Gearbox Mountings - Cam Belt Pulleys - Alternators
Other Engine Spares - Cylinder Heards for most makes of LDV’s - Replacement Turbos for most makes of LDV’s - Bell Housing Big/ Small - Gearboxes - Diffs
ENGINES, GEARBOXES, HEADS, TURBOS, DIFFS, LEXUS SPARES We have in-house Workshop for Engine Exchange and Fitments
WE OFFER DELIVERIES INTO DURBAN AND SURROUNDING AREAS ON ALL ENGINE AND GEARBOX PURCHASES.
ANYONE active in the motor body repair (MBR) industry who thinks they can do business as usual will probably be out of business by 2022. This was the opening message from Richard Green (pictured), national director of the South African Motor Body Repairers’ Association (Sambra), an association of the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI), at the 2019 Sambra conference held at Emperors Palace this month. He said his dire prediction applies to all key players in the formal motor body repair business, including short-term motor insurers, insurer intermediaries, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) approval programmes, alternative part suppliers as well as paint and equipment suppliers. “Short-term motor insurance will see a rapid decline in intermediary participants. MBRs fear the increase in direct motor insurance, yet they are potentially more effective business partners than intermediary driven insurers,” Green said. He said direct insurance models suit the motor body repair industry better, as the current system is administratively “ineffective and expensive”. “OEM approval programmes will remain an integral part of our industry. Although the form may change dramatically, we must not lose the connection between our two industries as the connection is essential to ensure continued skills development — without it repair quality will suffer. Sambra will continue to focus on cost reduction of these programmes,” said Green. Green warned that the cost of premium vehicle parts is not sustainable.
“Unless OEMs produce creative and effective alternatives, the erosion of their market share will continue. An additional impact is the increase in effective repair technology which allows MBRs to repair panels that were previously replaced,” he said. He added that the paint and equipment sector needs more local production. He said the Department of Trade and Industry needs to encourage investment in this sector while OEMs need to approve a wider range of paints for application to their vehicles to encourage competition. He warned that all players in the industry need to focus on production efficiencies by developing skills and using the latest and best repair technology to maximise profit margins. Green said the MBR industry was built on exclusionary business practices and warned it has to change dramatically with a focus on small business, or collapse. “Business growth won’t happen in the large MBR business sector. I believe the real growth opportunity lies in the small business sector that can remain agile ... and will, in future, be multi-faceted under the same ‘roof’,” he said.
South African-born bike designer Pierre Terblanche (inset) has as many haters as fans but his latest design — the electric Hypertek he created for SA’s carbon fibre wheel specialists BlackStone Tek (BST) — has so far only garnered awed praise from dirt bikers, Hog riders and even the scooter crowd. The 205-kg bike has a proven DHX Hawk water-cooled PMS electric motor making 80 kW and 120 Nm. The battery has a claimed range of 300 km, with a 30minute recharge using a direct current charger. The Hypertek comes with settings to do burnouts and wheellies, with a clutch to allow idling and revving, a built-in sound generator to alert obtuse pedestrians that there is a quiet electric bike about, as well as cruise control and a hill stop function. Two fans force air over the batteries and up front, with hot air blown over the rear tyre. ‘This is the best work I have ever done,’ said Terblanche, who hails from Uitenhage. Meanwhile, BST is looking for ‘Hypertek custodians’ — what other bike builders call ‘buyers’. The company was founded in Johannesburg in 2002 by Gary Turner, who raced bikes in Europe in the Supermono Series in the 1990s, and Terry Annecke, who was a marketing executive at IBM and Microsoft, before the pair decided to make and sell carbon fibre wheels for custom bikes using a patented process then unique to South Africa. — WR.
New D-Max from PE, where Isuzu, Toyota are helping local suppliers 13 BETASTRAAL, RICHARDS BAY ALTON TEL: 035 789 0464 / 035 789 0754 CELL: 084 357 1082 CRAIGH CELL: 062 633 4755 NTUTHUKO MLAMBO PLEASE CALL NTUTHUKO FOR ALL OUR VALUED ZULU SPEAKING CUSTOMERS
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ISUZU Motors of Japan confirmed it will invest R1,2 billion to build the new Isuzu D-Max bakkies in PE, while an additional total local content value of R2,8 billion will be generated through the lifecycle of the programme. Yoichi Masuda, senior executive officer for Isuzu Motors Limited and chair
of the Isuzu Motors South Africa board, said the aim is to build 29 000 bakkies per year at the only bakkie and truck plant outside Japan that is 100% owned by Isuzu. Isuzu’s biggest markets in southern Africa are Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Mauritius, Senegal, Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Meanwhile, Isuzu Motors South Africa and Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) have joined forces in a Black Supplier Development programme with Algoa Components Manufacturers (ACM). This after the Port Elizabeth-based black-owned supplier of fuel fillers, side impact beams and instrument panel
carriers reported concerns about the future sustainability of its business. TSAM and Isuzu will assist ACM to optimise its product process flows, plant layout, space utilisation and the determination of material and manning standards to set up efficient production systems. — WR.