Mounting car recalls raise questions about manufacturing quality

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JEREMY MAGGS: You might have heard that Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) has announced a recall of certain Polo Vivo models, and it’s raising, I think, fresh questions about vehicle safety, but also, more worryingly, the growing number of recalls.

Now, as I understand it, while recalls are meant to fix problems before they become dangerous, they would also, I imagine, place real pressure not only on people on the front line, in other words, dealership staff who must deal directly with frustrated customers, but even technicians in the workshop.

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Let’s look at this angle to the story. I’m in conversation now with Phakamile Hlubi-Majola from the Motor Industry Staff Association (Misa). It’s a body that represents workers across the retail sector.

Phakamile, welcome. Let me start with the basics maybe, from the perspective of dealership staff, how serious is this Polo Vivo recall and what are people being told about the issue?

PHAKAMILE HLUBI-MAJOLA: It is a very serious issue. The fact that you’ve got close to 26 000 cars that have been recalled and the reasons that have been given by VW being that there seems to be a problem with the handbrake.

That is very, very serious and of course, you can imagine this is what our members are reporting, is really around the frustration of consumers on this issue having to bring their car in.

Also, people would obviously want details around what’s going on, what the problems would be. If the staff are unable to answer some of those questions to the satisfaction of the customers, then of course tensions will rise. So really, that’s the feedback we’re getting.

But for us as an organisation, we are deeply concerned about the numbers.

If you tie this to the AA’s (Automobile Association) report that was issued, which speaks about 50 000 recalls just in 2025. It does make one very concerned about the quality of some of these vehicles.

JEREMY MAGGS: Let’s talk a little about that frustration that you reference. Often those working in dealerships become the first line of antagonism as far as customers are concerned.

Phakamile, what does that look like in practice when a recall like this happens, how does it unfold?

PHAKAMILE HLUBI-MAJOLA: Well, my understanding is that essentially you would have received a message from most likely the dealership with regard to the fact that your particular vehicle has been affected, please bring it in so that a test can then be run with regard to trying to establish what the problem is, or if there is a problem and how it can be repaired.

I think ultimately from the perspective of Misa, in terms of what our members experience is really more around, as I said, where people would want a greater assurance that these vehicles are safe.

Listen: Concerns raised over dismal safety ratings for popular car models in SA

I think if you tie that to particularly some of the questions that have been raised in this report that talks about the fact that there’s not as much focus as there should be when it comes to quality assurance, particularly before the vehicles make it out onto the dealership floor.

That that’s where the problem is.

Of course, people also will have a tendency to make accusations that the dealership or the sales staff are the ones who sold them a defective vehicle.

All of those things compound the situation, and this is what prompted us to raise this issue on a public platform.

JEREMY MAGGS: It’s interesting because often the people that you’re talking about end up then carrying the reputational burden for problems that actually, if I’m hearing you correctly, originate at manufacturing level?

PHAKAMILE HLUBI-MAJOLA: Absolutely. That is what we are trying to highlight because ultimately, we are a union that focuses on worker issues. This for us would be of concern because this is the type of feedback we’re getting.

But also at the same time, we’re very concerned about the sector as a whole.

We think that these issues regarding the recalls are forcing the industry to have a very serious conversation about looking at what are the norms and standards and whether or not they need to take stronger measures to maintain quality, because they are not going to benefit from this type of situation if it continues at the rate at which it continues.

I think we also need to be clear, I don’t want to isolate VW. It happens to be VW now. Last year, there were other vehicle brands that were also affected by serious numbers of recall.

That’s what sparked the report by the AA to really raise this issue and bring it to the fore.

For us as Misa, the issue of safety is something that we take very seriously. Safety of workers, but also safety of the public.

We think that this is a serious enough matter, now that we’ve had another recall where high numbers of cars are being brought in, that the industry has to really look at this matter and take decisive steps to increase quality and quality control before the cars make it out onto the market.

JEREMY MAGGS: When your organisation raises this issue with the auto manufacturers, what kind of response do you get?

PHAKAMILE HLUBI-MAJOLA: Our position as Misa is that, first of all, we organise primarily in the retail motor industry.

So we are not dealing with the auto manufacturers, but because we organise in the retail motor industry, we are at the point at which these vehicles are then sold to the consumer.

So we are the front line that engages directly with the public. That is why it’s important for us to raise this, because we experience it first-hand in terms of the response from the public in relation to these recalls.

Listen: Over 20 000 Ford cars recalled in SA over safety issue [Aug 2025]

So we are raising it from that perspective to say that it is of benefit to all of us who operate in this space – from the value chain at manufacturing, all the way to the point where we’re dealing with the dealership floor – it is in our interest to make sure that we raise these issues so that we ensure that quality and standards are maintained.

This is a volatile sector that unfortunately can respond negatively to things like high fuel prices, which unfortunately we might be facing now as a result of the war in Iran, along with other matters like, for example, the strength of the dollar.

So when it comes to issues of safety as well, the industry has a responsibility to take steps to make sure that we regulate this, to make sure that where there are problems, we nip it in the bud, because it’s going to affect everybody and we all need to benefit.

The only way we can do that is if we maintain basic things like safety and standards.

JEREMY MAGGS: By regulation, you’d be suggesting then, that maybe there should be clearer rules on how manufacturers communicate recalls so dealership workers are not left to manage that public anger that you’re referring to.

PHAKAMILE HLUBI-MAJOLA: That would definitely be among the recommendations we would make, because, for example, if we use this example of this situation, we think it would perhaps assist if there was more regular communication.

Now that the announcement was made that vehicle recalls are taking place, I think it would also be helpful if there was stronger communication, perhaps regarding how the problem is being resolved, how many cars have been taken in and so on.

I think just the communication to assure the public and not just assurances though, Jeremy, but also steps being taken to make sure that we don’t have these types of problems.

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Among the things that the AA raises, if you read the report, is they talk about the fact that the problems are not being picked up at the earliest point before the cars get sold to the market, saying that a lot of the problems are actually being picked up through diagnostics after it’s been sold.

This means that definite steps can be taken, perhaps at that level, to try and improve those standards so that we can limit these incidents.

Also, because at the end of the day, it does pose real safety threats, this particular matter involving the handbrake, imagine what could happen when you’re on a steep hill and the handbrake fails to operate.

This is why we’re raising these types of issues as Misa, to say, we really need to take seriously what is emerging around problems that are coming out as a result of vehicle recalls.

JEREMY MAGGS: I’m going to leave it there. Phakamile Hlubi-Majola from the Motor Industry Staff Association (Misa), thank you very much indeed.