SA’s ‘big six’ auto brands dip below 50% market share as Chinese onslaught expands

The top six-selling light-vehicle brands in South Africa in the year 2000 were Toyota, Volkswagen, Nissan, Opel, Mazda and Ford. From the turn of the century to 2010, these six brands held around... 

DSV acquires nine electric trucks from Volvo Trucks SA

Volvo Trucks South Africa (SA) has delivered the first of nine new electric trucks to logistics group DSV. Three new Volvo FM 4x2 8-t electric trucks will be joining DSV’s fleet in support of its... 

WBHO seals the deal to build the R8bn Cape Winelands Airport

The Cape Winelands Airport has appointed Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon (WBHO) to take responsibility for the technical development and construction of its new R8-billion airport, set to be built in... 

Building confidence index jumps to 10-year high

The FNB/BER Building Confidence Index jumped to a 10-year high of 43 in the fourth quarter of this year, up from 35 in the third quarter. However, despite the uptick, the current index level still... 

Highest weather station in Southern Africa installed in the Maluti-Drakensberg range

The National Research Foundation – South African Environmental Observation Network (NRF-SAEON), in collaboration with the University of the Free State’s (UFS’s) Afromontane Research Unit (ARU), has... 

Hyundai opens its first shopping centre sales pod; aims to get back to number three

Hyundai aims to win back the number three spot in the South African new-passenger car market in the next three years, says Hyundai Automotive South Africa (HASA) CEO Stanley Anderson. The Korean... 

Cape Town switches on landfill gas to energy plant

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and Urban Waste Management MMC Grant Twigg in November powered up the city’s new gas-to-energy plant at the Coastal Park Landfill. The plant generates enough... 

Construction starts on R2bn mixed-use development in Green Point

Construction work has started on The Granger, a R2-billion mixed-use development adjacent to the DHL Stadium in Green Point, Cape Town. Situated between the city’s central business district (CBD)... 

Smart EV rolls out 50 electric bus chargers at Golden Arrow depot in Cape Town

Smart EV has wrapped up the installation of a high-capacity hub to charge Golden Arrow Bus Services’ (GABS’s) new BYD electric bus fleet at the transport company’s Arrowgate depot. Smart EV is a... 

VSL Manufacturing opens new, R750m facility to supply Isuzu assembly plant

VSL Manufacturing (VSL) has started operations at its new, R750-million manufacturing facility adjacent to the Isuzu Motors South Africa (IMSAf) assembly plant in Struandale, Gqeberha. VSL is a... 

Hydrogen to keep on growing as it emerges from hype cycle; China rapidly driving down costs

The hydrogen sector may have been in a hype cycle for the last few years, but the fundamentals around the global energy market have not changed – the need for clean and localised energy and a just... 

Polyco’s Packa-Ching initiative pays out R50m, diverts 41m kg of waste from landfills

Polyco’s Packa-Ching community recycling initiative has paid out more than R50-million to South African communities, and diverted more than 41-million kilogrammes of waste from landfills.... 

Automotive market races to 11-year high as Chinese brands boom in ‘structural reset’ – TransUnion

South Africa’s automotive market in the third quarter posted its strongest sales in more than a decade as greater macro-economic stability, easing interest rates and a firmer rand supported renewed... 

Volkswagen completes second phase of R90m Kariega solar project

Volkswagen Group Africa (VWGA) has completed the second phase of a solar PV project at its Kariega manufacturing plant, in the Eastern Cape. The multiphase solar project, located at the VWGA... 

New-vehicle sales up 12.5% in November, exports down 3.9%

November new-vehicle sales, at 54 896 units, jumped by 12.5% compared with the same month last year. naamsa | The Automotive Business Council said on Monday that South Africa’s domestic new car and... 

Auto sector inks three-year wage deal

The Automobile Manufacturers Employers Organisation (Ameo) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) have finally signed a wage agreement, following a protracted process that... 

Cape Town tables business plan to take over PRASA operations

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says Cape Town aims to be the first South African city to take over the management of its passenger rail system. This follows the tabling of a Rail Business Plan,... 

