DaimlerChrysler South Africa (DCSA) franchise dealers are to introduce so-called black empowerment partners into their businesses, writes Richard Hurst.
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DCSA dealer development manger Theo Swanepoel said that his group#;s dealers have agreed to take on black African-controlled business partners commanding significant shareholdings.
“We are now in the process of developing the tools that we need to have [in place to accommodate] black partners. Some partners will have access to funding while others will not and we need a mechanism to facilitate this,” Swanepoel added.
The strategy involves a change of ownership for Daimler dealers in both rural and urban areas. Swanepoel added that the strategy would only be rolled out after it had been approved by South Africa’s competition commission and would not be completed until 2004.
The chairman of southern African motor vehicle distributor McCarthy Motor Holdings, Brand Pretorius, told just-auto.com that he supported the DaimlerChrysler initiative, adding that he appreciated the company’s responsibility “as a corporate citizen”.
The South African government is trying to reduce economic inequalities amongst the country#;s racial groups by giving special legal rights to black-controlled ’empowerment’ businesses.
