REE Automotive thinks the way to get electric vehicles into the mainstream is to flatten things out–by using a skateboard platform that integrates the battery, motors and driving controls into a flush floor and allows for independent steering of wheels. And while this tech startup’s concept is radical, it’s finding support from traditional automotive partners.



The latest to sign on is Tokyo-based KYB Corp., one of the world’s biggest makers of shock absorbers. The companies said today they’ve formed a partnership to develop suspension capabilities for electric vehicles that will be built off of Tel Aviv-based REE’s platform. Financial details of the arrangement, the first EV project for KYB, weren’t disclosed. REE emerged from stealth mode in 2019 and is also working with Toyota-affiliated truckmaker Hino, Mitsubishi Corp. and FiatChrysler.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/960x0-1-1-797x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-45572" width="194" height="249" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/960x0-1-1-797x1024.jpg 797w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/960x0-1-1-300x386.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/960x0-1-1-600x771.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/960x0-1-1-233x300.jpg 233w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/960x0-1-1-768x987.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/960x0-1-1.jpg 960w" sizes="(max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px" /><figcaption>CEO and cofounder Daniel Barel REE AUTOMOTIVE</figcaption></figure></div>



KYB is “excited to partner with REE Automotive and share its revolutionary EV vision by engineering a suspension subsystem that supports the needs of tomorrow’s mobility ecosystem,” Kazunori Masumoto, KYB’s general manager of engineering, said in a statement. 



For more than a decade, many companies have touted the benefits of standardized, flat undercarriages that could support multiple vehicle types, from sedans and crossovers to vans and commercial trucks, to dramatically eliminate costs to create individual platforms for each. Most recently, electric truck startup&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2019/12/23/electric-truckmaker-rivian-backed-by-amazon-ford-raises-whopping--13-billion/#3a2ca1031847">Rivian</a>, automotive tech firm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2020/02/11/hyundai-adds-electric-vehicle-skateboard-project-with-la-startup-canoo-to-its-87-billion-mobility-push/#139d4beb1017">Canoo</a>&nbsp;and the U.K.’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2020/01/29/ups-jumps-into-the-future-with-plan-to-buy-10000-electric-vans-and-a-waymo-self-driving-delivery-pilot/#735e17105aa5">Arrival</a>&nbsp;have promoted flat platforms for a range of battery-powered vehicles, but REE cofounder and CEO Daniel Barel says his company takes the approach even farther.&nbsp;



“They’re great, but they are not skateboards. Only the middle is a skateboard,” Barel tells Forbes. The difference is how much battery REE’s design can accommodate and the complete integration of drive controls into the floor, he says. “We hold the most batteries per footprint than anybody else in the industry.&#8221; 



Barel says his company, which is not building complete vehicles, intends to have its technology on the road in 2021. One possible version was shown in October at the Tokyo Motor Show by Hino, with its <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.hino.co.jp/tokyomotorshow2019/en/booth/" target="_blank">FlatFormer electric concept vehicle</a> riding on an REE-based platform. The Japanese truckmaker showed variations of the concept modified to serve as delivery trucks, food service and sanitation vehicles, mobile offices and salons and even agricultural and sanitation trucks, with different tops riding on the platform.



“KYB’s technology will play a crucial role in the rapid development of our next-generation EV architecture, which reinvents the electric vehicle with a completely flat, scalable and fully modular platform, ready to carry the future of e-mobility,” Barel said.



Along with lowering development costs, electric vehicles using REE’s technology will be lighter and considerably more compact. “We’re not only 33% lighter, but we’re almost 70% smaller in footprint” relative to Tesla Model 3, with the same interior volume, Barel claims. The business plan would rely mainly on supplying its design to different companies, ranging from auto and truck manufacturers to delivery and logistics companies, that he declined to identify.&nbsp;



To date, REE has raised “about $100 million” from investors and automotive partners, Barel said, without elaborating. That’s more than double the $40.2 million the company had raised through its Series C round in 2018, according to Crunchbase. Additional fundraising is planned for 2020, though he didn’t provide details.&nbsp;



If REE or other startups can bring viable platforms to market, demand could be strong, says Gartner&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/gartner" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IT</a>&nbsp;transportation tech analyst Mike Ramsey. “There&#8217;s a lot of reasons to think that this would be super appealing. You&#8217;ve opened up the world of automakers very large, potentially, you know, with this platform approach,” he said. “But it does still require a lot of additional work–the crash testing, the assembly system and everything needed to support it.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Whether REE’s approach works in the real world remains to be seen, but it’s an approach that could help speed the slow shift away from conventional internal combustion engine designs if it helps make EVs easier to build and much cheaper. Barel sees flat platforms as doing just that.&nbsp;



“To keep on building vehicles the same way we’ve been doing it for a hundred years doesn&#8217;t make a lot of sense.”



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&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/">Alan Ohnsman</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/transportation">Transportation</a>

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A Bottom-Up Approach To Cheaper, Next-Gen Electric Vehicles

<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/brandvoicelogo.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-37005" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/brandvoicelogo-300x27.png" alt="" width="300" height="27" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/brandvoicelogo-300x27.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/brandvoicelogo-600x55.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/brandvoicelogo-768x70.png 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/brandvoicelogo-1024x94.png 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/brandvoicelogo.png 1259w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>
This content is brought to you by Land Rover
• Discovery Sport topped Land Rover sales chart in 2017, selling 126,078 units 
• Record-breaking single-year sales for any Land Rover in the past 70 years 
• Special edition celebrates success of Land Rover’s fastest-selling SUV
South Africa, 30 May 2018 – Land Rover has enhanced its record-breaking Discovery Sport range with a new special edition.
The new Landmark Edition salutes Discovery Sport&#8217;s success as the fastest-selling Land Rover of all time – coinciding with the brand&#8217;s year-long 70th anniversary celebrations. The Landmark comes in a unique colour and trim combination, and is available with the Td4 132kW diesel 2.0-litre Ingenium engine.
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Finbar McFall, Global Product Marketing Director, said: 
“The Discovery Sport is loved by customers because it demonstrates the breadth of Land Rover’s ability, offering unrivalled all-terrain capability with the versatility for up to seven people and a premium interior. We have sold more than 350,000 Discovery Sports globally since its introduction in 2014, with 126,078 models sold in 2017 – the best single-model annual sales in Land Rover’s 70-year history.”
The first model to be built on Land Rover’s 70th birthday on 30 April was a Discovery Sport, at Land Rover’s Halewood plant in Merseyside. This vehicle will be used to support a number of projects in 2018, starting with a community resilience project in Scotland which will be announced in June.
The Discovery Sport Landmark is available in three colours: Narvik Black, Corris Grey and Yulong White, all crowned with a Carpathian Grey contrast roof. It features a sporty and dynamic front bumper, with Graphite Atlas exterior accents and 19 inch Style 521 ‘Mantis’ wheels in Gloss Dark Grey. The interior features Ebony grained leather seats and an Ebony headliner, complemented by dark grey aluminium finishers around the centre stack.
The Land Rover Discovery Sport Landmark Edition will be available from September 2018.
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About Land Rover
Since 1948 Land Rover has been manufacturing authentic 4x4s that represent true &#8216;breadth of capability&#8217; across the model range. Defender, Discovery, Discovery Sport, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover, Range Rover Velar and Range Rover Evoque each define the world&#8217;s SUV sectors, with 80 per cent of this model range exported to over 100 countries.

