Trade with US critical for Western Cape, says Winde after trip

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has returned from a visit to the US, where he held talks with government and private sector stakeholders in Washington DC, Atlanta and New York City. The US has been... 

SPS, B2Gold launch first solar wheeling project under Namibia’s MSB programme

Sustainable Power Solutions (SPS), in partnership with B2Gold Namibia, the Oelofse family and Fortitude, have commissioned Namibia’s first solar wheeling project under NamPower’s Modified Single... 

Funky Ouma, Ina Paarman travel to India in new made-in-the-Western-Cape retail deal

India’s largest retailer, Reliance Retail, has added a number of Made in the Cape products to its shelves. Wesgro says it is the first time South African goods have been placed in select Reliance... 

Naacam CEO on key priorities for preserving ‘critical source of industrial capacity’

The global automotive market is facing a shift as profound as the day the first mass-produced vehicle drove off the assembly line. From horse-and-carriage versus car, the conflict has now, more... 

DHL, Unilever and Volvo in pilot study to test superlink electric truck

DHL Supply Chain has launched an electric vehicle (EV) pilot project in collaboration with Unilever and Volvo Trucks South Africa. The initiative involves deploying a fully electric Volvo FMX 6 x 4... 

Automotive component, fuel, retail sectors sign three-year wage deal

The component manufacturing, fuel and automotive retail sectors have signed a three-year wage agreement. Wage talks within the Motor Industry Bargaining Council (MIBCO) started on April 10 and... 

Lightstone expects 7.7% bump in new-vehicle sales, says 89% of buyers opting for 6-year-plus financing

Research house Lightstone says it anticipates a new-vehicle sales market for 2025 of around 555 500 units – up 7.7% on last year – of which 524 000 units will be passenger and light commercial... 

Made in Cape Town. Tackling rough terrain around the world. Meet South Industries

What do you do when you grow tired of the corporate grind? For mechanical engineer Stephan Bekker, the answer was to start his own bike-rim manufacturing company after spending several years... 

Tata returns to South Africa as part of Motus group

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (TMPV), a subsidiary of Tata Motors, is returning to South Africa after its 2019 exit, and is doing so in partnership with JSE-listed automotive group Motus as its... 

Western Cape government plans to build two new hospitals, redevelop one

The Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness (DHW) aims to complete three hospital projects by 2033. The Klipfontein and Belhar regional hospitals are both planned as new facilities that will... 

Logistical challenges, shortage of big contractors impacting construction in Africa – report

Logistical limitations and a lack of supply-chain capacity in the African construction market risk creating a barrier to investment, says a new report from global professional services firm Turner... 

SA’s fully electric fleet to reach 22 500 cars by 2030 – report

The projected passenger electric vehicle (EV) fleet in South Africa by the beginning of 2030 will be 25 456 vehicles, representing only 0.3% of the expected passenger vehicle population in the... 

Toyota Gazoo Racing and SVR unveil new motorsport engineering, manufacturing hub

Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa (TGRSA), together with SVR, have unveiled their new motorsport operations base – the Toyota Gazoo Racing Motorsport Hub, located in Kyalami, Gauteng. Construction... 

New V&A Waterfront development will require 3.2 ha land reclamation

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) firm Infinity Environmental has released a pre-application draft scoping report on the proposed R20-billion expansion project at the V&A Waterfront in Cape... 

New-vehicle sales notch up best month since October 2019, exports down 1.9%

July delivered the best monthly new-vehicle sales tally since October 2019, says naamsa | The Automotive Business Council. Last month’s new-vehicle sales, at 51 383 units, were up 15.6% compared... 

Feasibility study recommends PPP model for Cape Town’s Faure water scheme

The completed feasibility study on the implementation model for Cape Town’s Faure New Water Scheme (FNWS) has recommended that the project be rolled out as a public-private partnership (PPP). The... 

Mercedes-Benz appoints new CEO of South African operations

Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) CEO and MBSA Manufacturing executive director Andreas Brand has resigned. He will take on a new role as Mercedes-Benz production network completely knocked down... 

R2bn-plus inner-city development for the City of Cape Town

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and Western Cape Minister of Infrastructure Tertuis Simmers have unveiled the Founders Garden inner-city, mixed-use, affordable housing development in the Cape Town... 

African auto industry body appoints component-focused project manager

The African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) has appointed Cabral Ngubane as its new project manager focused on expanding the manufacturing of components for original-equipment... 

Hisense SA grows its TV, fridge output, seeks more local suppliers

Hisense South Africa (SA) deputy GM Luna Nortje says there is potential at the television (TV) and refrigerator assembler to increase the local sourcing of electronic components, compressors,... 

