MOTOR BRIEFS
DON’T FALL FOR CAR RECALL SCAMS
Your car manufacturer or dealership calls to say there’s been a safety recall, and they’re sending a flatbed truck to pick up your car.
They know your registration number and personal info, and it all seems legitimate, so you hand over your keys when they arrive, and think about the great service you just received.
Chances are, that’s the last you’ll see of your precious wheels and to make things worse, most insurers don’t pay for theft through fraud.
That’s the warning from insurer King Price, which says there’s been an alarming rise in the number of theft syndicates trying to scam consumers into handing over their car keys or personal info in recent months.
“Criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated. By targeting dealership records, they often have detailed info about you, like when last you took your car for a service and even how many kilometres you drive per month. So they really sound slick and convincing when they call you,” said King Price’s Jacques Victor.
What can you do to avoid being scammed? King Price’s advice to consumers is to check with the manufacturer or nearest dealer if someone calls you claiming that your car is subject to a recall.
In the case of a genuine recall, the manufacturer will send formal communication that describes the process in detail, the steps to follow, and how to verify what’s happening at every stage.
“Under no circumstances should you hand over your car to a third party. If there’ sa genuine recall, a car manufacturer won’t collect your car themselves, as the liability and risks are too high,” says Victor.
“Never give out your personal info or make any kind of payment to anyone claiming to be from a car dealership or manufacturer. End the call or delete the e-mail, and call the nearest dealership, or the police.”
HALF A MILLION S-CLASS UNITS PRODUCED
As the all-new Mercedes-Benz S-Class gets closer to launch next year, the 500,000th current-generation S-Class saloon has rolled off the production line at the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen plant in Germany.
The Mercedes-Benz flagship has been produced exclusively in Sindelfingen for the global market since 2013.
The current Benz S-Class, internally dubbed the W222, had its world premiere in 2013 and became the best-selling car in the luxury class. It introduced a number of innovative semi-autonomous driving features and became available in additional body styles including two-door coupes and cabriolets, and lengthened Maybach and Pullman versions.
Since the market launch of the 220 model in 1951, about 4-million S-Class saloon models have been delivered to customers worldwide. China is the biggest market: more than every third model is sold there.
Every new derivative of the upcoming S-Class will be electrified with either a mildhybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrain, with most engines to be either a 3.0l inline six cylinder or 4.0l V8. There won’t be a fully-electric version as Mercedes will cover that segment with its batterypowered EQS.
The new S-Class is expected to reach Level 3 autonomy, where the driver will be able to hand over full driving duties to the car in certain situations.
DAIMLER TO CUT 10,000 JOBS
Daimler said on Friday it will cut at least 10,000 jobs worldwide over the next three years, following others in the industry as they cut costs to invest in electric vehicles while grappling with weakening sales, reports
It marks the third announcement on cost cuts last week by a major German car company as automakers seek to fund huge investments into cleaner and self-driving technologies while demand in China, their biggest market, is falling and a trade war between
Washington and Beijing is curbing economic growth.
“The automotive industry is in the middle of the biggest transformation in its history,” Daimler said in a statement.
Daimler, the owner of Mercedes-Benz, revealed the 3% cut in its workforce after reaching an agreement on its plans with labour unions.
They have agreed on measures to cut costs and jobs, including expanding part-time retirement and a severance programme to be offered in Germany. The company is also cutting 10% of worldwide management positions.
The company employed 304,680 staff at the end of the third quarter.
Plans laid out by Daimler in November showed the company aimed to cut staff costs by about €1.4bn (R22.7bn) by the end of 2022.
The announcement comes days after Volkswagen’s luxury car unit Audi said it would cut up to 9,500 jobs or one in 10 staff by 2025, freeing up billions of euros to fund its shift to electric vehicle production.
Also this week, BMW said that its management and labour had reached an agreement on measures to reduce bonus and other pay schemes for staff to cut costs.
Car suppliers Continental and Osram have also announced staff and cost cuts.
Daimler has repeatedly cut its profit outlook over recent months, partly to cover a regulatory crackdown on diesel emissions but also because of a slowing auto market.
Group operating profit will be “significantly lower” than a year ago, it said last month.
Other measures to reduce staffing costs include offering shorter working weeks.
Agreements in place to prevent forced redundancies in Germany until 2029 will remain in place, Daimler said.
BMW AND GREAT WALL TO BUILD ELECTRIC MINIS IN CHINA
The BMW Group and Great Wall Motor are driving e-mobility forward by building a joint plant in China, where the BMW Group will produce future fully-electric models of its Mini brand.
The new joint venture, Spotlight Automotive Limited, will have a standard capacity of up to 160,000 vehicles per year, which will require about 3,000 employees after the ramp-up phase. Both partners will together invest about €650m (R1.05bn) and construction of the plant in the city of Zhangjiagang is planned for 2020 to 2022.
The deal marks the next milestone in the relationship between Great Wall Motor and the BMW Group. In 2018, the 50/50 joint venture agreement was signed in Berlin in the presence of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The venture also includes joint development of batteryelectric vehicles in the world’s largest market for electromobility. The joint venture envisages production of future electric Mini vehicles, as well as several models and brands for Great Wall Motor.
Following the recent launch of the new electricallypowered Mini Cooper SE, which will be built at Oxford and come to market in the first quarter of 2020, this is another important step towards Mini’s electrified future.
By the end of 2021, BMW Group aims to have more than 1-million fully-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids on the roads worldwide. At that point, the company will offer five fullyelectric production vehicles including the BMW i3, BMW i4, BMW iNext, BMW iX3 and the electric Mini. By 2023, it will offer 25 electrified models more than half of which will be fully electric.