Motor Industry Appoints new Simi President Gillian Fanning Gillian Fanning, Marketing Director of automotive distributor Serfac Limited, Dublin was elected President of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) at the organisation’s AGM held virtually today. She is the first female President of SIMI in the Society’s 98 year history. Speaking at the virtual event, Gillian commented that she was “looking forward to her term as president, despite the significant challenges currently facing the Industry.” Ms Fanning remarked: “The past decade has been difficult for the Irish Motor Industry. Recovery from the 2008 financial crisis has not been in line with economic outlooks and while we had reason to be optimistic at the start of 2020, COVID-19 has since had a devastating impact on our industry. “Although thankfully some of us are back at work since 18th May, with those members ensuring that they meet COVID-19 protocol guidelines for the protection of employees and customers, we need all elements of the industry operational again, particularly NCT testing. To this end, SIMI is pressing for the early re-opening of NCT Centres even at a reduced capacity to allow for health and safety protocol and is also making the case for the CVRT system to be fully operational as soon as possible. These are not just business issues but also have important road safety implications. “The fact that servicing and particularly sales have been allowed to reopen with the critical July registration period approaching is welcomed and will help to generate revenue...