On the 28th of October, members of South Africa’s motoring fraternity streamed into the Sandton Sun eager to find out who would scoop the 17th coveted Manufacturer Of The Year, or MOTY, Award. The event kicked-off with a heartfelt address by SAVRALA president Linda Kotze who gave an overview of the year’s activities and challenges that faced the industry, as well as some of the year’s highlights.

Guests were delighted to hear that the annual SAVRALA Charity Golf Day had once again been a great success. During an emotionally charged hand-over ceremony, SAVRALA was able to hand the Sunshine Association the healthy sum of R 100 000. Next year SAVRALA aims to steer its attention towards supporting a charity that works with green initiatives and environmental awareness. The fact that SAVRALA and its members take environmental issues seriously was evidenced by the ‘green’ theme of the evening which saw each guest leave with a live tree-in-a-tube, aimed at furthering a culture of environmental consciousness.

MOTY has become a milestone in the motoring industry and the standards and judging criteria have become more stringent and the competition more nail-biting each year. This year was no exception. In fact, despite the economic downturn there has been a marked improvement year on year as manufacturers dug deeper and re-evaluated their deliverables. Of the many facets that each SAVRALA member is asked to score, general improvements were noticed for almost all questions with above average growth being seen in areas of Communication and Support. After experiencing a slight downward movement in scores last year compared to 2009, it is promising to see these scores return to higher levels this year, indicating greater effort and focus being placed on service delivery.

The evening was hosted by none other than South African funnyman Nic Rabinowitz whose sharp wit and cross-cultural satire had everyone in stitches. Despite the economic crunch the awards were well-supported by both the top motoring manufacturers as well as the Who’s Who of the rental and leasing industries. “It was a very elegant and slick affair and we are always very proud to host this event for the industry” said Kotze. “We believe that it is important to acknowledge the companies that go the extra mile for their customers and also to ensure standards are upheld and improved upon.”