Land-Rover

New Landmark For Chart-Topping Discovery Sport

Ask an American what type of vehicle they prefer and most will say &#8220;SUV&#8221; or &#8220;crossover.&#8221; Increasingly that&#8217;s true around the globe, too. With more fuel-efficient engines and lots of flexibility, utility vehicles are fast becoming the world&#8217;s favorite family car.
SUV sales rose 12% globally in 2017, outpacing the overall industry, which rose 3%. Traditional passenger car sales, meanwhile, fell 2%, according to industry consultant LMC Automotive. And that trend&#8217;s been happening for a while: Since 2013, SUV sales are up 87% and car sales are down 8%, says LMC.
The market shift is unmistakable, but for now, at least, small, economical sedans still outsell SUVs on a worldwide basis.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/life/2017/10/13/honed-honda/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Honed Honda</a>
The most popular car in the world &#8211; of all time, in fact, &#8211; is the Toyota Corolla, with more than 43 million units sold worldwide since 1966. It&#8217;s built at 16 plants worldwide, including Toyota plants in Mississippi and Canada. Toyota sold 1,160,495 units of the efficient and reliable compact in 2017, easily beating the Honda Civic and Volkswagen Golf, ranked 2nd and 3rd, which sold 833,017 and 788,044 vehicles, respectively, according to LMC data.
But it&#8217;s worth noting that an SUV, Toyota&#8217;s RAV4, almost broke into the top three with global sales of 786,580 units. Two other SUVs, the Honda CR-V and Ford Escape, also made the top 10. Ford&#8217;s F-Series pickups were also among the top sellers, primarily due to their popularity in North America.
&#8220;Globally, small cars still win when you look at the volume because they dominate many markets,&#8221; said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of global forecasting at LMC. But the growth of SUVs is a worldwide trend that&#8217;s picking up steam. &#8220;Back in 2013 when we did this, there were only four SUVs in the top 20. In 2017, that number grew to seven and we see continued growth ahead.&#8221;
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/life/2017/10/02/concept-car-captivates/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: A Concept Car That Captivates</a>
Other SUVs in the Top 20 include the Nissan Qashqai (No. 12), Hyundai Tuscon (No. 16), Volkswagen Tiguan (No. 17) and China&#8217;s Great Wall Motors&#8217; Haval H6 (No. 20).
Click <a href="https://www.forbes.com/pictures/5a539935a7ea431690104625/the-worlds-best-selling-c/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> for a full list of the world&#8217;s 20 most popular vehicles. &#8211; Written by <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-ga-track="contrib block byline">Joann Muller</a>, FORBES STAFF

The World’s Most Popular Cars In 2017 Included Fewer Cars, More SUVs

The first time you notice the new Porsche Panamera will probably be from behind. Not just because it&#8217;s rather quick off the lights, but the design team has done some remarkable aluminum surgery.
My take at the original launch of this incredibly roomy sports car was that the front was very attractive and 911-ish with a few botox injections and the rear end was&#8230; well&#8230; a touch Japanese of yesteryear and not the most beautiful bum on the block.
A few years ago, the controversial rump (almost as famous as J.Lo) got some visual liposuction with the taillights flattened and enlarged, along with a bigger back window and some complicated adjustments to the bum-per.
And while Chief Designer at Porsche, Michael Mauer, might argue that he was reliving the 928 era, the latest <a href="http://www.porsche.com/usa/models/panamera/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Panamera</a> is now the complete looker that we tend to expect from the Stuttgart stable where the cars are sculpted rather than designed.
Horizontal graphics visually widen the car, which is lower (without sacrificing rear headroom) and longer. But, you only realize that this is a genuine four-seater when you try to sneak into a tight parking spot.
We’re not talking about a pair of Pekinese on the way to the parlour… we mean adults, six-footers, sitting comfortably in the back with their knees below their ears.
But while Meghan Trainor might say it&#8217;s all about that bass, the attention to the rear end is a total disservice to the Porsche team which has been so energetic and visionary in producing a vehicle where virtually only the badge remains the same.
And that vision is exemplified when you first glance around the interior. Previously you may have been impressed by the V-shaped array of controls waiting for a flick from your forefinger. Now you are faced with sleek black touch screens which burst into life when you ignite the turbo.
What we probably have in common is an intense dislike for lengthy handover explanations when we take delivery of a fresh steed. But this is one case where you WILL need a 101. It is a bewildering experience getting to know your way around that cyber cockpit with more options than you can shake a selfie stick at.
It really is just a template for you to personalize the various screens and move the selected info to where you want it. So you may opt to simplify your drive style and leave out the G-Force and All-Wheel-Drive Percentage displays!
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/sport/2017/05/01/savior-giulia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Savior Giulia</a>
The central analog tachometer is flanked by two 7.0-inch screens. These can be programmed to resemble the five round gauges in a traditional Porsche instrument panel, or you can choose to fill one side entirely with the navigation map.
A 12.3-inch touchscreen, with Apple CarPlay capability, is in charge of infotainment selections.
It does seem like techno overkill to change the flow on the central air vent on a touch screen but there are manual overrides for the fan and temperature. Does it all work? To be honest it would take more than a four-day test drive to come to any conclusion. But the shiny screens were getting friendlier by the day.
If you hanker for the bygone era, there is an analogue clock perched anachronistically on the top of the dash and buttons aplenty on the sensually shaped steering wheel.
<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2016/09/01/can-ferrari-perfect/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Can A Ferrari Be Too Perfect?</a>
The petrol heads may wax on about bhp, rpm and Newton meters, but I would think most Panamera buyers prefer beauty and brains to brawn and aren’t buying this elegant sports limo to dice on city streets.
But the power train and suspension mods will provide the performance right for you. “There are new engines, a new chassis, and new electronics, and everything conspires to make it much sportier, but still very much a luxury sedan,” says Gernot Döllner, Porsche’s head of product design.
Getting back into the boiler room, Porsche make brilliant engines and there is a full range to take you from a mild heart flutter to serious adrenalin overload. And they have all been engineered to the magical new era formula of being lighter, more powerful, less fuel hungry and with lower emissions.
<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2015/06/01/4c-the-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">4C The Future</a>
They boast the brand’s new “hot vee” design.
“It adopts a ‘hot vee’ layout with the turbochargers in the engine&#8217;s valley. This setup allows for a short run from the exhaust manifold for minimal lag, which is further reduced by the twin-scroll turbos.”
Don’t worry – I don’t understand it either!
What I could feel by the seat of my pants is that the Audi-developed 2.9-liter V-6 Turbo, assisted by the new 8-speed gearbox, propels the Panamera 4S to 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds.
The 4S will set you back $123,000. Throw in an extra $70,000 and you can be on the Panamera Turbo rocket ship with a 4-liter V-8 that blitzes you to the mark in a mere 3.6 seconds.
The mention of dollars is a sharp reminder that global car sales across all brands have not looked all that rosy for a couple of years and South Africa’s new car sales have so far lagged slightly behind 2016’s modest results.
<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/sport/2013/11/01/family-car-packs-punch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">A Family Car That Packs A Punch</a>
Yet Porsche increased its global sales figures for 2016 to a record total of 237,778 units.
The key drivers of this growth were Europe, the USA and China and the models leading the assault were the Macan and the new 718 Boxter. But the Panamera was definitely in the fray to provide an added boost.
And locally Porsche, the most profitable car per unit in the world, is a strong contender among the niche brands.
According to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa, the Porsche Cayenne, selling an impressive 576 units, was the leader of the Porsche pack. The Boxter/Cayman combo waded in with 300 and 296 orders for the legendary 911 found breathless new owners.
The Macan sold a relatively modest 217 units but the facelift is waiting in the wings. And the reason for low Panamera sales last year (just 20) was also the anticipation of the G2 as it is known in the trade.
So according to the NAAMSA figures, a total of 1,409 new Porsches were sold in South Africa in 2016.
“Sales figures are not the key focus though, rather being customer focused and exceeding service expectations on every contact level,” says diplomatic Public Relations Manager Christo Kruger.
“Panamera is a luxury saloon, with a clear distinction – being the sportiest offering in the segment and offering exceptional quality and driver interaction.”
Porsche are also taking their offering into the continent with official dealerships in Angola, Kenya and Ghana. As with all Porsches, the Panamera comes with a three-year unlimited mileage warranty which can be extended.
Is the new Porsche Panamera the right choice for your new family saloon?
If you like a sporting drive rather than a stiff upper lip, and need to take a couple of kids to school, I wouldn&#8217;t think twice! &#8211; Written by Derek Watts

