Material priorities

Our material priorities are those factors most likely to influence the decisions of our stakeholders when assessing our ability to create sustainable value over time. They are those factors that we can control, within the context of the uncontrollable factors in our operating environment.

Determining our material priorities

We consider the materiality of a factor by assessing its potential to impact strategy (opportunity and risk), performance (financial and non-financial) and the prospects of the Group in the short, medium and longer term. This ultimately impacts our ability to create and sustain value, and guard against value erosion. In line with the King IV endorsed six capital model of value creation, the effectiveness with which we manage our material priorities is likely to influence the decisions of our stakeholders in relation to the capitals they provide, and the outcomes they expect in return.

The following inputs informed the determination of the material priorities:

  • The annual strategy planning cycle and key issues managed by the board and leadership during the year.
  • Discussions with leadership to elicit and distil their views and concerns.
  • The material concerns of our key stakeholder groups.
  • Top business risks.

Determining our material priorities

Our material priorities are grouped into three key themes representing the key drivers of value for the Group in view of current market conditions and our expectations for the short, medium and longer-term trends shaping our markets. These material priorities are discussed throughout this integrated report and the ESG report.

Our key themes
Resilience
1 Sustain capital management discipline. 2 Leverage competitive advantages to diversify and grow earnings streams. 3 Accelerate the implementation of new ways of working and maintain ability to grow the business.
Relevance
1 Deliver exceptional value to customers as their needs change, while remaining the strategic partner of choice for OEMs and suppliers. 2 Be an employer of choice in the automotive industry. 3 Innovate practically and proactively. 4 Use technology to sustain and grow the business.
Responsibility
1 Proactively manage the ESG consequences of our activities. 2 Consistently deliver on stakeholder expectations and protect our reputation. 3 Demonstrate best-in-class governance.

Resilience

1 Sustain capital management discipline
Focus areas
Our response
  • Align the cost base to the revenue base.
  • Maintain margins and conserve liquidity to improve profitability.
  • Manage working capital and contain costs.
  • Monitor and manage currency risk.
  • Deploy capital in line with acquisitive and organic growth initiatives, including digital projects that leverage our existing infrastructure and capabilities, and ultimately improve customer service.
  • Assess potential business acquisitions and business partnerships to ensure that they complement our business and enhance shareholder value.
  • Responsible cost management and cash utilisation.
  • Effective financial controls and cost containment.
  • Disciplined capital allocation.
  • Achieve targeted revenue and income growth.
  • Explore share repurchase opportunities when they present themselves.
  • Investment in key regions, ensuring a strong presence in chosen markets.
  • Continued investment in the multi-franchise dealership model and the Aftermarket Parts business.
  • Enhanced digital and technology functionality across all our businesses.
  • Effective inventory management.
2 Leverage competitive advantages to diversify and grow earnings streams
Focus areas
Our response
  • Grow business segment profitability and competitive market share.
  • Maximise the organic growth potential of each business segment.
  • Grow pre-owned vehicle market share and extend our vehicle servicing footprint.
  • Remain responsive to customer needs and market trends.
  • Add value to customers, foster deeper customer loyalty and attract new customers by offering multiple ways to engage with the Group.
  • Extend our digital and data capabilities to enable profitable growth.
  • Diversify revenues to mitigate against economic downturns.
  • Leverage the flexibility of our integrated business model to grow annuity income in indirect vehicle-related revenue streams.
  • Pursue highly selective strategic growth opportunities in international markets in which we operate.
  • Protect our market positions and grow to complement our existing dealership footprint.
  • Leverage the Group’s buying power.
  • Scale and operational synergies across the integrated automotive value chain.
  • Cost-effective and competitively priced vehicles, parts, financial services, products and product enhancements.
  • Value-led pricing.
  • Improved efficiencies and processes, enabling simpler, faster ways of working through digitisation.
  • Expanded VAPS offerings, competitively priced booster products and entry level buyer offerings.
  • VAPS developed based on insights from extensive customer and vehicle data.
  • Digital platforms and specialised digital channels to improve customer engagement.
  • Marketing excellence and well-developed distributions channels and retail footprint.
  • Digital lead generation, inventory mix aligned to market demand and excellent customer service.
  • Partnership opportunities, including those that improve customer experience and loyalty.
  • Accelerating the planned expansion of Aftermarket Parts operations outside of South Africa.
  • Acquisitions in selected international markets.
  • Monetisation of data.
3Accelerate the implementation of new ways of working and maintain ability to grow the business
Focus areas
Our response
  • Drive resilience, agility and support timely execution of strategic objectives.
  • Further enable operational agility by automating and optimising structures, systems and processes.
  • Promote a safe and supportive work environment that safeguards employee and customer health, and enables productivity and engagement.
  • Drive innovation and digitisation while enhancing digital capacity and capabilities across the Group and protecting against evolving data security and cyber risks.
  • Ensure that IT systems and processes support efficiency, connectivity and networking across businesses.
  • Support a diverse and competitive workforce, united under a common purpose.
  • Develop and embed a change resilient and adaptive culture.
  • Maintain sound governance, risk management and approval structures.
  • Entrepreneurial culture.
  • Flat and transparent leadership structure.
  • Data-driven decision-making.
  • Motus mx innovation platform.
  • Streamlined IT architecture and investment in digital solutions, including for customer engagement.
  • New data-based revenue streams.
  • Enhanced business performance via advanced data analytical solutions.
  • Responsiveness in a context of rapid change and uncertainty.
  • A diverse and inclusive culture with effective, wellequipped leadership.
  • Communication and sharing across the Group to ensure pragmatic best practice.
  • Robust governance policies and practices.
  • Flexible and adaptive business continuity processes that are subject to regular evaluation and enhancement.
  • Ongoing improvement in operational risk management.

