The downturn for the South African motor industry is proving far more severe than even the pessimists among business commentators could have predicted.

Volkswagen SA sales and marketing director, Mike Glendinning has been awarded the Loeries Marketing Excellence and Innovation Award for 2008. The award, introduced last year, recognises outstanding innovation in marketing and is given to an individual in recognition of his/her achievements over an extended period of time.

Mercedes-Benz and Maserati recently launched two significant new dealerships in Menlyn and Bryanston respectively - a 19 000 m2 Mercedes-Benz Lifestyle Centre and a standalone outlet for the luxury Italian brand, which is but one of a few of its kind in the world.

Despite the current decline, the market is still in a far stronger position than it was in 2003, says Toyota SA and Naamsa president Johan van Zyl, and although the market will consolidate throughout 2009, there will be resumption of growth from 2010 through 2012, when the market should recover to the highs of 2006.

Comprehensive insurance rates have ballooned by 150 per cent over the past four years, while the fuel price has doubled – those are factors that have been major contributors to the mobility cost rising by 44 per cent between 2004 and this year, according to the sales and marketing director of Wesbank, Chris de Kock.

The ongoing goal of the RMI, which is celebrating its centenary this year, is to build an industry that is prosperous, highly skilled and fastidious about the quality of service to its customers, the organisation's chief executive, Jeff Osborne, said recently.