Porsche Panamera: Kicking Ass With A New Boot

It’s a big claim and these two entrepreneurs are sticking to it. Fernando Pinheiro and Michael Muller started an online shop to sell your secondhand car – that they say will take you 30 minutes – after they got screwed over trying to sell their own.
“Mike and I both had really really bad experiences and that’s why we wanted to start this business,” says Pinheiro.
Hence CarZar was born. Their business model is simple; fill an online form which uses national data and CarZar’s very own algorithm to find a price. If you accept the price, CarZar sends over an inspector and 30 minutes later, you have cash in hand.
It all came the hard way.
“I was moving from Cape Town to Johannesburg on a new job. I tried to sell my car privately online to get a higher price,” says Muller.
“It was a BMW 3 series, a 1996 model – I called it White Lightning. It had at some point overheated badly, and according to my mechanic it had put strain on the whole cooling system. So every month or two one of those parts would break,” says Muller.
It took weeks of wheeling and dealing online until Muller was willing to meet a buyer for R25,000 ($1,800).
“We met outside in some car park in Milnerton, with a dicey pub and an internet café. When we got there, he offered me R5,000 ($360) less, which was 20% of the car value. I rejected the offer.”
At this point Muller was in a fix. He was leaving for Johannesburg the next day.
“I didn’t have more time to go and find more people. He was an ugly guy. He was rude to me and then he had offered to pay less than what we had agreed upon. I really didnt want to sell him my car. As I stood on the pavement watching this guy pull off, I flagged him down and said fine.”
“We walked into the cafe where we made the transfer. I watched him do it, and at the time I hoped he was doing it. You still never know. I had to take the risk. It was really ugly. But the transfer went through. It was the biggest transaction I had made in my life and it had been a complete failure.”
Pinheiro too had trouble getting anyone to buy his car. Having moved to South Africa from Brazil, he bought a secondhand Chevrolet from a dealer when he worked as an engineer consulting for firms Engevix and Passarelli.
“I remember the smile of the dealer who I bought the Chev from. His face lit up. Once I bought it I remember looking at it covered in dust and thinking I had paid a good price for it. But, when I tried to sell it, I visited eight dealerships and none of them wanted to touch it. One would maybe accept it as trade-in. I’m still driving it to this day,” says Pinheiro.
With their bad experiences fresh on their minds the two teamed up to look for ways around it online. Pinheiro looked back to Brazil.
“I saw the same business model being implemented in my country, Brazil. I knew one of the founders and it seemed to me like a very good idea,” says Pinheiro.
Muller, who had quit his corporate chartered accountant job at McKinsey &amp; Company, in Johannesburg, and returned to Cape Town, was now designing a hotel app in the same building as Pinheiro. Pinheiro convinced Muller that cars and online sales were the better option.
“We did some basic market research. We noticed a huge space for innovation and space for improvement in trade in the auto trade industry. I needed a bigger pool of qualification which is where Michael came in,” says Pinheiro.
“South Africans are getting more used to online internet services to buy stuff. In our specific case, we noticed most of our traffic is coming the age between 18 and 35 years, which is quite expected. What we also want to achieve is those ages between 35 and 65 years old, normally unused to selling cars in different ways, those that don’t use the internet or don’t care.”
With a R3-million ($220,000) investment from Silvertree Internet Holdings, a tech startup company based in Cape Town, CarZar launched in April. It saw 6,000 inspections in just eight months.
“You need to sell the cars quickly so you don’t need such large amounts of capital. If you can turn over that car in three days then you can turn over the capital quicker,” says Muller.
“There is one group of customers who think this is a great product. Then there is another group that aren’t satisfied with the price. What people often forget, the dealer needs to recondition the car. Fix it up. In a private sale you don’t need that. Then the dealer needs to house this car on their floor and get someone to come and buy it.”
Their first hurdle was dealing with the dealers.
“When we started out we struggled to sell the cars. Car dealers are particularly nervous guys; it took a while to gain their confidence. When we first did the market research they tell you they are desperately short of cars. But then you take them a car and they look at it and say it’s not so great,” says Muller.
Their first experience selling a car was also a learning curve.
“We thought it looked nice, we had no idea what we were doing. It was a 2009 white Polo. The guy didn’t want to give us the documents of the car. Once we tried to sell the car to the dealers, we had a horrible surprise. We were actually trying to sell ‘lemons’ to the dealers. The car was totally f***ed,” says Pinheiro.
They call them lemons in the car industry – cars so bad they leave a sour taste in the mouth.
“After the dealers pointed it out to us it was clear. You can get a car that looks really neat and if there is structural damage it’s worthless,” says Muller.
“You can pay top-dollar price for a car that’s worth half of it,” says Pinheiro.
Other than cars that leave a sour taste, the two entrepreneurs also have the challenges of building an online business. They complain there aren’t enough qualified programmers.
“We’ve had job recruitment agencies looking for a year and we just can’t find guys. It’s been a real strain. We need web developers. It’s a huge gap. This will be a trend for the future and it could make South Africa a really power internet space if you get to the source and solve the lack of developers. There are a lot of entrepreneurs who want to do a lot of stuff, they even have access to capital but they can’t find the helpers,” says Muller.
“In the past when I was a kid normally would go to specialized English schools, after school. What’s happening in Brazil now is parents are sending their kids to learn how to code. These kids are 10 years old and it’s the future. Learning how to code is just as important as learning how to speak English,” says Pinheiro.
Experience talks. Tyre kickers and time wasters walk.