Relevance

1 Deliver exceptional value to customers as their needs change, while remaining the strategic partner of choice for OEMs and suppliers
Focus areas
Our response
  • Source, develop and deliver exceptional and competitively priced products and services across the automotive value chain.
  • Provide customer service that is responsive to changes in customer needs and our operating environment.
  • Ensure high-quality workshop services and parts supplies.
  • Attract prospective customers by providing them with the right offerings.
  • Actively manage our brand portfolio.
  • Expand our distribution network.
  • Continue to build trust in the Motus brand.
  • Exceptional customer service.
  • Maintain and enhance high quality and service level standards in all spheres of our business.
  • Well trained employees who understand our customers’ needs.
  • Collaborative and supportive relationships with suppliers.
  • Stringently applied quality controls.
  • Innovative, strategically aligned financial service offerings.
  • Increased focus on popular brands.
  • Become the preferred, exclusive supplier of additional brands.
  • Expand our Aftermarket Parts offerings.
2 Be an employer of choice in the automotive industry
Focus areas
Our response
  • Attract and retain high-calibre employees.
  • Ensure appropriate operational flexibility, enabling practical and
    cost-effective delivery of human capital management.
  • Align employee capabilities and expectations with business objectives and career opportunities.
  • Develop and empower employees and develop the skillset, flexibility, resilience and responsiveness that is required in times of change and uncertainty.
  • Embed an inclusive and collaborative Group culture, creating an environment in which DEI is prioritised and fully accepted, and in which everyone can perform to their full potential.
  • Drive DEI at management level.
  • Maintain a safe, sustainable and healthy operating environment that supports the wellbeing of our people.
  • Enhance our health and safety leadership and capabilities.
  • Continue to manage the current and long-term impacts of COVID-19 on our business and the employees.
  • Employ best people practices across the Group.
  • Effective performance development, talent management and succession planning.
  • Investment in skills development and relevant training interventions.
  • Increased number of learnerships and training for our people.
  • DEI training.
  • Targeted interventions to source entry level talent, promote internal candidates from designated groups, and source external talent when needed.
  • Manage talent pipeline programmes.
  • Secure workplaces.
  • Employee wellbeing initiatives.
  • Best safety practices and a Group-wide safety mindset.
  • Group-wide employee assistance programmes.
3 Innovate practically and proactively
Focus areas
Our response
  • Ensure the Group remains agile and able to adapt to market changes.
  • Secure higher market penetration through innovation.
  • Assess the impact of developments in different markets to assess their impact on the business models.
  • Ensure that executives understand new technological developments and related potential impacts and opportunities.
  • Drive innovation in line with globally recognised principles.
  • Closely monitor and increase market intelligence on automotive trends that could disrupt our business (e.g. NEVs).
  • Attract new and non-traditional customers by developing mobility service solutions.
  • IT solutions and data-driven innovation.
  • Collaboration with key strategic partners to share intellectual property.
  • Motus mx innovation platform.
  • Mobility Solutions offerings.
  • Brand-agnostic buying tools.
4 Use technology to sustain and grow the business
Focus areas
Our response
  • Optimise and evolve current business models, processes and structures.
  • Design and implement new solutions and ways of working to enhance omni-channel access.
  • Differentiate by evolving and expanding our vehicle and asset finance (VAF), VAPS and mobility services offerings.
  • Identify opportunities to accelerate innovation and digitisation as consumer habits and buying behaviour shift in favour of digital platforms, by enhancing the ease of connection for customers between the availability of digital information and physical dealerships to conclude transactions.
  • Align continuously with digital, mobility and automation trends and changing customer needs.
  • Facilitate innovation within business segments.
  • Deliver the most relevant, personalised and competitive offerings that meet customer mobility needs.
  • Ensure convenient and compelling access to all of the Group’s offerings.
  • Use data to refine and enhance customer relationship management.
  • Accelerate the use of technology, leveraging digitisation, big data and e-commerce platforms.
  • Work with OEMs to deliver innovative solutions and business model changes.
  • Innovation centres and capabilities.
  • New product development.
  • Consolidated and improved online presence (including motus.cars and Motus Select).
  • Data analytics capabilities.
  • Develop a single view of the customer across all offerings.
  • Develop a fully integrated parts e-commerce platform.

