METAIR SEES BRIGHT FUTURE

Metair, the JS-listed automotive component manufacturers, is positioning itself to take advantage of the new Automotive Production and Development Programme with its focus on local added value.

The revised programme would be positive for Metair and was one of the reasons that group was continuing to make acquisitions to increase its product offering.

Recently its wholly owned subsidiary, Metindustrial, through its Supreme Springs division, obtained competition commission approval to acquire
Alfred Teves Brake Systems, a manufacturer of brake callipers and linings, from the Public Investment Corporation. In the first half of the year Smiths Plastics, another Metair subsidiary, purchased Aristons and Specialised Plastics Engineering from CI Shurlok.

The company's turnover for the year to June 30 rose 38% to R2,1bn from R1,5bn despite a decline in domestic sales, which was offset by an increase in the number of vehicles produced for export.

Metair, which has been listed since 1948, used to be part of the Wesco group before Wesco unbundled prior to selling its remaining shares in Toyota SA to Toyota Japan. Products currently manufactures include heating and cooling systems, shock absorbers, springs, lead batteries, lighting and signalling devices, plastic mouldings, front-end modules, wiring harnesses, electric motors and automotive cables.

R138,5bn BID PUTS SCHAEFFLER IN CONTROL OF CONTINENTAL

The Schaeffler Group has taken control of Continental with a bid of R138,5 to create the world's largest component supplier. Schaeffler, the second largest bearing maker in the world, gained control witout having to buy the whole Continental conglomerate, but only the tyre division, which is the second largest tyre maker in Europe.

Continental has had a disappointing time so far this year with regard to its financial performance and was vulnerable to a take-over bid after last year's R130,4bn purchase of Siemens' VDO car component unit had stretched its financial resources.

Schaeffler, which is a stock closely held and owned by billionaire Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler and her son, made a formal offer for Continental on July 30 after earlier announcing it already held 36% of Continental stock.

The deal stipulates that Continental will be kept intact and will retain its stock exchange listing.

IMPERIAL WRITES OFF RENAULT JOINT VENTURE

Imperial Holdings, the listed transport group, has written off its entire investment in a joint venture with Renault and started discussions to restructure their operation. The company reported that in the year to the end of June 2008 the company had incurred a loss of R70m as part of the company's loss in the venture. The joint venture was established in 2002 when Renault invested R100m in SA to acquire 51% of a wholly-owned subsidiary of Imperial Car Imports.

This decision follows an announcement that the Renault-Nissan global alliance is investing about R1bn in the Nissan SA assembly plant, near Pretoria, for local production of the Logan-based Nissan NP200 half-ton pick-up and the related Renault Sandero hatchback.

Imperial Holdings' revenue grew by 3% to R56bn in the financial year, although the group's attributable loss for the period was R870m after exceptional losses of R2,3bn, which were related primarily to the sale of the aviation operations, closure of Commercial Vehicle Holdings (CVH) and the sale of Multipart, a UK-based parts distributor.

IMPERIAL AND NPA STILL NEGOTIATING

Imperial Holdings and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) are stilly trying to resolve a dispute over a claim amounting to tens of millions of rands against the Scorpions, the NPA's elite crime-fighting unit that is set to be disbanded.

The dispute, dating back to 2005, relates to the amount allegedly owed to Imperial for vehicles leased to the NPA under a R2bn contract.

SA MOTOR TRADE INCOME SOARS

Income by the South African motor trade soared by 7,.7% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2008 despite high interest rates and rising fuel prices, according to statistics released by Statistics SA.)

The major contributors to the increase were income from fuel (up 6,8%) and sales of accessories (up 2,2%), while income from new vehicle sales declined by 1,3%.

It is also expected that manufacturers and dealers in SUV and 4x4 models will be under increasing pressure in the future as buyers were buying more fuel-efficient cars.

CHINA TARGETS BIG CARS

China is raising the sales tax on big cars to as high as 40%, while drastically reducing tax on small cars in an attempt to combat exhaust emissions that contribute to heavy blankets of smog over many of China's cities. The high tax level will apply to vehicles with engines exceeding 4-litres and will be double the previous tax rate.

The sales tax for cars with engines up to 1-litre will drop by 1% to only 3%. Tax rates for other categories of vehicle would stay at between 5-9%. It remains to be seen what effect the big car tax has on sales, because for the first half of the year sales of big cars were up 50% and sales of 4x4s and luxury sedans had doubled.

Vehicle emissions are blamed for up to 80% of urban air pollution and other actions being taken include Shanghai banning all small motor scooters with two stroke engines and limiting access to its central area by vehicles failing to meet clean air standards. At the same time the authorities are seeking ways to reduce fuel consumption.

EX-BOGOTA MAYOR ADVISES ON BUS SYSTEM

A former mayor of Bogota, Colombia, Enrique Penalosa, has visited South Africa to advise on the so-called BRT (Bus Rapid Transit system), which some of the countries cities want to have operating by World Cup 2010. He successfully drove the BRT system in the Colombian capital after his election as mayor in 1997.

Penalosa says that building more roads and widening existing networks would only serve to postpone South Africa's traffic jams to some time in the future, when they would be even more difficult and more costly to solve.

The BRT public transport model is being suggested as a low cost alternative to draw bus and minibus-taxi operators into a formalised system for urban public transport. Johannesburg hopes to have the first phase of its BRT ready in time for the Confederation Cup in the middle of 2009, while Cape Town, the Nelson Mandela Metropole and Tshwane are in an advanced planning stage, with Durban still studying this public transport model.