We’ll Buy Your Car  In 30 Minutes

In 1967, there was growing divergence between two parts of Nigeria. Biafra, a secessionist state in south eastern Nigeria, at the time represented the nationalist aspirations of the Igbo people, whose leadership felt they could no longer coexist with the federal government. The desire for a separate state led to up to 30,000 Igbos being killed and around a million refugees fleeing to their homeland in the east. Anambra, the eighth most populated state of Nigeria, provided the base for dangerous relief flights loaded with food and supplies for the war-torn Biafran population. The area was also home to Cosmas Maduka, who was only six years old at the height of the civil war.
“We had a bunker outside our house which we ran into during times where the military opened fire and dropped bombs with their fighter jets. We did not know whether we were going to survive to see the following day,”
says Maduka.
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Once, while on his way to the market, soldiers opened fire, killing a large number of civilians. Maduka narrowly escaped. In a bid to protect her children, Maduka’s mother sent him away to live with his grandparents before he later embarked on the journey that would see him become one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
Maduka is the President and Chairman of Coscharis Group, franchise holders of over eight automobile brands and one of the largest distributors of spare car parts in Nigeria. The company also has interests in real estate, banking, technology, medical equipment, petrochemicals, elevators and agriculture.
Like his early childhood, getting his business to this point has been tough. While talking to FORBES AFRICA in his gigantic dealership, which houses over 300 luxury car brands, he is quick to credit someone else for
his success.
“My mother was the lady who inspired me to greatness. At a young age in my life, she looked at me and told me I am going to be successful. She said people will always like me and people will struggle to say no to me,” says Maduka.
It’s easy to see why. He is composed as he sports his trademark Jesus broche. He has a quiet confidence about him without being arrogant. His mother’s “indoctrination” would later be the impetus he needed to turn N200 ($1) into a $500-million conglomerate.
On average the company sells more than 400 cars per month with prices around N150 million ($752,787) for the top end of its luxury fleet, which includes Rolls Royce, BMW, Jaguar, Range Rover and Ford. This year, the company partnered with Ford to build one of the largest manufacturing plants on the continent for its pickup trucks.
Coscharis’ medical supplies business represents GE Healthcare, Philips and Siemens in Nigeria. Coscharis also holds the number two position in the ICT market through its own brand, Coscharis Technologies Limited, and their pool of partners which includes HP, Microsoft and Lenovo. Coscharis Technologies provides hardware and software applications to organizations.
Maduka’s success is all the more remarkable when you consider he lost his father when he was a toddler.
“The best I knew of my father was the day I saw a man lying lifelessly in a suit&#8230; It was like a festival, people were exceptionally kind to me that day and whatever I asked for, I got,” he says.
The four-year-old Maduka didn’t know it was his father’s funeral. The celebrations ceased immediately after this day. Maduka started street hawking to provide for his family. Every morning at 5AM, Maduka would wake up to sell bean cakes with his older brother, Pius, to generate money for the family. True to his mother’s prophecies, Maduka was a better salesman than his brother. As a result, his mother, who could no longer afford the tuition fees for both brothers, took Maduka out of school at the age of six.
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At the age of seven and no longer attending school, Maduka was sent to live with his uncle and serve as an apprentice selling motorcycle parts. It was not a conventional apprenticeship. Firstly, Maduka worked for seven years without pay. Secondly, the shop floor that Maduka traded on during the day would be transformed into his bedroom at night. He would wake up early in the morning to have his shower on the street before customers arrived and then proceed to manage the shop by himself with occasional supervision from his uncle.
In most countries, these conditions would constitute some form of breach of child labor laws. Maduka has a different take on the experience.
“I believe this was the best university any young man can go to because it was a system where there was no contractual agreement. If you did not behave yourself, you were sent back home to the village, but if you performed, your master would give you start-up capital for your own business at the end of your apprenticeship,” he says.
By the fifth year of his apprenticeship at the age of 13, Maduka had already proven that he had what it took to run a business on his own and was consequently placed in a new branch to manage. In Nigeria, as with many African countries, entrepreneurs are trained by trade schools, craft centers and vocational institutes. Proprietors in the small-scale industries also offer training programs based on an apprenticeship system. Whereas the government-established institutions are formal, apprenticeship training in the private sector is often informal. In lieu of this, there is an ongoing debate as to which system yields the best results. Maduka favors apprenticeship.
“I believe apprenticeship is the best university to go to. If you give a formally educated person N1 million and an apprentice N100, 000, I believe in five years, the apprentice will be able to catch up to the university student and overtake him,” he says.
Maduka learned everything about the automotive components industry outside the classroom. He learned about the internal combustion of an engine, carburettors and centrifugal regulators. He also discovered how to provide the best service to clients and where to go to get the best deals as a reseller.
He understood the power of building a trustworthy reputation with your buyers. He knew about cost price and profit margins and ensured the shop was always stocked with the products the customers often needed. That learning process ended when, due to his newly found Christian faith, Maduka closed his uncle’s store so he could fast for three days. He was immediately fired and, to Maduka’s surprise, his severance package after seven years of hard work was less than a mere $400.
“I looked at my uncle in the face and said to him I deserve something better than this, five years from now, you will regret making this decision,” says Maduka.
Adversity is a constant companion for entrepreneurs, but the successful ones learn to push through tough times. Maduka outlined three key targets for himself after being dismissed by his uncle.
“I wanted to get married before I turned 20, have children by 22 and become a millionaire by 24,” he says.
Maduka immediately put his plan into action. He formed a new company, with his brother, called Maduka Brothers, continuing to trade in automobile parts. The pair sourced parts from Lagos and resold them in eastern Nigeria. In just under a year, the brothers went their separate ways due to differing opinions on how the business’ money should be spent. After the split, the siblings became competitors with automotive shops across the road from each other. However, the apprenticeship experience Maduka had gave him an advantage over his brother.
“In business, knowing where to buy is just as important as selling. You need to buy well to sell well and I had a good relationship with all the major wholesalers,” says Maduka.
He used his relationship with large wholesalers to get his supplies at a competitive rate. Within a week, Maduka was selling enough components to get himself a three-bedroom apartment – by the age of 17. With the apartment secured, Maduka set the groundwork to achieve his first goal. At the age of 18, he met a woman who would become integral to the Coscharis empire.
“Her name was Charity and we met in church. I immediately knew she was the one. I asked for her hand in marriage and, after thinking about it for some time, she accepted.”
Maduka got married at the age of 19 and made his first million, as predicted, by the age of 24. The name of his company, Coscharis, was born by combining his name, Cosmas, and the name of the second woman he credits with all his success, Charity. Today, the group has more than 26 branches nationwide, with a presence in Ghana, Gabon and Côte d’Ivoire.
The automobile business of Coscharis Group started in 1983 when the company was incorporated with the business of importation and distribution of automotive parts and accessories of Japanese vehicles. The decision to incorporate the car business provided the breakthrough Coscharis Group needed. At a time where many businesses were choosing to remain sole proprietorships to avoid the bureaucracy and complex framework of a limited company, Maduka decided to break convention. That decision paid off.
“In 1983, the federal government of Nigeria decided to give import licenses only to motor companies and, because I had incorporated Coscharis, they placed me among multinationals like Leventis, even though it was only me and my wife,” says Maduka.
The import licenses granted to Coscharis was crucial. The Nigerian economy back then was dependent on external sources. By 1980, imports had reached a level equivalent to a quarter of the GDP. The federal government deficits had increased from $1.5 million in 1970 to $17.6 million in 1978. Nigeria’s total outstanding debt had reached the $2 billion mark by 1980. These dire economic conditions presented an opportunity for Maduka in a climate where other businesses were closing.
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“It was a seller’s market then because there was scarcity of products. In every difficult situation, an entrepreneur knows that his destiny is not in the hands of his state but in his own hands, he creates his own opportunities,” he says.
Maduka was making margins as high as 200% during this time. The import license gave him protection against the military-run government’s scrutiny and he was able to capitalize on this to grow his business. Maduka had a clear vision for his company from the onset. In the early seventies, the Nigerian motor industry had a lot of major players. Coscharis had to find a way to differentiate itself.
“Leventis was one of the foremost automobile sellers, followed by Mandilas, who were known for their excellent service. We also had some Peugeot dealers&#8230; By the eighties, almost all these companies collapsed and cars were being sold under trees with no service centers.”
Coscharis was responsible for revolutionizing the automobile industry in Nigeria by building showrooms fully equipped with in-house service centers. A second factor for Coscharis was its philosophy towards its employees. Being an entrepreneur at heart, Maduka only hired individuals with strong business acumen to ensure that the culture of innovation and competitiveness continued with the group. Maduka credits this strategy for the success of the group. The company currently has more than N50 billion ($250 million) in shareholder funds, generated in just under 40 years.
Overcoming adversity has always been one of Maduka’s strengths. Four years ago, he was faced with a scandal that threatened to scupper everything he had worked so hard for. In what he considers his worst day in business, Maduka was left with a devastating financial burden of N22.4 billion ($113 million) when he secured a loan for a business associate. At the time, Maduka was on the board, and owned a 25% equity stake, of Access Bank. He was approached by Ifeanyi Uba, the CEO of Capital Oil, for a loan to import petroleum premium spirit. After sympathizing with Ifeanyi’s inability to raise capital to save his business, Maduka took a calculated risk.
“I have never defaulted on any loans. Every bank works with Coscharis at an open credit and we are one of the few companies in Nigeria who have that relationship due to our strong financial position,” says Maduka.
He guaranteed the loan of $278 million for Ifeanyi to secure his goods, which was never repaid. In what was a huge scandal at the time, Coscharis had to repay the debt.
“I don’t think even Bill Gates can walk away from $150 million without it having an effect on him,” says Maduka.
Fortunately, the investments the organization had already made were enough to absorb the heavy shock.
Today, there is a new strategy in place. Maduka has set his organization the target of turning over a billion dollars in the next five years. Ever the entrepreneur, he has identified key sectors to help him achieve this goal. One of these is agriculture.
“Nigeria spent over $3 billion to import rice; almost 90 percent of Nigerians eat rice and we see an opportunity to create a billion-dollar business in rice over the next three years,” he says.
The current government supports Maduka’s decision and has made attempts to curb the importation of rice by raising the duty of the crop to 100%. Coscharis has acquired more than 3,000 hectares of land in Anambra State and is due to harvest the first batch.
These days, life is very different for Maduka. He has six children, two of whom are involved in the Coscharis Group. His family might not exist, however, if it was up to Charity’s uncle.
“When I told her family about my intentions to marry Charity, her uncle was so annoyed he got his gun and shot at me,” says Maduka. Luckily, he missed.
He is a firm believer in each one of his children receiving a Nigerian education before progressing to the classrooms of the United States. This way none of the children will forget their roots.
Maduka is passionate about the potential in Africa’s largest economy.
“Ten years ago, the Dangote you see today was not the same back then. The government showed goodwill and supported Dangote and today Nigeria will be a net exporter of cement instead of being an importer. Vodacom came into Nigeria and left, and now they are trying hard to return to the market without any success. A subsidiary company of a South African independent company, MTN Nigeria, has more turnover than its parent company. The potential in the Nigerian market is untapped. Saudi Arabia is selling over 150,000 units of Ford with a small population.”
“If we unleash the potential of this industry, and the government handles corruption, the true potential of this market will be unmatched anywhere in the world.”
If Nigeria does reach this potential, Maduka will be on hand to make the most out of it.