Working group established to put Africa on global superyacht map

Stakeholders in Africa’s superyacht industry have formed the African Superyacht Working Group, with the aim of rolling out an African superyacht growth strategy. A superyacht is a large, luxury... 

WeBuyCars reports 8.4% sales uptick, moves to absorb Chinese influx

WeBuyCars is on track to reach its goal of selling 23 000 vehicles a month in three years’ time, says CEO Faan van der Walt. Detailing the JSE-listed company’s financial results for the year ended... 

Cape Town’s Macassar wastewater treatment works gets R1.3bn upgrade

The City of Cape Town is rolling out a R1.3-billion upgrade to the Macassar wastewater treatment works (WWTW). The upgrade will more than double the plant’s current treatment capacity, from... 

Daimler Truck enters second fuel-cell trial as it prepares for series production

Following the initial customer trials of its Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Trucks, Daimler Truck is now preparing its fuel-cell trucks for series production based on real-world customer requirements. This... 

Zeda bets on Africa as it eyes expansion opportunities

Three years after listing on the JSE, integrated mobility group Zeda says it plans to scale up by expanding its reach into the rest of Africa. Announcing the company’s financial results for the... 

Charge breaks ground on two EV charging stations along the N3

Zero Carbon Charge (Charge) has broken ground on two off-grid, solar-powered ultrafast electric vehicle (EV) charging stations along the N3 corridor. The first, Charge N3 Roadside in the Free... 

Toyota launches Hilux Custom Builds for workhorse owners seeking special solutions

Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) has brought the customisation of its Hilux workhorse range in-house through its newly launched Hilux Custom Builds (HCB) programme. The programme eliminates Hilux... 

Rehabilitation work on the N4 progressing well ahead of the festive season – TRAC

N4 concessionaire Trans African Concessions (TRAC) has warned travellers ahead of the festive season that several major upgrade and rehabilitation projects are still ongoing on the toll route... 

Maersk cuts the ribbon on the final cold store in its R1.7-billion investment drive

Logistics giant Maersk has wrapped up a R1.72-billion investment drive in cold-chain infrastructure in South Africa with the opening of the R800-million Maersk Belcon cold store logistics park in... 

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... 

Volvo Trucks launches stop-start engine technology, and it’s coming to SA

Volvo Trucks has added engine stop-start functionality to its truck line-up. The Swedish truck maker says this is a world-first for the heavy-duty truck industry, in a move that promises to cut... 

Cape Town works to beat the heat as it appoints its first Chief Heat Officer

Cape Town has become the first South African city to have a Chief Heat Officer (CHO). Cities such as Los Angeles and Athens already have CHOs. 

Cape Town’s Wildevoëlvlei wastewater facility in R280m upgrade

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) is investing R280-million to upgrade its Wildevoëlvlei wastewater treatment works (WWTW) in Kommetjie. Constructed in 1977, the Wildevoëlvlei WWTW services Fish Hoek,... 

Working group established to put Africa on global superyacht map

Stakeholders in Africa’s superyacht industry have formed the African Superyacht Working Group, with the aim of rolling out an African superyacht growth strategy. A superyacht is a large, luxury... 

WeBuyCars sales up by 8.4%; acts to absorb Chinese influx

WeBuyCars is on track to reach its goal of selling 23 000 vehicles a month in three years’ time, says CEO Faan van der Walt. Speaking during a webcast on Monday detailing the JSE-listed company’s... 

Car makers, Numsa sign three-year wage deal

The Automobile Manufacturers Employers Organisation (Ameo) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) have finally signed a wage agreement, following a protracted process that... 

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 approves R7.8bn in building plans in Q1, with R2bn in Table Bay, CBD

The City of Cape Town says it has approved building plans to the value of R7.8-billion in the first quarter of the current financial year. Up to 4 733 building plans were submitted to the city’s... 

Grindrod launches Phase 1 of Matola terminal expansion

Grindrod has officially broken ground on Phase 1 of its Matola dry-bulk terminal expansion programme. The event saw Mozambique Transport and Logistics Minister João Jorge Matlombe launch Phase 1 of...