Imperial & Motus

People living below the poverty line, informal traders and day-job seekers who earn a daily income have been particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Grounded in our belief of using ‘mobility for good’, we have contributed to government’s efforts to assist vulnerable communities impacted by the pandemic and associated lockdown. Our Financial Services divisions vetted all charities supported.

Hyundai donated eight vehicles – five H100 trucks, one H-1 bus and two Grand i10 cargo panel vans – to Gift of the Givers and FoodForward South Africa. Both organisations are using the vehicles to deliver food and urgent relief during the COVID-19 pandemic to impoverished communities experiencing hunger and hardship. In addition to delivering food, Gift of the Givers is using the vehicles to ferry medical teams and transport essential medical supplies and protective wear to frontline healthcare workers, the South African Police Service and the general public in all nine provinces, including many deeply rural areas.

Similarly, Kia donated three Kia K2700 light commercial vehicles and three Kia Picanto Starts to the South African National Zakah Fund (SANZAF) operating in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape as well as a Kia K2700 to the Madrassah Ashraful Uloom, which supports the Alexandra community in Johannesburg. Both community-based organisations deliver food, essential items and other welfare support services to vulnerable communities.

A Kia Picanto Start was also donated to the Beeld Children’s Fund and a Kia K2700 to RADA, with whom Kia has a long-standing relationship, in the fight against rape, alcohol, drug and abuse. The non-profit organisation (NPO) provides assistance to homes of safety for abused and abandoned children, people with disabilities, the elderly and the homeless, many of whom are at high risk with ongoing immune deficiencies. The Kia K2700 assisted the organisation to keep its 10 care homes in Gauteng stocked with food and other essential services during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The Hyundai H100 trucks and Kia K2700 light commercial vehicles are all fitted with lockable canopies donated by Beekman Canopies, a Motus subsidiary.

The value of these donations totalled R2,9 million.

Mitsubishi, together with SANZAAR Rugby and the Pebbles Project nutrition programme, delivered nutritious meals to the L’Avenir wine estate farmworker community during lockdown. The brand also assisted Rainbow Republic, SANZAAR referee Rasta Rasivhenge and the OK Mini Market in Hout Bay to deliver multiple loads of food parcels to many families in need.

Hyundai donated medical grade PPE (received from our principals) and sanitisers to the Helen Joseph hospital in South Africa

(a partnership with the National Department of Basic Education)

Since 2003, Motus has placed specific focus on developing literacy in township schools. The Imperial and Motus Community Trust invests in fully equipped libraries and resource centres at public schools primarily in underprivileged communities south of Johannesburg. During the year, six school libraries were funded, with libraries opened at Elsie Ngidi Primary School in Soweto and Tshitso Primary School in Sebokeng. However, some openings were delayed due to COVID-19 with new libraries to be handed over in September 2020.

It is compulsory for children from Grades 1 to 3 to attend two reading periods every week. Reading levels are tested every two years and to date the results show better than average reading, comprehension and numeracy scores.

During the national lockdown, library staff were paid in full for March 2020 and April 2020 and Unemployment Insurance Fund claims were submitted for May.

Spin-off projects include upgrading school feeding stations and Grade R classrooms, Saturday sports and holiday programmes, Christmas celebrations for pre-school learners and awards ceremonies to recognise top performing learners and sports achievers.

Our employees are encouraged to get involved in these events and during the year they:

• Cleaned the Grade R classrooms and helped run the Grade R sports days at Phehello Primary School in Sebokeng and Ebuhleni Primary School in Soweto.
• Participated in the Grade R fun day at Tshepana Primary School in Orange Farm.
• Read to learners at Elsie Ngidi Primary School (Soweto) and Tshitso Primary School (Sebokeng).
• Covered over 3 000 books.

Motus has two trustees on the Trust’s board and an operational oversight role. To position the Trust as a vehicle for companies to direct their CSI spend, we facilitated two proposals during the year and developed a funding and branding model. While some funding has been received from outside organisations, many corporates are already supporting their own established projects.

Investment during 2020
R5,6 million (2019: R13,7 million)

Impact of the Trust’s work to date:

45 school resource centres and libraries, reaching over 50 300 young learners and assisting over 1 400 teachers.

(2019: 39 school libraries reaching over 43 000 learners and assisting over 1 300 teachers)

Jobs created:

69 people employed full time.

Our goal: Reach 100 000 learners by 2025

This initiative drives road safety education and awareness across South Africa, including among school children, parents and holidaymakers. To ensure the initiative is effective, we partner with leading road safety advocates to change the perceptions of road users towards more responsible road usage.The initiative covers the following programmes:

Safe Scholars Programme (supported by the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Transport)

Started in 2011, with an initial focus on equipping scholar patrols at various schools, this programme now delivers an active, fun and memorable approach to road safety messages for school children and their teachers. Primary school learners are introduced to the Department of Basic Education’s 10 basic rules of road safety using fun-filled industrial theatre. Facilitators visit between 15 and 20 schools a month and children are given reflective sashes to wear while walking along roads.

Investment during 2020

R1,2 million (2019: R1,0 million)

Impact of the Safe Scholars Programme

Since 2011, over 1 689 100 learners reached in over 1 820 schools.

(2019: over 1,5 million learners reached in over 1 600 schools)

91 300 reflective sashes distributed to date. (2019: over 85 300 reflective sashes)

Highway Patrol Programme

The Highway Patrol Programmeassists Road Incident Management Services attend to and report on incidents along the N1/N4 toll routes, the busiest toll routes in South Africa during the Easter and December holiday seasons. We sponsor patrol vehicles to assist the concessionaire with 24-hour route surveillance and emergency support, including post-crash care and breakdown assistance, during these busy periods.

Wheel Well

Wheel Well is the only NPO in South Africa that focuses exclusively on road safety for children. It raises awareness, educates and effects changes and enforcement of legislation to meet this objective. It has a portfolio of projects geared towards keeping children safe in and around the vehicle. Renault is the NPO’s drop-off point of choice for parents wanting to donate used baby car seats. Wheel Well then refurbishes the seats and donates them to people who cannot afford new child seats.

More than 50% of vehicles on South Africa’s roads are 10 years or older. These are primarily maintained by informal sector mechanics who face several difficulties in maintaining sustainable businesses. The Makhaya project aims to create a sustainablemicro network of informal sector mechanics by providing them with equipped workshops, technical support and SMME-linked business training. These semi-formal, second tier workshops will be housed in or adjacent to our owned or franchised network of aftermarket parts or pre-owned dealership sites, or as independent joint ventures. Aftermarket Parts will be a supplier to the network and provide credit to purchase stock. The businesses will be closely monitored and will be further supported through reasonable access to our value chain and customers. The initiative also contributes to the safety and reliability of the vehicles that many South Africans rely on.

The first site, located in Alexandra, Gauteng, opened in August 2019 and supports four automotive mechanics who previously operated on street pavements. In addition to a sustainable income, the mechanics have access to preferential pricing at the nearby Midas retail outlet and receive ongoing technical and business training. The first site provided us with the learnings to advance the concept and three additional sites, including one in KwaMhlanga, Mpumalanga, are under development and will be operational in the next financial year.

Download Motus Sustainable Development Report 2020