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The $500-Million Survivor

June 3, 2015 is a day etched into the memory of Ghanaians. It is a day that floods swept through Accra in hours, claiming more than 200 lives, gutting buildings, destroying cars and setting off a devastating explosion at a petrol station.
Similar to the previous days, it started raining at dawn. On this particular day, I remember stepping out of my flat and saw rainfall heavier than usual. I rushed to the car ready to face the day with my designated driver, my manager. We were running late for our meetings and decided on a route that would save time, the Kwame Nkrumah Circle. The already eroded roads had started forming pools and the rain made it impossible to see clearly. Through my impaired vision, I could see the heavy wind blow billboards over and informal traders scurry to nearby shelters to escape the incessant thrashing of the downfall.
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The police officers who normally stood on the roadside to do the job of the faulty traffic lights had chosen to neglect their post. This created a massive jam.
As we battled through the sluggish traffic, chaos erupted and a mass of people ran towards us in panic. Amid the confusion, we decided to follow suit and turn the car around but the congestion made it impossible. Up ahead, I saw cars floating in the murky water that was overflowing from the poorly built drainage systems. Across the road, a woman running towards shelter with her baby, lost her footing in the thigh-high water and disappeared. Two men dived in to try and save them.
Panic set in and I realized all the cars around us had suddenly become floatation devices. We decided to make a dash for it but the doors were jammed. My manager was yelling for help but gave up. As the cold water rushed in the car, my manager frantically tried to break the window. Our fear rose with the water.
On my left, I saw two women vanish under the water as they were hit by a floating car. I thought to myself, “this is it Peace, get ready to die.” As the water reached waist level, the welcome sound of shattering glass came. Three young men had smashed the back window and were yelling for us to climb out. The air was heavy with trepidation. People on the rooftops were screaming out directions to people on the street turned rescuers. We dragged our feet through the gushing water and howling wind to reach safety. Some were standing on the roofs of their cars, trying to use them as lifeboats.
As we continued moving away from the car, I lost my footing, on what was once a sturdy pavement, into what felt like a bottomless pit. I had dropped into an open gutter and felt a sharp pain in my back. The brown water turned red as everything faded to black.
I woke up in a hospital bed. My manager, who helped save me, told me that I fell in a ditch, was suspended by barbed wire and impaled by a floating car part. A couple of stitches, several staples and two blood transfusions later, I am lucky to be able to recount the event.
The next day, a stone’s throw from where we almost died, many others did. A petrol station was engulfed in flames following an explosion. It is thought that petrol seeped into the flood water and was ignited by a spark from a generator. It resulted in the deaths of more than 200 people sheltering from torrential rain. I wondered if it had been any of the women I saw the day before, the women who believed they had made it to safety.
I will never forget these days. I know how close I came to joining the hundreds that lost their lives. I am both angry and sad. I’m angry because there is no reason that proper drainage systems could not have been built in an area which has a history of flooding. I’m sad because I know the problem will not be solved soon.
I am also proud to be a Ghanaian. I witnessed heroism from strangers who risked their lives to save people they did not know. I saw a community pull together to fight for the most fundamental human right, the right to life. The media might forget these tragedies, I won’t. To those unsung heroes, Ghana is forever indebted to you.