The Colombian warned that implementing the BRT system required "intensive political capital" to drive it successfully, as you have to manage many conflicting interests, referring to resistance from car owners as well as existing transport operators.

He was critical of the Gautrain, saying South Africa could have implemented BRT systems for a distance at least five times longer than the 80km route of the high speed train system.

NEW MOTORING TV SHOW

South Africa got yet another motoring programme on TV when IGNITION kicked off on DSTV Channel 412 on October 11. This is the third brand on a channel that includes the design, décor and property station, The Home Channel, and the South African business channel, Summit TV.

Initially IGNITION will run as a two-hour "looping block" on Saturdays and Sundays on Summit, but the aim is to expand it into a stand-alone channel.

Fronted by car fanatic and TV personality Marius Roberts it is produced by seasoned motoring enthusiast Lindsay Vine. Car tests are conducted by Morgan Naidoo.

The programme features new car launches, road tests and reviews from around the globe as well as groups of experts answering viewer questions and discussing hot topics of the day.

MANY TRADED VEHICLES ARE STOLEN

The SA Police Services (SAPS) suspects that between 600 and 700 used vehicles traded by dealers each month are stolen. Dealers could face disastrous financial consequences if the police confiscated all these vehicles, according to TransUnion Auto Information Systems.

On average 3,5% of the 25 000 enquiries on used vehicles received by TransUnion each month are listed as stolen by the SAPS. TransUnion said about 55% of the used vehicles sold by dealers did not involve any enquires about credit checks or checks to see if the vehicle is stolen.

GMSA OPENS R150m CENTRE IN P.E.

General Motors SA has opened a new, R150m centre designed to be a "one-stop shop" for all processes related to storage, conversion, pre-delivery activities, upgrading vehicles and distribution of local and imported units, as well as the preparation and servicing of the company's own fleet of vehicles.

The centre, which is equal in size to 60 rugby fields, is located at the Aloes Industrial Park, near Markman township in Port Elizabeth. It can provide storage for up to 8 500 passenger cars and LCVs and 500 trucks, with 1 500 in process staging bays. The car wash system can process 550 vehicles a shift.

UNITRANS BUCKS THE TREND

The Unitrans Automotive retail division bucked the trend of posting a loss in its latest financial reporting period. Unitrans, which is now part of Steinhoff International, reported a 5% rise in operating profit to R489m in the year to June. Revenue was up 6% to R12,42bn.

Analysts said this profit rise was due to the predominance of Toyota dealerships as well as the small Hertz car rental division.

GOLF PRODUCTION RETURNS TO GERMANY

Volkswagen SA will not manufacture the new Golf 6, which will replace the Golf 5 in the near future. The new model will be built at VW's main plant in Germany and exported to SA. Production of the Jetta will also move to Germany when the current model is run out next year.

VWSA will then concentrate on only two platforms - Polo and Citi-Golf, with the long-running latter model slated for replacement in the next year or so.

INSURERS PAYING OUT MORE

Insurers are facing increased of about 15% in repair costs, according to a report by Mutual and Federal. One of the reasons for this is evidently the high cost of replacement parts - particularly on imported vehicles. Potholes and uncontrolled intersections during the "rolling black-out" also led to more claims.

PORSCHE CONTROLS VW

Porsche has increased its shareholding in the Volkswagen Group to 35,14%, which means VW is now a subsidiary of Porsche Automobil Holdings. Porsche's goal is to increase its share of VW to more than 50%. This move has not impressed the labour unions, which consider Porsche's actions as a "hostile takeover".

The tie-up between the two brands has now resulted in a power battle between Ferdinand Piech, of VW, and Wendelin Wiederking, of Porsche, with the group chairman, Wolfgang Porsche, a cousin of Piech, supporting Wiederking in the bitter battle for control of the joint company.

GM AND MODEL T FORD EACH CELEBRATE 100TH BIRTHDAY THIS YEAR

This year, 2008, marks two auspicious occasions for the US motor industry - General Motors and the iconic Model T Ford turn 100 years old.

GM grew out of high school drop out William (Billy) Durant incorporating the company on September 16, 1908, when it consisted only of the Buick and Oldsmobile brands. By 1916 Cadillac, Chevrolet, Oakland and GMC joined the GM "family". By 1926 GM, under the leadership of the legendary Alfred P Sloan Jr. had overtaken Ford to be the No. 1 car maker in the world.

The first Ford Model T came off the revolutionary moving assembly line in Detroit on October 1, 1908. and over the following 19 years a further 15 million examples were to leave the plant, making up 90% of the global car population by the beginning of the 1920's.

WORLD'S BIGGEST CHEV DEALER SELLS OUT

Bill Heard, who was once the biggest Chevrolet dealer in the world in terms of sales volume, has been forced to sell the last 13 dealerships due to the economic downturn in the US. The company had been founded by his father nearly 90 years previously.

TOYOTA REMAINS THE TOP CAR BRAND

Toyota has maintained its position as the most valuable car brand in the world, according to a recent survey by Interbrand and the publication BusinessWeek. Toyota, which is also ranked sixth among the 100 most valuable product brands in the world, saw its value rise by 6% to US$34bn.

Second place among car brands was filled by Mercedes-Benz (11th in the global top 100), which grew its value by 9%, moving up to US$25,6bn. BMW also moved up 9% to fill third position, ahead of Honda (up 6%) and Ford (down 12%).

The other five in the top 10 are: Volkswagen (+8%), Audi (+11%), Hyundai (+9%), Porsche (+9%), Lexus (+7%) and Ferrari (no change).

Ford was the biggest loser and Audi the biggest winner on a year-on-year basis.