Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Gert, our farm mechanic, often gets consulted by young staff needing advice on a used car they want to buy. Mostly, he advises against the deal because parts for the models they want are scarce and expensive, especially for German makes.
He tells them to be rational about their transport needs and warns that the monthly payment on the car is often just a third of the running costs. They should go to the closest reputable dealer with a workshop that also sells extended warranties and pick a used model from their floor that best fits their needs and budget.
The staff then generally ignore Gert’s advice and buy the perceived bargain off a website anyway. Gert says he can’t be angry at them, as their behaviour is triggered by the same irrational but deeply rooted psychological functions that, for example, also cause Toyota buyers to happily wait a year for a new Land Cruiser 300 or Prado.
Metal gloves for our egos
“The bottom line is that our cars are like metal gloves for our egos,” he told Mbali, our office administrator.
“We may be Earth’s most dangerous predators, but after all is said and done, we are still just very clever primates with the same instinctive need that our fellow tribe mates have to keep order in the troop by displaying our status. And nothing displays status better than a car, be it a muddy 4×4, an old Conquest on low profiles, or a two-seater sportscar.”
A petrolhead to the bone with a poster of a Toyota 86 GR above her desk, Mbali needed no convincing about people’s deep need to display their status with a certain car.
Her cousin, Makwanda, was not convinced. He is a livestock speculator who comes in weekly to buy ewes and kapaters to sell in the traditional market. He has been saving up for a new bakkie and – like one in four new car buyers in South Africa today – has his eye on a Chinese vehicle.
“It is not about the brand but the price – and the Chinese price is certainly right,” he told Gert.
“Those low prices are only possible because China is subsidising vehicle exports to swamp the world with an oversupply in a bid to prop up their economy,” replied Gert. “But what happens when the subsidies end? Will your car factory still be able to export the parts you need at a low price, or will they simply close?”
Weaving future solutions
“That’s why I am a Toyota girl,” said Mbali. “There is nothing short-sighted about their corporate culture. Instead, they are looking far ahead to find solutions for the next big issues, like the coming grey market due to people living a lot longer while birth rates are plummeting.”
“I thought the pensioner market already voted the Camry as their complete car. What else is Toyota doing?” asked Gert.
“The biggest thing they’re doing now is to provide a place where people from around the world can join Toyota in their quest to ‘imagine and improve how all of us live in the future’,” Mbali said, reading from her screen.
“They call this place Woven City, and the key areas of innovation are developing new ways to move people, goods, information, and energy.”
“I’ll read you the examples Toyota’s boss gave about the personal mobility devices they’ve already made, like a racing wheelchair, because like he said, ‘everybody should experience the joy of going fast’. Also, there are drones that escort you home at night; pet robots that provide support and companionship for the elderly; and an electric flying air taxi, which in November last year took four passengers from Woven City to Tokyo in an exhibition flight.”
“Okay, if Toyota can build a pet robot that can help load angry young bulls onto a trailer, you can count me in,” said Makwanda.