Suspended By Barbed Wire AND Impaled On A Car Part

When it comes to an Aston Martin you immediately think of noble British heritage, breathtaking design, stellar racing pedigree, unparalleled beauty and, of course, James Bond.
The Aston Martin Rapide S ticks the boxes for all of these categories. It is one of the most provocative cars I’ve ever laid eyes on. It is modern yet proudly asserts its heritage. It’s bold but not obnoxious; commanding but not dictatorial; and proud but not arrogant. It turns heads and causes hearts to flutter.
The Rapide S is almost entirely handcrafted. Every stitch in the seats and every inch of the dashboard, steering wheel and door inlays have been tirelessly and carefully sewn by human hands. Some of the aluminum body panels have been molded in the same way. The engine, similar to that of the Mercedes AMG, has been entirely put together by one person. The leather on the sumptuous seats is from the famous Bridge Of Weir leather company. They farm their herds of cattle in a location in Scotland where the conditions are so perfect that the cows are blemish-free.
The interior spec options include every type of trim – from bamboo, mahogany or walnut woods to carbon fiber woven panels. The Aston Martin key fob is topped by a Swarovski crystal, within which is embedded the Aston Martin logo. The badges that carry the same logo and sit gracefully on the boot and bonnet are made by an old and trusted jewelry company. They too, are entirely crafted by hand.
The fairy tale continues when you learn of the Q division – derived from the James Bond movies. This division is where the real magic of craftsmanship happens. Q division offers owners a unique personalization service, where an owner can design the car they have always dreamt about. Obviously the basic mechanical design and architecture of the car won’t change but everything else can. Q by Aston Martin is defined by detail, individuality and design statements. Bronze control rotaries, uniquely crafted carbon fiber fasciae and painted front splitter blades are just some of the options available to create a car that is as unique as its owner.
Amid global pressure to reduce emissions, Aston Martin is adamant that they can lessen their impact on the environment with the use of naturally aspirated motors. In the engine bay of the new Rapide S sits another work of art in the form of a white Aston Martin 6.0 Liter V12 handcrafted engine. It’s the same engine inside the DB9 and Vanquish models, albeit with slightly different outputs. Push the crystal key start button in the middle of the center stack and the car bursts into life like a beast that has just been awakened. The sound is glorious.
Controlling the transmission is done via buttons on the center stack as well. They have graced Aston Martins for some years but they haven’t lost their beauty and add a touch of class to the fairly complex control panel.
In Normal driving mode, the car is exceptionally comfortable; more than you’d expect from a GT car with a V12 engine and intentions of immense performance. The ride is soft and smooth, befitting of a luxury four-door saloon. But the Rapide S is not a saloon; it’s a sportscar that happens to have four doors and four individual seats. When you bury your foot into the floor, the true excellence of that V12 engine is evident. The delivery of power is smooth yet the gathering of pace befuddles the eyes. Again, the soundtrack is spectacular especially as the active bypass valves open in the stainless steel exhausts.
The car will reach speeds close to 306 kilometers per hour, the claimed top speed. It’s a car that involves the driver entirely. You need to rev this car hard in order to truly capitalize on its talents. At times, it feels slower to respond than you’d expect, until you eye the speedometer and realize you’re gathering immense speed. That’s just how the V12 works. 0-100km/h is claimed to take 4.9 seconds.
Switching the adaptive dampers to Sport mode changes the suspension characteristics significantly and the comfort I mentioned before is thrown out the window to make room for an expectedly harder ride and sportier suspension. In Track mode this is even more evident and the car can be thrown around bends with gusto; enough to make you forget that this car is a two-ton machine. It is not as sharp as a Porsche Panamera but it’s certainly in sports car territory. On turn in, you can feel the weight playing against you a little and in hard corners it feels slightly uncomfortable. It’s a car more at home playing the GT game, out on the open road eating up the miles.
The Rapide S costs over $302,000 but one has to wonder if the car really needs to be measured in numbers. Possibly not. It plays in a league that is as much about engineering as it is about romance.
It does have some flaws though. The rear is very cramped and there are also varying levels of quality on the central console. There are some beautifully crafted buttons that sit in the middle of material that is on the opposite end of the quality scale.
The Aston Martin Rapide S is a car that has a sense of occasion; a car that is more about leaving and arriving, a car full of magnificence that leaves you in awe. It should be described as a classy choice; a car that you know is better without any logical explanation; the car you buy with your heart rather than your head.

