Which motor manufacturer will win the coveted title of Manufacturer Of The Year in 2017?
The first round of judging has concluded in the annual MOTY awards process, run by SAVRALA, the Southern African Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association whose car rental members manage over 70,000 vehicles and leasing members account for over 54,800 – Owned/Funded and 244,148 – managed vehicles per annum in South Africa.
In contrast to many other car surveys, this award is based on the largest rental and leasing companies in South Africa scoring their automotive suppliers twice annually on 38 objective criteria which include B-BBEE levels, value for money (eg: vehicle resale, maintenance and cost of parts), vehicle security, communication and support.
The results of the competition are used by motor manufacturers to identify their strengths and improve their areas of weakness as highlighted to them by their customers.
“The vote of confidence given by SAVRALA members to their vehicle suppliers should be an important consideration for the car buying public who also want to buy a vehicle that offers good value for money, reliability and safety,” says Winston Guriah, the President of SAVRALA.
The first round, as voted for by both the rental and leasing sectors, has highlighted the top five manufacturers being Ford, Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen. In this group, first and second place is separated by less than three points which can easily change the overall scores winners when round two is completed.
“Volkswagen has taken top honours for the past seven years in the rental section, but there has been fierce competition between motor manufacturers where the winning margins have been very small as we are seeing this year. In 2016, Hyundai and Toyota came second and third respectively,” says Winston.
MOTY also identifies the top account representatives and technical representatives from motor manufacturers, evaluating their ability to establish and maintain a successful relationship, and to be proactive and professional in their approach.
Past winners of the MOTY Best Account Representative award include Loshini Pillay from Volkswagen in 2016 and David Maeko from Ford in 2015, while Robert Wright from Volkswagen and Bennita Senyatsi from Nissan won the Best Technical Representative awards in 2016 and 2015 respectively.
“The emphasis on the MOTY results is likely to both increase the service expectation from the rental and leasing companies, while forcing them to look more critically at current service levels provided by manufactures,” says Sandile Ntseoane, the GM of SAVRALA.
“MOTY influences the vehicle purchase decision-making of both the public and large fleet operators who will be comforted by the experiences of the SAVRALA members.”
The results of the 22nd annual SAVRALA MOTY awards will be announced at a gala ceremony in Johannesburg on 20 October.
On social media, join the conversation using the hashtag #SAMOTY17.