Mr Mikel Mabasa,
Chief Executive Officer
National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) Block F, Alenti Office Park, 457 Witherite St, The Willows, X82,
Pretoria, 0184 Republic of South Africa
Dear Mr Mabasa
25th September 2020
I was disappointed to read that National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) does not support the work of Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP) and our award‐winning Safer Cars for Africa project which we launched in partnership with the Automobile Association of South Africa (AASA) in 2017. I was even more concerned to see your claim that we have used information provided by NAAMSA “to tarnish and smear the reputation of our members, without even giving them the right of response”. This is complete nonsense and displays a woeful ignorance on your part of the role and working practices of new car assessment programmes (NCAPs).
As your members know very well Global NCAP’s star rating assessments are carried out under protocols that are commonly used by NCAPs around the world. Manufacturers are informed in advance of the test, invited to attend and given the opportunity to comment on the results before publication. It is surprising you are not aware of this and I would advise that you check with the headquarters of your member companies before making any further spurious and irresponsible claims about our work.
NCAPs serves as an independent source of consumer information successfully building a global market for safer vehicles. Last month NCAPs were endorsed by the UN General Assembly in a resolution mandating a new Decade of Action aiming to halve road deaths by 2030 – see resolution A/RES/74/299 attached. This important resolution calls on Member States “to implement United Nations vehicle safety regulations or equivalent national standards to ensure that all new motor vehicles meet applicable minimum regulations for the protection of occupants and other road users, with seat belts, airbags and active safety systems fitted as standard equipment”. The General Assembly also recommends that Member States “provide consumer information on vehicle safety through new car assessment programmes that are independent from vehicle manufacturers”. The General Assembly’s new resolution was, inter alia, sponsored by the Government of South Africa. I hope, therefore, that NAAMSA will not hesitate to unequivocally endorse it.
Since the launch of the Safer Cars for Africa project we have seen a range of good and poor results of vehicles sold in South Africa, such as the four star Toyota Etios and zero star Nissan NP300. We are proud to partner with the AASA to help South Africa consumers make informed choices about their vehicle purchases and we are looking forward to the safety milestone of reaching Africa’s first five star car. There is nothing negative about this work and I would encourage NAAMSA to be more professional in its level of understanding and attitude to independent consumer safety ratings.
Yours sincerely
David Ward
President & CEO
Towards Zero Foundation, 118 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 3ED, United Kingdom
YOUTUBE