A Car For Your Heart,  Not Your Head

The warm sun fell on my skin and I woke up. The air was still. Only the sound of The Pride of Africa gliding over the train tracks could be heard. I smiled, stretched and then opened the window. The sun hovered over the hills as its rays gently grazed the vast fields of green. We passed abandoned brick houses on farms, cows grazing the fields and a few windmills which caught the gentle breeze. The scenery was calm. It made me forget the bumpy ride which kept us awake the night before.
The evening got off to a good start. It was our first night of the three day trip from Pretoria to Cape Town on The Pride of Africa, one of several Rovos Rail trains. My colleague, Lerato Seko, and I were among the 63 passengers, from around the world, on board. The train consists of 36 suites, 20 carts, two dinning cars, one lounge and an observation deck which has the best views on board. The suites range between R14,300 ($1,300) and R28,600 ($2,600).
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During the day, the dress code was smart-casual; at night it was formal. With the sounds of classical music and laughter in the background, we were served a four-course meal, each paired with finely selected South African wine. The two of us can hardly taste the difference between a cabernet sauvignon and merlot but the wine connoisseur, Adam, made it his personal duty to educate us.
After dinner we became acquainted with some of the other passengers, mostly older couples and two newlyweds on their honeymoon. As South Africans, we became designated tour guides to the international tourists, offering advice on things to do and places to see. A few passengers asked to take pictures with us, perhaps because we were the only travelers of color on board.
That night, as I lay in bed, I looked up at the magnificent night sky and was awestruck by the clarity of all the constellations; I only wished I knew how to identify them. In Johannesburg you can barely see the Southern Cross.
We were sound asleep when we were harshly woken by the jolts of the train traveling at its maximum speed of 60 kilometers per hour. We felt every movement, every turn and every stop. This happened every hour or so and we were convinced that we weren’t going to get any sleep on the trip. In the morning we were greeted by warm smiles from guests who seemed to have slept like babies. I thought it was only us who had felt the thumps in the night but I was relieved to hear another lady say she placed a chair in front of her bed to prevent her from falling.
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As the day went on, we stopped in Kimberly to see the famous Big Hole. We walked across the bridge, in the scorching heat, to peer into the famous man-made attraction.  In my opinion, they should rename it the Gigantic Hole of Kimberly because it’s 215 meters deep and has a circumference of 1.6 kilometers. We looked down and saw the aqua blue-green water at the base of this massive crater. It’s hard to believe that years ago men from around the world slaved away to dig up rocks, that once cut and polished, would become one of the most valuable diamonds in the world.
We were taken on a tour of the diamond museum where we saw various uncut stones and the Eureka—the first diamond found in South Africa. To my amazement, I learnt that there is no such thing as a black diamond. In fact, black spots found in diamonds decrease their value and are usually cut out.
Our final day began with a five-kilometer walk through open fields to Maaitjiesfontein. After the train dropped us off and steamed away at full speed, I was almost certain we would never see it again. A few kilometers later, and some complaining about our skirts and sandals not being the right attire, we made it. Maaitjiesfontein is a small town situated in the Karoo, Western Cape. The town has 370 residents who are delighted to live in a place where crime is low and everyone knows each other’s name. Some of the main attractions included: a transport museum showcasing vintage trains from 1982, a London double-decker bus which takes people through the town and a coffee house, which when we arrived, seemed like the social place to be. After our visit, we hopped back on the train and began our final leg of the trip.
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Two hours before we arrived in Cape Town, a few passengers met in the observation car at the back of the train. As the mountains and vineyards surrounded us on both sides and the tracks disappeared in the distance, we shared one last glass of champagne and toasted to the journey that was.
Upon arrival, I had a conversation with our cab driver who couldn’t understand why we had traveled by train.
“I don’t get it. It takes two hours by plane and 16 hours by bus, so why did you take a train that takes three days?” he said shaking his head.
I smiled, “Don’t worry; it’s not that kind of a train.”

The $2,000  Train Ticket

Unlike the more glorified test of man and machine (such as Formula One), rally racing has for decades been relegated to an inferior position in the hierarchy of tests of endurance. Yet this demanding sport actually predates F1; finding its roots in 1894 when horseless cart races dominated the city of Paris. Monte Carlo was the scene for the first official rally in 1911 and soon, city-to-city road races sprang up across France and Europe.
These races gave birth to those elements we still enjoy in modern rallying, such as time trials and the use of road books and route notes. Drivers had to weave between pedestrians and animals while covering distances as great as 1,178km—sometimes without any rest periods in between. Safety naturally became an issue, as the clunky vehicles got increasingly faster along those inhospitable tracks. The sport was banned in France for a brief period but soon, purpose-built tracks were developed and the sport came into its own.
A name we now associate with two-wheeled competitions, the Tour de France, began originally for rally drivers and kicked off in 1899. The most famous of all rallying competitions began decades later in 1977. Thierry Sabine was travelling through the Libyan desert on his motorbike when he got lost. Struck by the austerity and beauty of the landscape, he vowed to share his discovery with as many people as possible when he finally made it back to France.
Sabine mapped out a 10,000km route from Europe into Algiers, across Agadez and finishing in Dakar. To mark the birth of the Paris-Dakar rally, he coined the following motto: “A challenge for those who go. A dream for those who stay behind.”  But this competition became a nightmare for 58 competitors who, since the inception of the challenge, lost their lives in pursuit of glory. One of South Africa’s most renowned Paris-Dakar competitors, Alfie Cox (who’d made the transition from bikes to cars), narrowly escaped death in January this year when his Volvo XC60 suffered power-steering failure. The car burst into flames and both Cox and his co-driver, Jürgen Schröder, had to be airlifted from the scene. Unforgiving terrain and mechanical difficulties are not the only threats to competitor safety. The rally had to be cancelled in 2008 due to security issues in Mauritania and the competition shifted to South America in 2009. It has stayed there ever since.
Thanks to its challenging conditions, Africa has hosted some other, perhaps lesser-known events, such as the FIA African Rally Championships (which takes place in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Madagascar), the Kenya Airways East African Safari Classic, and the colloquially-termed Put Foot Rally.
Legend has it that the East African Safari Classic grew out of a conversation motorsport enthusiast Neil Vincent had with his cousin Eric Cecil. Vincent is attributed with saying: “I can imagine nothing more boring than driving round and round the same piece of track. But if you will organize an event where we can get into our cars, slam the door, go halfway across Africa and back, and the first car home is a winner, I’ll be in it.” In 1953, the competition took off under the guise of a tribute to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Put Foot Rally, unlike all the rest, emphasizes the social element rather than competition. It is aimed at bringing attention to tourism in South Africa and an appreciation for the wildlife and natural beauty that make up this fair land. But ultimately, rallying is about rivalry and economics—it’s a proving ground where manufacturers test their latest technology (which we as consumers benefit from). These competitions also generate financial rewards for the local areas hosting them.
Take the Toyota Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race for example, which takes place on June 22-24 every year. Since 1975, this has been considered the ‘Comrades Marathon’ of all off-road events. At the launch of this year’s race, Onkokame Kitso Mokaila, Botswana’s minister for environment, wildlife and tourism, mentioned that the rally contributed “millions of pula” to their country’s economy with the bulk of the money being spent on food, transport, accommodation, entertainment and petrol. Businesses in the vicinity of the race route also mentioned increased sales during the annual event.
The technology required to build a car that’s capable of taking on extreme terrain is simply astonishing and begins with a frame that’s not only lightweight but capable of withstanding severe punishment. The frame doubles up as a roll cage and, according to FIA regulations, needs to be able to withstand up to 16.9 tons for a defined area. Driver and passenger safety of road-going cars has enjoyed many benefits, all as a direct result of the conditions experienced in rally (and other forms of) racing.
Keeping these cars in contact with the roads—where there is one—is the job of the suspension, yet this needs to allow enough ground clearance (spring travel is limited to 250mm) while still maintaining stability. Production cars make use of these developments, but naturally the emphasis here isn’t only on performance but also on ensuring comfort levels as well.
Four-wheel drive is crucial in rallying, yet the Paris-Dakar regulations stipulate that any form of electronic control is prohibited. As a result, manufacturers often opt for viscous locking for the car’s three differentials. One might think that, as these cars can’t travel as fast as their road-going counterparts, aerodynamics wouldn’t be a major factor—it actually is. A rally vehicle’s drag coefficient enjoys the highest priority in the design phase (which is obviously of great importance for road-going cars; ensuring high levels of fuel efficiency), all the while taking into account the need for short overhangs that allow easy entry angles when climbing over hills or obstructions.
Creating downforce, unlike in Formula One, is not a necessity as sand has high rolling resistance. In terms of bodywork, the carbon fiber shell on the 2012 Volkswagen Race Touareg for example, weighs in at a measly 50kg. Carbon fiber has now been extensively used in production cars where performance is key and many modern vehicles now make use of engines machined from lightweight yet durable aluminum.
Weight distribution in terrain that can easily flip a car demands serious attention. Typically, an equal weight distribution is placed over the front and rear axles and fuel tanks are placed very low to assist with an optimal center of gravity. While packing components in as compact a manner as possible, mechanics need to have ease of access to exchange parts or service the cars quickly. Support teams also need to carry as few spares as possible so they can be mobile and efficient.
Tire development goes hand-in-hand with racing and again, translates directly into the types of compounds available for production vehicles. Tires need to be capable of handling rough terrain, while offering resistance to wear-and-tear.
Stopping a standard 4&#215;4 has become easier thanks to the testing that goes on in rally races, which is why disc brakes have become an industry standard rather than the antiquated drum configuration. Thanks to these brave drivers and manufacturers, road-going cars have become exponentially safer and far more capable and will continue to do so in the future.