Electric motorbike sales growing rapidly, total market could reach 12-year high

Based on national traffic information system data, the first electric motorbikes – 22 in total – were registered and sold in South Africa in 2014, says Association of Motorcycle Industry... 

Motor-body-repair sector training reform has value, but cut the red tape – Sambra, RMI

The South African Motor Body Repairers’ Association (Sambra), in partnership with the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI), is intensifying its efforts to address the critical shortage of... 

Cape Town notches up another record-breaking cruise season

Cruise Cape Town says it has seen the longest and most successful cruise season yet, with 83 ship calls, of which 11 were inaugural visits. March stood out as the strongest month, with 22 ship... 

Ford dearships set for R900m-plus investment

The Ford dealership network will see a R900-million-plus investment rollout over the next three years. The money will not be spent by Ford, but by its partners and dealership owners, such as Motus,... 

Kyalami in multimillion-rand upgrade in effort to host F1 race

Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit boss Toby Venter says he has received confirmation that the Federation International de l'Automobile (FIA) has accepted the final design proposals to upgrade the... 

Local government may soon have no choice but to buy electric buses – MAN SA boss

A strong global push towards using fully electric buses in cities, coupled with South Africa’s lethargic progress – if any – towards clean fuel, may soon leave local city councils with no... 

Global EV sales set for record year, emerging market sales booming – BloombergNEF

BloombergNEF’s (BNEF’s) yearly ‘Electric Vehicle Outlook’ study expects nearly 22-million battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales – EV sales – this year, up 25% from last year, as the... 

Chery South Africa conducts feasibility study on establishing a local plant

Chinese importer Chery South Africa (SA) is in the midst of a feasibility study to determine if it will establish an assembly plant in the country. “Given Chery’s rapid growth in the South African... 

City of Cape Town to procure 30 electric buses from Volvo

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) will procure 30 fully electric buses from Volvo Bus Southern Africa for its MyCiTi bus service, following an open-market tendering process. The first buses are... 

US tariff shock a ‘socioeconomic crisis in the making’, warns naamsa CEO

Vehicle exports from South Africa to the US dropped by 73% in the first quarter of the year, declining by a further 80% and 85% in April and May respectively, says naamsa | the Automotive Business... 

June new-vehicle sales jump by 18.7% as imports also soar

June new-vehicle sales, at 47 294 units, were up 18.7% compared with the same month last year, “reflecting a sustained and broad-based recovery in consumer and fleet demand”, says naamsa | The... 

Automotive sector facing decline as SA’s infrastructure decay comes home to roost – Barnes

The fundamental challenge many vehicle assembly operations in South Africa currently face is that their operations are becoming less vital to the success of their parent companies. This is linked... 

TRAC concession kicks off R1bn construction drive

Trans African Concessions (TRAC) this month kicks off roughly R1-billion in upgrade and rehabilitation work on the N4. The N4 toll route is a build-operate-transfer road, and is about 570 km long.... 

Cape Town eases zoning rules to spur selected backyard housing developments

Cape Town’s City Council has approved a number of changes to the Municipal Planning By-law (MPBL) in a move it believes will make it easier to develop and build affordable housing, especially in... 

Assembly plant volume cuts happening all too often, says Naacam as Merc suspends production

National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (Naacam) CEO Renai Moothilal says production plant volume cuts have become all too common in South Africa’s vehicle assembly... 

Cape Town’s own-build solar plant on track for year-end completion

The City of Cape Town’s Atlantis solar PV plant has, to date, seen the installation of around 2 400 solar panels out of the planned 12 850 panels as part of this R200-million renewable-energy... 

South Africa’s freight system stabilising, but no ‘kumbaya moment’ yet 

South Africa’s efforts to restore its logistics infrastructure have seen it stabilise the system, but not yet execute a big leap forward. This was the consensus among members of a panel speaking on... 

Transnet Engineering sets R1bn turnover goal for burgeoning maritime division

Transnet operating division Transnet Engineering (TE) aims for its relatively new maritime business to reach R1-billion in turnover in the next eight to ten years, says TE manufacturing and ports... 

SA auto industry facing volatile and uncertain global trading outlook

naamsa | The Automotive Business Council describes 2024 as “a taxing year” in its newly released Automotive Trade Manual 2025. The combined export value of vehicles and automotive components from... 

Goodyear plant closure comes on the back of “massive pressure” build-up – NMB Business Chamber

Goodyear South Africa (SA) has initiated a Section 189A process, related to a restructuring process that includes the tyre manufacturer’s operations in Kariega. The Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB)...