Paruk Group signs order for 100 electric  city buses from MAN South Africa

The Paruk Group has ordered 100 fully electric city buses from MAN Truck & Bus South Africa (MAN SA). This is the German mobility group’s largest e-bus order outside Europe to date. 

Solareff sells majority stake in GridCars

Renewable-energy group Solareff has sold its majority shareholding in electric vehicle (EV) charging network operator GridCars. Solareff says this means that the company will also step back from... 

SA’s cheapest electric-car maker to roll out local charging network

Build Your Dreams Auto South Africa (BYD SA) has announced that will install between 200 and 300 public charging stations across the country in 2026, in a move to make electric mobility more... 

New industrial tech, renewables events for SA

Montgomery Group Africa will stage two new exhibitions in South Africa – one in Johannesburg in 2026, and one in Cape Town in 2027. Montgomery Group Africa commercial director Joshua Low says RE+... 

RFI process launched to attract private investment in commuter, long-distance passenger rail

The Department of Transport (DoT) has kickstarted a request-for-information (RFI) process for private companies interested in investing in South Africa’s passenger-rail system. Speaking at a media... 

Toyota SA, Durban auto cluster seek  SMEs for development programme

Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) has announced the launch of the 2025 Durban Automotive Cluster (DAC) Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Accelerator. The programme is a public-private partnership... 

Cape Town’s boat-building industry must act to mitigate effects of US tariffs – Vos

The South African boat-building industry must formulate a response to the 30% tariff levied on all boats exported from South Africa to the US as from August onwards, says City of Cape Town Economic... 

Phase 1 of Grindrod’s R200m Cape Town container facility opens

JSE-listed logistics group Grindrod has started operations at Phase 1 of a new United Container Depots (UCD) facility in Salt River, Cape Town. UCD, which is fully owned by Grindrod, also has... 

PBMR to be lifted from care and maintenance by Q1 2026

The process to lift South Africa’s dormant pebble-bed modular reactor (PBMR) project from care and maintenance is at an advanced stage, Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. The... 

Growthpoint invests in Cape Winelands airport project

The Cape Winelands Airport project has secured an investment, development and managing partner in the form of Growthpoint Properties, which has made an initial undisclosed investment in the... 

Cape Town mulls rolling out congestion charging, high-occupancy vehicle lanes

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) is mulling a number of measures to ease growing traffic congestion, including the introduction of high-occupancy lanes and congestion charging. This means that, in... 

SPS launches buyout model for existing solar and battery systems

Sustainable Power Solutions (SPS) has introduced a buyout model that can convert existing solar and battery systems into immediate capital for South African businesses. SPS is a pan-African funder,... 

EV lease company Everlectric expands to the Western Cape

Electric vehicle (EV) full maintenance lease business Everlectric has opened shop in Cape Town. Businesses can lease commercial EVs from the company, which will also provide the charging... 

Extrupet, partners open food-grade PET plastic recycling plant in Cape Town

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Dr Dion George has cut the ribbon on Extrupet’s new food-grade polyethylene terephthalate – PET – plastic recycling plant in Cape Town. The facility... 

Stellantis launches electric brand in SA

Stellantis South Africa (SA) will start to roll out Chinese electric vehicle (EV) brand Leapmotor at select local dealerships from this month onwards. Leapmotor was founded by entrepreneur and tech... 

VW’s Kariega plant produces vehicle number 3 000 000

Volkswagen Group Africa (VWGA) has celebrated assembling its three-millionth vehicle – a grey Polo Vivo – at its Kariega plant. Production at the Eastern Cape facility started in 1948. 

September new-vehicle sales at ten-year high, exports up 32.9%

New-vehicle sales last month reached their highest level since September 2015, says naamsa | The Automotive Business Council. Sales were up 24.3%, to 54 700 units, compared with September last year. 

Cape Town’s Potsdam wastewater plant upgrade reaches 60% completion mark

Construction of the Potsdam Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) in Cape Town, currently one of the Western Cape’s largest infrastructure projects at a cost of R5.2-billion, has reached 60%... 

First solar wheeling project under Namibia’s MSB programme comes on stream

Sustainable Power Solutions (SPS), in partnership with B2Gold Namibia, the Oelofse family and Fortitude, has commissioned Namibia’s first solar wheeling project under State-owned utility NamPower’s... 

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... 

New household survey shows Capetonians travel largely by car

Cape Town’s new Household Survey shows that private vehicles remain the dominant form of transport in the city, with 48% of households making use of this mode, followed by minibus taxi at 29.8%,... 

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...