Pushing The Limits  Of Endurance

The African continent’s population has traditionally been polarized into two opposing groups: the impoverished and the well-heeled, with no socio-economic class to bridge the gap.
According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), the number of Africans who make up the middle class segment of the population increased to 313 million (that’s more than 34%) during the past three decades.  Steady economic growth and a move towards stable, salaried jobs—rather than traditional agricultural activities—have been cited as some of the reasons for the growth.
The AfDB has further stated that: “Over the past decade, despite a continued global food and financial crises, Africa has been growing at an unprecedented rate. There is increased optimism about Africa’s potential to win the fight against poverty even though it may take decades to arrive at that point.”
Rens Rademeyer, general manager of Bentley Motors South Africa, echoes this sentiment. “Bentley South Africa has seen a steady growth in our target market over the last 10 years. The most interesting finding is that we are attracting influential business clients who represent the core of emerging economies. These are individuals involved in the supply of infrastructure solutions, energy, mining and minerals, housing and food.
“There is no doubt that with the economic crisis in Europe and signs of an economic slowdown in the Far East, the rest of the world will look to emerging economies such as South Africa and others in Africa to invest. The steady increase in new customers for the luxury car market gives enough reason to believe that Africa is on track to meet and surpass the growth of other more established economies.”
There is clearly still a huge disparity between the haves and the have-nots. Statistics also indicate there is a ‘floating class’ of people whose hold on their stature is far from concrete. Middle class in African terms has been defined as those people whose annual income is greater than $3,900 (purchasing power), and includes factors such as education, lifestyle and aspirations.
Where the middle classes emergence has been the strongest, is in territories that enjoy a burgeoning private sector, replete with many local entrepreneurs. As a result, North Africa boasts the highest middle class contingent. Tunisia’s concentration stands at 90%, while Morocco and Egypt follow with 85% and 80% respectively (albeit a large number in these countries fall within the floating category).
Growth in the middle class population has been highest in Namibia, Kenya, Botswana, Gabon, South Africa and Ghana while Liberia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Madagascar, Burundi and Malawi represent the weakest African economies.
Africa’s growing middle class has led to an upswing in the consumption and purchasing of goods such as household items as well as leisure and transportation. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, consumer spending in Africa is set to tip the scale at $1.4 trillion in 2020.
There is also growing confidence in the continent, demonstrated in South Africa recently by the entrance of retail giant Wal-Mart. China’s motoring industry hasn’t been shy to take advantage of their gargantuan purchasing power, and have identified Africa, with its wealth of natural resources, as the perfect target for their global expansion.
Jaguar Land Rover South Africa’s managing director, Kevin Flynn, feels that South Africa greatly influences the rate of growth throughout the continent. “The global car industry has identified Africa as an emerging market and is taking the growth in the continent very seriously. South Africa plays a pivotal role in the expansion of this market, as a gateway to the continent, as well as from an investment and infrastructure perspective. Africa will play an increasing role in Jaguar Land Rover’s global strategy as new products come on stream catering for a growing and diversifying customer base.
“Owing to the constant challenges of poverty and unemployment in many countries on the continent, Africa is not expected to experience the massive growth seen in other emerging markets such as China, Russia and India. The continent will, however, provide a completely new customer to the global motor industry—those who are intent on displaying their stature and success while at the same time demanding affordable solutions.”
The phenomenal growth in sales of heavy vehicles in South Africa last year seems to indicate that economic conditions in sub-Saharan Africa are improving dramatically. Medium, heavy and extra heavy commercial vehicle sales notched up an increase of nearly 20%. Tony Twine, an economist at Econometrix, believes the demand for such vehicles stems from the need to transport goods into the rapidly expanding interior to the north of South Africa’s borders. As long as China continues with its demands for African raw materials, Twine believes this trend will continue.
Luxury brands such as BMW, Mercedes and Audi have seen a welcome increase in sales throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The BMW Group experienced a growth of 1,603 units in the last year in this territory, bringing their annual total to 32,890 units. Audi recorded an even higher growth figure of 3,887 (20,344 total units) while Mercedes logged an increase of 441 units (31,575 total units). Interestingly, Lexus actually experienced a decline of some 300 units in sub-Saharan Africa (1,500 total units sold). African sales are still far below those experienced locally, but the trends in South Africa are seemingly being mirrored elsewhere in the continent.
The best-selling BMW in South Africa is the 3-Series, with 11,035 units sold in 2011. This self-same derivative was also the most purchased BMW in Egypt (817 units) and 431 of these vehicles were sold throughout Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Additionally, there seems to be a growing trend towards the purchasing of large 4&#215;4 vehicles. BMW sold 113 and 112 units respectively of their X5 and X6 range in sub-Saharan Africa. This tendency is echoed by Audi’s sales figures. The most popular derivative locally is the A4, which also happens to be the most desirable Audi in Tunisia. In Egypt, Algeria and Morocco, the preferred option is the Q5, closely followed by the A6.
It therefore seems that African future and desires are inextricably interwoven with those of South Africa. The prospect of a mutually-beneficial and successful future, appear to be well underway.

Tag: Cars

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