AVTS Roadworthy Stations joins hands with TÜV SÜD

Cape Town. TÜV SÜD is entering the vehicle inspection market in South Africa and has acquired a shareholding in AVTS Roadworthy Stations. Dr Axel Stepken, CEO and President of TÜV SÜD AG, has now signed the contract with Ferose Oaten, Managing Director and founder of AVTS. TÜV SÜD has also founded a legal entity in South Africa, TUV SUD South Africa Holding.

"After our activities in important European countries such as Spain, France and Austria and the successful establishment of vehicle roadworthiness testing in Turkey, our market entry in South Africa marks another significant step in our strategy to expand a core service such as roadworthiness testing at international level", explains Dr Stepken, CEO and President of TÜV SÜD AG. Stepken continues: "In AVTS we have found a strong partner for consistent growth in Africa's most interesting market."

AVTS operates seven vehicle inspection centres which carry out approximately 65,000 roadworthiness tests including re-tests per year in the Greater Cape Town area. Over the next five years, AVTS and TÜV SÜD plan to significantly expand their market share to 20 per cent nationwide: "The highly professional management by Ms Oaten and the excellent technological standard at its inspection stations make AVTS the ideal partner for TÜV SÜD", underlines Viktor F. Metz, the CFO of TÜV SÜD Auto Service GmbH.

AVTS was one of the first privately-owned companies to enter the South African vehicle testing market 17 years ago. It is a founding member of the RMI's NVTA (National Vehicle Testing Association), which plays a leading role in the definition and establishment of additional accreditation requirements for vehicle testing and inspection. Ferose Oaten is convinced that the two partners will complement each other perfectly as both companies have a focussed quality culture and an unwavering commitment to testing integrity. While AVTS is the only group of testing and inspection stations in South Africa to hold ISO 9000 certification, and has its brand firmly established in the market, TÜV SÜD brings international expertise and experience as a global leader in vehicle testing to the partnership. Joint operations will commence on regulatory approval, and includes plans for expansion and the establishment of an accredited training centre for the roadworthy industry.

The partnership between AVTS and TÜV SÜD must also be seen against the backdrop of the impending reform of the roadworthy industry in South Africa. While at present privately owned vehicles is only be tested on change of ownership, the government has been debating the introduction of periodic vehicle testing. Should periodic or annual testing be introduced, the current number of vehicles tested annually - around 2.4 million at present - would roughly double within three to four years.

Parallel to acquiring a shareholding in AVTS, TÜV SÜD founded TÜV SÜD South Africa Holding. The purpose of the TÜV SÜD subsidiary, headquartered in Cape Town, is to launch and position all TÜV SÜD services in South Africa. Managing Director of TUV SUD South Africa Holding is Norman van Oudtshoorn.

TÜV SÜD is a leading international service organization catering to the strategic business segments INDUSTRY, MOBILITY and PEOPLE. Around 15,000 employees are represented at more than 600 locations throughout the world. Optimizing technology, systems and know-how, the interdisciplinary specialist teams act as process partners to strengthen their customers' competitiveness. Ferose Oaten is the President of the RMI (Retail Motor Industry) in South Africa.