GMSA launches confidence booster

GM President of African Operations and MD of GMSA, Steve Koch.

During a special media briefing for business writers and motoring editors Steve Koch, GM President of African Operations and MD of GMSA, said the Southern African market had a “bright future” and that GMSA regarded themselves as a leading role player on the African continent.

“We have a good range of products, we are debt free, we have cash in the bank and we have as fantastic dealership network.

“A number of new products are scheduled to be introduced to the local market, including the Hummer V8, Corsa 1.6 Sport 5-door and the Chevrolet Cruze.

“Construction will also commence soon on our multi-million parts distribution centre at Koega, near Port Elizabeth. As far as GMSA is concerned we have become leaner and more cost-effective and our focus is on strengthening our position in South Africa.”

He was confident that the economy was going to stabilise, maybe even by as early as the end of this year.

Meanwhile there was uncertainty in the market, with potential new car buyers not sure whether to buy now or wait for the economy to improve and for confidence to return.

In these tough economic times where jobs were at stake and owners were unsure whether their brand of motor vehicle would still be around in a year or two's time, the new GMSA's “Total Confidence” programme was created to give consumers peace of mind he said.

The key components of the programme are:

• A universal warranty period of five years or 120,000 kilometres, which ever comes first, will be applied to all GM vehicles.
  
• A vehicle payment protection benefit, which applies to all vehicles bought between 4 May 2009 and 31 July 2009. Under this program, if the vehicle owner is retrenched within two years of purchasing the vehicle, GMSA will pay their vehicle finance instalments on their behalf for up to nine months (up to six months for the first retrenchment).
  
• Roadside Assistance which has been extended to five years/120,000 kilometres and which now also includes up to two days safe vehicle storage and up to four days of alternative transportation.

The programme includes all Chevrolet, Opel, Isuzu LCVs, Hummer, and Cadillac vehicles.

Full details of new programme are available at gmtotalconfidence.co.za

In terms of GM's product range the future focus will clearly be on the group's strongest performing brands Chevrolet, Isuzu and Corsa, while a number of Opel models will no longer be imported and Hummer's future presence within the GM stable also not certain.