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)... 

Deal signed on global Fuso-Hino merger, operations to start in April next year

Daimler Truck and Toyota Motor Corporation have signed an agreement to integrate Mitsubishi Fuso and Hino truck companies on an equal footing. Daimler Truck is Fuso’s parent company, and Toyota is... 

Auto policy roll-out, affordable mobility top list of priorities for new AAAM CEO

The African Association of Automotive Manufacturers’ (AAAM’s) new CEO, Victoria Backhaus-Jerling, says she has four main priorities for her tenure at the industry body. Before her appointment on... 

Ford SA launches programme for specialised commercial vehicle conversions

Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (Ford SA) has launched the Ford Pro Convertor (FPC) programme for commercial market customers seeking specialised vehicle conversions. The programme allows... 

Fiat launches new half-tonner in Africa – but it may not be what you imagined

Fiat Professional has introduced its first-ever three-wheeled electric vehicle – the Tris – in Africa and the Middle East. Focused on tasks such as micro-transport and last-mile delivery – think... 

Electric truck take-off requires two concessions from govt, says Volvo Trucks South Africa MD

South African truck assemblers are lobbying for two concessions from government as the world increasingly moves to electric mobility, says Volvo Trucks South Africa (Volvo Trucks SA) MD Waldemar... 

Cape Town rail passenger trips to climb to 343 000 a day by April next year, says Creecy

Rail passenger numbers in Cape Town reached 53 000 people a day in April last year, says Transport Minister Barbara Creecy. With the reopening of Philippi and Nolungile stations, this number has... 

Booming Suzuki to build new head office and warehouse

Suzuki Auto South Africa (Suzuki SA), in partnership with real estate group Fortress, has broken ground on its new head office and distribution centre at Longlake Logistics Park, in Gauteng. The... 

May new-vehicle sales jump by 22%, exports continue to trend downwards

Total May new-vehicle sales, at 45 308 units, jumped by 22% compared with the same month last year, buoyed by a nixed value-added tax increase, a drop in interest rates and the tabling – finally –... 

Paruk group intent on buying 100 made-in-SA electric MAN buses

The Paruk group of companies has signed a letter of intent to buy 100 made-in-South Africa MAN Lion’s Explorer E electric buses. The Paruk group is linked to Stabus and Gauteng Coaches. 

AngloGold Ashanti donates hyperspectral core scanner to Stellenbosch University

Stellenbosch University (SU) will be the first university in South Africa to house a hyperspectral core imaging system, thanks to a donation from mining company AngloGold Ashanti. The core scanner... 

MyCiTi’s multibillion-rand south-east route expansion moves to Claremont

Several construction projects that form part of the multibillion-rand rollout of the newest MyCiTi bus route in Cape Town are on track for completion from this year to 2027. Cape Town Mayor Geordin...