January 31, 2019
Witness
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Cheap and durable The Pickman and OX are made for emerging markets, but the rich want them even more ALWYN VILJOEN TWO workhorses designed to be affordable for emerging markets have caught the fancy of rich buyers. The first is the OX, designed in 2016 for Africa by Durban-raised supercar builder Gordon Murray and funded by Shell and Global Vehicle Trust (GVT), and the second is the Pickman, made by China’s ambitious electric car builder, Wang Chao. OX for India When it was announced in 2016, Wheels readers showed a lot of interest in importing the OX to South Africa. Despite the interest (and an invitation from this paper to test the OX in Murray’s home province of KZN) the truck is first heading to India, where Shell and Gordon Murray Design aim to test this rugged transporter in what is arguably the world’s toughest market when it comes to affordability. Challenged by the Global Vehicle Trust (GVT) to design affordable transport for emerging markets, Murray made the OX very tough, but also with parts that can easily be replaced, such as the three windows up front. A central steer also makes it suitable for either right or left hand steer countries, and the 4x2 truck skips over rocks and floats through deep mud that gets bigger trucks stuck, thanks as much to extra wide wheel placing as to Murray’s well-documented obsession with “adding lightness”. The truck is also designed to be flatpacked and shipped like Ikea furniture in 20-foot containers. Two mechanics
Vehicle price inflation continues to lag consumer price inflation New and used vehicle prices showed an annual increase of 2,5% and 1,6% respectively in Q4 2018. There was a small increase in the rate of growth for new vehicles, which had an annual rate of price inflation of 2,4% a year earlier (Q4 2017), but was a marked decrease in the rate of price inflation for used vehicles, which stood 3,5% in Q4 2017.
ALWYN VILJOEN IN Europe, the big push is for electronic mirrors to see cyclists better and by-laws to keep the “swarms of cyclists” from using the inside lane across which trucks have to turn. In this campaign, the graphic above is used to show cyclists how big the blind spots are for truck drivers looking straight ahead. In KwaZulu-Natal, truck drivers say the problem is not “swarms of cyclists”, but mountain bikers who are “basically standing still” in the middle of the road. A truck brake mechanic who wants to remain anonymous says parts of the R103 — especially at Hilton and Drummond ‘ are wipe-outs waiting to happen, with cyclist “wobbling and wheezing” in the middle of the narrow road that is also used
by hasty delivery drivers in bakkies and small trucks who have schedules to keep. Local trucking fleet manager Dean Redelinghuys agrees mountain bikers are creating very dangerous situations, and he is mystified that these cyclists, or “pedalists” as he calls them, get very aggressive when challenged. To change the mindsets, he has adapted the “think bike” sticker to bluntly order cyclists who ride two abreast to “think car” instead. “These pedalists have to listen for traffic coming from the rear and then move over, instead of rudely giving drivers the finger. They are the ones creating the risk, and theirs is the responsibility to share the road. We’ve had enough tragic vehicle-cyclist collisions in SA, and it is never the vehicle that loses,” he said. • alwyn.viljoen@witness.com
ABOVE: The all-electric Kaiyun Pickman from China has removable doors and promises to pick up where the Nissan 1400 left off in terms of an affordable small workhorse. RIGHT: The OX truck rides on a Ford Transit chassis and is exported flat-packed, like Ikea furniture. can bolt together the OX with limited tools on site within two days. Once assembled, it is shorter than a Hilux, but able to carry a payload of 1 900 kg (approximately twice the capacity of most current bakkies) with a load volume of 9.0 m3. It can also legally seat up to 13 people. “Limited mobility in hard-to-reach communities can restrict access to basic services. The OX has the potential to broaden access to transport possibilities and help improve the quality of life in rural communities,” explains the Shell website. Pickman for USA Kaiyun’s founder Chao told Bloomberg in 2015 his lil’ Pickman bakkie aims to
dethrone the mighty Ford F150 as the most sold vehicle in the U.S. This is not going to happen, the Pickman is after all only a half-tonner bakkie — including two people up front, with a claimed range of only 121 km from a 7,2 kWh battery pack that drives a 4kW motor. Most side-by-side quads and some golf carts will drive rings around the Pickman, but in the U.S. China sells the electric pony for only $10 000, which in South Africa is less than what a used, 20-year-old Nissan 1400 lists for and a lot less than what Yamaha charges for ATVs or Piaggio charges for its threewheelers. At this price, the Yanks are clamouring for the Pickman, seeing it as a cheap run-about on campuses,
farms and factories. The Pickman has since it started in 2014 by now also proven itself in snow, mud and sand across China, themselves no strangers when it comes to harsh driving conditions. Kaiyun has now also received clearance from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Kaiyun is shipping 10 000 units to the U.S. to meet demand in 2019. Kaiyun Motors has also received certification and approval for sales of the Pickman in the European Union. The company will begin with sales of the Pickman in Germany and Italy in February, where it will be priced at €5 000 (about R77 800). The company even has plans for a factory in South America if demand proves to be strong enough.
Wheels asked if South Africa is on the list of export markets for the Pickman, and the answer is maybe. The problem is volume. South Africa’s total vehicle sales — from bikes to trucks — amount to less than one percent of global sales. It makes much more sense to focus initial export drives to much bigger markets. But as the high prices still asked for old Nissan 1400s prove, there is a demand for cheap workhorses in South Africa. Which then begs the question, when are our engineers and DIY enthusiasts going to cobble together a tough workhorse that can take on Umlazi’s hills as easily as it does the North West’s rutted roads? • alwyn.viljoen@witness.co.za.
