Celebrating its 20th year, the SAVRALA 2015 Manufacturer of the Year (MOTY) was revealed during a gala award ceremony at the Hilton Hotel in Sandton on 23 October. Incredibly, for six consecutive years, Volkswagen South Africa (VW) took the accolade of overall car rental winner yet again.
Commenting on this achievement, SAVRALA President Marc Corcoran applauded VWSA’s remarkable achievement and said that one had no choice but to respect the consistent and recognised high levels of service given by VWSA to the car rental industry. “An important insight from this year’s data is the improved scores by almost all automotive brands, demonstrating the competitive nature of the industry,” he added.
The winners of the SAVRALA awards are decided by the Rental companies such as Avis Budget, Bidvest, Hertz, Europcar / Tempest, First Car, Dollar Thrifty and other rental companies through a scientific and stringent process.
SAVRALA members are required to rate 25 motor manufacturers using a survey containing 40 different and targeted questions. The survey covers aspects such as communication, contact with the manufacturer, technical assistance, parts availability and pricing structures.
The MOTY 2015 results further reveal that VWSA has gained a distinct advantage over its peers in Communication and Support.
The competitive nature of this year’s MOTY awards was best demonstrated by the 0.1 difference in score between Audi SA and Toyota South Africa Motors which swopped podium places, with Audi taking home silver this year.
Illustrating the extent of how some automotive companies have focused special attention on their car rental customers, the Most Improved Award went to BMW SA which leaped from 11th place last year to 7th this year achieving a phenomenal 17% increase in their 2015 score.
Addressing concerns by some automotive brands that they are at a disadvantage when competing against their larger-volume peers in the car rental industry, a new award called Tutuka was created and won by Audi SA. “The performance of Audi this year clearly demonstrates that winning MOTY is not merely a function of the volumes sold to the car rental industry, but also of satisfying customer needs,” said SAVRALA GM Sandile Ntseoane.
The Value Award in its first year was a tight contest, but was won by Ford SA which, by the narrowest of margins, beat VWSA. Commenting further Marc said this ‘’was an important award as the cost of vehicle ownership is a key consideration for any fleet purchase, whether a corporate fleet or individual purchaser.’’
MOTY 2015 also acknowledged the role of certain individuals the car rental industry:
• Best Account Executive was won by David Maeko (Ford SA).
• Best Manufacturer’s Technical Representative was won by Bennita Senyatsi (Nissan SA).
The MOTY evening also saw industry stakeholders recognise the remarkable service given by Dawn Jones, Imperial Car Rental CEO, who leaves the industry next month after 35 years.
“Dawn leaves behind an incredible legacy that few could even imagine achieving. Ever the shrewd car rental operator, Dawn had a remarkable, innate skill in developing warm relationships with her colleagues, customers and competitors. The industry thanks her for contribution and wishes her well in her future endeavours,” concluded Marc.