Responsibility

1Proactively manage the ESG consequences of our activities
Focus areas
Our response
  • Our impact on, and perceptions of the Group within our communities of operation and the effects this has on our credibility and licence to operate.
  • Maintain our B-BBEE rating.
  • Support inclusive procurement, supplier and enterprise development and black-owned and managed businesses.
  • Where relevant, support socio-economic initiatives addressing the challenges facing the South African economy (e.g. youth unemployment).
  • Operate in an environmentally conscious and responsible manner, demonstrating this through improved sustainability and ESG reporting.
  • Board oversight of environmental sustainability matters.
  • Relationships with communities.
  • Increase the number of black employees in management positions.
  • Develop black employees.
  • Controllable spend with B-BBEE compliant businesses.
  • Supplier and enterprise development initiatives.
  • CSI programmes supporting education, health and road safety.
  • Sustainability indices ratings.
  • Solar and battery power initiatives (including grid wheeling).
2 Consistently deliver on stakeholder expectations and protect our reputation
Focus areas
Our response
  • Maintain high standards of accountability, transparency and integrity in running the business and reporting to shareholders and other stakeholders.
  • Remain responsive to the legitimate concerns of all stakeholders.
  • Retain current and attract new local and international investors.
  • Deliver on our vision, strategic objectives and our investment proposition.
  • Defend and grow market share in South Africa, continue to grow annuity income streams, and grow in selected international markets.
  • Position the Group as a proudly South African market leader.
  • Improve disclosure of our significant contribution to South Africa’s
    socio-economic objectives, particularly in terms of fiscal contribution and people development, and contributing to community-based projects.
  • Strengthen key stakeholder relationships.
  • Accurate and transparent disclosures.
  • Improved sustainability and ESG reporting.
  • A public relations strategy that reinforces Motus’ agility, entrepreneurial innovation and relevance, developing our brand recognition and online presence.
3 Demonstrate best-in-class governance
Focus areas
Our response
  • Establish and maintain a credible reputation for ethical, effective and independent leadership.
  • Ensure sound leadership succession plans are developed, documented and implemented.
  • Embed a strong culture of ethics and integrity.
  • Maintain best governance practices and deepen the application of King IV principles.
  • Comply with laws and regulations across multiple jurisdictions.
  • Manage the complexity and cost implications of compliance.
  • Where possible, understand how regulatory changes can be used to optimise and enhance customer experience.
  • Demonstrably independent and effective board.
  • Established ethical leadership and culture.
  • Robust control and risk management systems.
  • Effective reporting processes.
  • Group-wide management tool for monitoring internal controls.
  • Proactive engagement with regulators on emerging legislation.
  • Monitor international regulatory trends.
  • Code of Ethics.
  • High governance standards.