African cars should be as safe as European ones, says AA CEO

Safety credentials of cars sold in SA and on the African continent must mirror those of European counterparts.

Exerting pressure on carmakers to ensure higher safety standards is part of Automobile Association (AA) CEO Bobby Ramagwede’s plan as he strives to “put the organisation back on the map”.

TimesLIVE Motoring had a sit-down with the leader, who took the helm in 2024.

The AA SA, a partner of the Global New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) Safer Cars for Africa campaign, has facilitated the crash testing of as many as 30 local-market vehicles since 2017.

Its three recent test subjects, the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro (2026), Toyota Corolla Cross (2026) and Hyundai Grand i10 (2025), earned poor ratings for adult occupant safety: two, two and zero respectively.

Ramagwede blasted carmakers that used the outdated regulatory framework to justify the substandard safety of their vehicles.

“Many have argued it’s not illegal, they’re not committing a crime — I agree that they’re not committing [one] from a legislative perspective, but I think they are committing a crime to the extent that safer vehicles are being provided to other territories — so it always begs the question, is the African life worth that little to the manufacturer?”

He said it was disappointing that Hyundai responded by saying its vehicle satisfied regulatory requirements.

“[In comparison] you’ve got the likes of Volkswagen, who did what I think is the right thing — acknowledge that the vehicle is substandard, put a plan in place to correct the minimum safety requirements and give us a vehicle to retest and prove that the car is safer,” he said, referring to the facelifted Polo Vivo launched in 2024.

Regarding the Corolla Cross, the CEO observed that while Toyota’s statement was “lukewarm” — there is a positive sentiment around intention to address the reason for the car’s two-star performance.

“Their [position is]; ‘we’ve identified the issue, and we will work on a plan for the future version of the car’ — and I think it’s not going to be a model change, but rather a specification change within the run, so I anticipate that they’ll come up with an announcement saying that models from that date will have the curtain airbag, because that’s a big deficiency on the Corolla Cross.”

Ramagwede believed the vehicle would have scored as high as a four-star rating if curtain airbags had been standardised.

The results for the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro came in after this interview was conducted, so Ramagwede did not comment on the brand’s response specifically.

When we asked Chery SA for its view, it said: “Chery SA is committed to our product offering meeting global regulatory safety requirements. The Tiggo 7 Pro in South Africa meets the standards as enforced by local regulatory bodies.”

How does the organisation select cars for testing?

“We’ll go back to the ethos of the programme: it’s meant to protect the vulnerable consumer; it’s always going to be an entry-level derivative of a vehicle; it’s always going to be a popular vehicle,” he said.

Ramagwede said there are other vehicles imminently awaiting testing.

“Have a look at the [new vehicle] sales statistics. Any vehicle we haven’t tested that is being sold in great volumes is likely to be on the list.”

On behalf of curious consumers, we asked for a brief explanation of what goes on behind the scenes once the vehicles are decided upon.

The AA SA buys the vehicles in a new state, anonymously, shipping them off to the headquarters of their counterpart in Germany, ADAC, with crash testing facilities used by both Global NCAP and Euro NCAP.

The relevant manufacturer will also be invited to the facility to witness the assortment of tests. According to Ramagwede, due to the complexity of analytics and collation, the results can take months.

Interestingly, the results are shared with the carmaker before being shared with the AA, so by the time the information is made public, the brand concerned has had the opportunity to study the tests’ findings.

Funding for the procurement of vehicles and testing processes comes from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the FIA Foundation, ensuring the programme remains independent of the automakers.

Adequate protection in a crash is crucial, but prevention is better than the cure. What is the AA doing to push responsible driver behaviour?

Ramagwede acknowledges that a framework like the K53 system needs dire revision, in addition to legislation governing public transport.

Accepting that “the wheels of state turn very slowly”, the CEO said the AA had adopted a lead-by-example approach. Currently, the organisation is investigating prospects around affordable, advanced and defensive driving modules being made available to the public to upgrade their driving skills.

A school outreach programme is also in the works that would see youngsters exposed to responsible vehicle operation, the learner’s and driver’s licence tests, and advanced driving before they matriculate.

“So this really is our way of contributing to society — a cohort of drivers who we are comfortable know not only how to drive their car, but I’m often quoted as saying, ‘driving the four cars around them’ as well.”

Ramagwede said the AA was in consultation with the government to offer a solution that would change the process of obtaining a professional driving permit (PrDP) for the purpose of ferrying passengers.

The idea is that certification would tie in with a driver competency evaluation, ensuring compliance.

Ramagwede said his post was a calling. His career journey has taken him from banking to private equity, healthcare, insurance, broader mobility services and motorsport, before picking up the baton at the AA.