As the local motoring industry asks for a government bail-out, South Africans are wondering why we should help the very people who have been fleecing us for years. We’re not unjustified in feeling this way.
Vehicle manufacturers that have plants in East London, Rosslyn, Pretoria and Durban have made considerable profits over the years yet some, as recently as this month, have again hiked vehicle prices.
There’s no doubt that we, as consumers, have been over-charged and it is disingenuous of manufacturers to ask for government aid. But we can’t ignore the very real fear of hundreds of South Africans losing their jobs.
Our only hope is that our government — if it chooses to approve a bail-out — puts measures in place that safeguard low-paying jobs, sacrifice executive perks and reduce prices along the supply chain for parts and accessories. In this way car prices can be reduced and a sizeable chunk of the profits reinvested in the workforce.
I’m no business analyst and will be the first to admit that my take on this issue is rather basic, but I do see this possible bail-out as an opportunity for government to help both vehicle manufacturers and consumers. This opportunity shouldn’t be squandered.
The Nissan-Renault alliance’s R1-billion investment in the Nissan Rosslyn plant is great news, but the fact that they have retrenched staff is disappointing.
The alliance’s investment made the production of the first locally made Renault possible — the Sandero, which was recently launched here. It hopes to manufacture more vehicles on the platform, which produces the Nissan NP200 bakkie as well as Renault’s entry-level Logan sedan. Nissan-Renault also have plans to manufacture other top-end vehicles in Rosslyn.
The Sandero is a neat little hatchback meant to take on the CitiGolf and, after spending a few hours in one of the 1.6-litre derivatives, there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s leap years ahead of the CitiGolf.
It offers decent interior space, somewhat lively engines and a smooth ride, but the entry-level car, which doesn’t have ABS, a radio or aircon costs R98 800, whereas the cheapest CitiGolf — which also doesn’t have any of these features — costs R78 200.
The Sandero has a five-year/60 000km maintenance plan on some models and it is a spacious vehicle with a 320-litre boot and a 50-litre petrol tank. The base CitiGolf pushes out 55kW of power and 117Nm of torque while the base Sandero pushes out 55kW and 112Nm.
The Sandero comes in 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre derivatives and the top-of-the-range 1.6-litre Dynamique model, which develops 64kW and 128Nm, costs R142 800.
This model comes with a maintenance plan, ABS with EBD, aircon, central locking, an MP3-compatible CD player and much more.
There’s no doubt that the Sandero is a better option than the CitiGolf, but unfortunately people mostly choose to buy CitiGolfs because they’re cheap and the Sandero goes slightly over the entry-level bracket and into Yaris/Fiesta/Polo territory.
It’s disappointing that we have another entry-level car that doesn’t have ABS as a standard feature across the range, but the base model does, at least, have a driver airbag.
Although all manufacturers are retrenching staff we should be thankful for Nissan-Renault’s investment as they have employed about 300 people to produce the Sandero.
That the Sandero is a locally made car shouldn’t be the only reason you consider buying it — it passes on merit as a good car.