Demand for cheaper puts pressure on manufacturers and dealers The constrained economy, a VAT hike, and petrol price increases have all combined to push the latest TransUnion Africa Vehicle Pricing Index (VPI) below inflation for the sixth consecutive quarter, although the outlook for 2019 is looking more positive.
MOUNTAIN BIKERS TOLD TO ‘THINK CAR’
Marked decline in finance deals The TransUnion Africa VPI also revealed that new and used passenger vehicle finance deals decreased year-onyear by 7% and 15% respectively, while the used-to-new ratio decreased from 2,22 in Q4 2017 to 2,03 in Q4 2018. Total financial agreement volumes in the passenger vehicle market also decreased by 12% between Q4 2017 and Q4 2018. Commenting on the results, Kriben Reddy, head of TransUnion Auto in Africa, said: “Challenging economic conditions have seen manufacturers reduce the price of new vehicles in real terms as a way of stimulating sales. It is important to consider the overall cost of owning a vehicle, not just the pur-
chase price. Factors such as household disposable income and consumer confidence are also part of the changing dynamics of the vehicle market.” Consumer confidence is key The latest consumer confidence data held steady after a substantial deterioration in confidence levels across all income groups was recorded in November 2018. Reddy confirms that low consumer confidence levels have a direct impact on whether a consumer will consider entering into the buying cycle or wait for conditions to improve: “Even when the consumer decides to proceed with a purchase, it is often at a lower price point, which places pressure on manu-
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facturers and dealers and erodes their profit margins.” According to the latest TransUnion Africa Vehicle Price Index report, the percentage of new and used vehicles being financed below R200 000 now stands at 37% — marginally up from last quarter’s 36% — and mostly consists of used cars. “Thirty-nine percent of used vehicle sales during the period were for cars that were less than two years old, while 10% were for demo models. “In the South African market, there is a significant price differential between new and used vehicles, so demo models and used vehicles less than two years old offer attractive alternatives to purchasing a new vehicle — especially
as the baseline price of new vehicles now sits at the R200 000 to R300 000 band,” adds Reddy. Reasons for optimism Reddy believes there is reason to be optimistic: “The latest GDP figures show encouraging signs of an economic turnaround, which should translate into improved consumer confidence. While new vehicle sales are likely to show flat or marginal growth in 2019, there is potential for improved growth in the used car market provided quality stock is available. Dealers will need be cognisant of consumers that are struggling with constrained cash flow and indebtedness – offers will need to be tailored accordingly.” — WR.
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BARS OF LIGHT REASSURE PEDESTRIANS JAGUAR Land Rover has developed a system that projects the direction of travel onto the road ahead of self-driving vehicles, to tell other road users what it is going to do next. The intelligent technology beams a series of projections onto the road to show the future intentions of the vehicle — for example stopping and turning left or right — as part of research into how people can develop their trust in autonomous technology. In the future the projections could even be used to share obstacle detection and journey updates with pedestrians. These projections, tested on autonomous pods developed by Aurrigo, feature a series of lines or bars with adjustable spacing. The gaps shorten as the pod is preparing to brake before fully compressing at a stop. As the pod moves off and accelerates, the spacing between the lines extends. Upon approaching a turn, the bars fan out left or right to indicate the direction of travel. The innovative system was tested on a fabricated street scene at a Coventry facility with engineers recording trust levels reported by pedestrians both with and
without projections. Trials were set up by a team of advanced engineers, working in Jaguar Land Rover’s Future Mobility division, supported by cognitive psychologists, after studies showed 41% of drivers and pedestrians are worried about sharing the road with autonomous vehicles. The trust trial programme — which also included fitting ‘virtual eyes’ to the intelligent pods in 2018 to see if making eye contact improved trust in the technology — was conducted as part of Jaguar Land Rover’s government-supported UK Autodrive project. Pete Bennett, Future Mobility research manager at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “The trials are about understanding how much information a self-driving vehicle should share with a pedestrian to gain their trust. “Just like any new technology, humans have to learn to trust it, and when it comes to autonomous vehicles, pedestrians must have confidence they can cross the road safely. This pioneering research is forming the basis of ongoing development into how self-driving cars will interact with people in the future.” — WR.
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TOYOTA SA Motors (TSAM) is accepting entries for the 13th annual Toyota Dream Car Art Contest until March 1. The contest is a Toyota initiative aimed at encouraging young designers under 16 to explore their creativity and transport their imagination beyond our physical confines. The competition has three categories, for children under 8 years, between 8 to 11 years old, and between 12 and 15 years old. The competition comprises National and World contests. The National Contest is held in each participating countries till March 1. The top five contestants will win prizes on a national level and the top three in each category are subsequently entered into the international competi-
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tion which is judged in Japan with Toyota boss Akio Toyoda. Contestants stand a chance to win the following awards for all three categories: • 1st place: PS4 to the value of R7 000 and R8 000 cash • 2nd place: PS4 to the value of R7 000 • 3rd place: Xbox One to the value of R5 000 • 4th place: tablet to the value of R3 000 • 5th place: Makro voucher to the value of R2 000 For the 2019 competition, participating schools can also win prizes, with the school that submits the most valid entries standing a chance to win one of the following cash prizes: • 1st prize: R15 000 • 2nd prize: R10 000 • 3rd prize: R5000 For details about the history of the contest, please refer to the Toyota Global website: http://www.toyota-global.com/events/dream_car_art_contest/ • Entry forms and Terms and Conditions of the competition can be found on www.toyota.co.za.