Monthly Archives: October 2010

SAVRALA Manufacturer of the Year 2010 Awards

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Friday, 22nd October 2010, The Ballroom @ The Hilton Hotel, Sandton

Manufacturer of the Year 2010
Volkswagen


 (left to right) John Hopkins, Rabby Bokaba, Stuart Norman, Kathleen Booth, Mike Glendinning, Paul Smallman, Gina Handley, Nico Fourie & Letsepe Phahlane


Louise Carver thrilled MOTY guests.

Moty Awards Evening – A Truly Classy Affair

On the 22nd of October, the South African Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (SAVRALA) and the country’s motoring fraternity celebrated their annual Manufacturer Of The Year Awards – colloquially known as MOTY.

It was a classy affair of the highest calibre as both ladies and gentlemen turned out in their finest evening attire to celebrate these sought-after awards at the Hilton Hotel in Sandton. The country’s top car brands were well represented – a clear indication of how prized these awards are to manufacturers. Paul Pauwen, outgoing President of SAVRALA, noted “Over the years, the MOTY Awards have become prestigious accolades within the industry and receiving one is no small feat.”

As the association steering industry standards in the rental and leasing space, SAVRALA takes these awards very seriously and the judging criteria are therefore managed and facilitated by an independent research company to ensure that the process is fair and unbiased.

The primary focus of these awards is the relationship between the motor manufacturers and their leasing and car rental customers. Superior levels of service and support, as judged by their SAVRALA-member clients, is the main objective of MOTY.

Emcee for the evening, funny man Al Prodgers, kept the evening very entertaining with his humorous anecdotes about his own car experiences whilst seamlessly announcing awards and ensuring the event was fluid and light-hearted. To everyone’s delight, additional entertainment was provided by none other than the talented Louise Carver, whose sultry voice enchanted the audience with a mix of pop/rock ballades.

The evening commenced with a very heart-felt president’s report delivered by outgoing SAVRALA President Paul Pauwen; who also welcomed in-coming president Linda Kotzé. Linda is National Manager at Nedfleet and has been a SAVRALA NEC member for the past 5 years.

Excitement rose as the first awards were announced for Best Manufacturer’s Representative. The trophies went to Trevor Jones from General Motors’ rental division and Paul Smallman from Volkswagen’s leasing division.

The evening got into full swing with the competition heating up between the car manufacturers. The Motor Manufacturer Of The Year – Rental was won by General Motors who took the gold, followed closely by Volkswagen winning Silver and Hyundai walking off with the bronze.

The Motor Manufacturer Of The Year – Leasing saw VW walking away with the gold, Nissan taking the silver and Hyundai once again taking the bronze.

Most Improved in their respective classes were the two Germans, Audi in the rental section and Mercedes-Benz in the leasing section.

By the time the Overall Manufacturer Of The Year award came around, the atmosphere in the beautifully decked-out ballroom was electric and the guests were cheering their brands on. The three top spots looked very similar to the 2009 winner’s rostrum with top honours going to Volkswagen, who dominated the night. Silver went to last year’s winner, Hyundai. For the third year in a row General Motors went home with the bronze.

“We are very pleased with the terrific support we received throughout this year from our members,” Linda Kotzé commented. “The results speak for themselves and the winners were all worthy players who consistently go the extra mile when it comes to both service and delivery. We look forward to what 2011 brings.”

SAVRALA comments on BMW recall

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October 2010

BMW is currently undertaking a massive worldwide recall of up to 348 000 vehicles which may be affected by a brake leak. The vehicles under the recall were produced between the 2002 and 2010 model years and include the BMW 5 Series, 6 Series, 7 Series, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and BMW Alpina B. All are V8 and V12 engine vehicles. While BMW is now joining the long list of car manufacturers who have been forced to recall faulty vehicles in recent years, it should be noted that this particular fault will not place drivers in mortal danger. If a vehicle is affected, a small leak develops in the power braking system, causing a vacuum loss which in turn leads to a reduction of power braking assistance. However, mechanical braking is not affected and drivers will still be able to slow and stop their vehicles. Drivers who experience reduced power braking assistance are encouraged to schedule a service appointment with an Authorized BMW Center as soon as possible. Furthermore, all drivers of potentially affected BMWs will receive a letter asking them to schedule a service appointment with an Authorized BMW Center – all of which are being supplied with the necessary replacement parts.

SAVRALA comments “BMW has for many years been a very good supplier of vehicles to the car rental industry and there is no record of poor build quality. Currently our industry does not have any of the vehicles being recalled on fleet and this does not pose a threat or inconvenience to our customers and clients.”

SAVRALA comments on Mercedes recall

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October 2010

Yet another luxury car manufacturer has joined the ranks of those forced to recall vehicles with potentially faulty parts. On 12th October, Mercedes-Benz South Africa launched a recall campaign on power steering systems of their C-Class and E-Class vehicles produced between 1 June 2009 and 28 February 2010.  These vehicles could potentially develop a leak of power steering fluid at the connection between the high pressure line and the pump. Following the gradual loss of fluid, drivers can expect to hear a whining noise from the pump. Higher than normal steering forces are then required, especially when parking. Mercedes-Benz has assured vehicle owners that in spite of this, the vehicle will remain stable.

Paul Pauwen, president of SAVRALA commented earlier today: “Mercedes-Benz has been a very reliable supplier of vehicles to the rental and leasing industry. They had notified us of the recall as soon as the problem was discovered.  Our members have agreed that all vehicles affected in their fleets will be sent to Mercedes for thorough checking. SAVRALA members’ foremost concern is for the safety of their customers and will therefore ensure that no vehicles that are affected by this potential hazard leave the depots.”

The inspections and potential repairs will be carried out by authorised Mercedes-Benz service hubs