Assembly plant volume cuts happening more 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 revises by-law to boost 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... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

Tough commodity market hits Grindrod where it hurts

The commodity markets have not treated Grindrod favourably in the first five months of the year, says CEO Xolani Mbambo. Speaking to investors on a conference call on Wednesday, he warned that the... 

Mercedes-Benz appoints new CEO at its 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... 

Cape Town to make 840 additional taxi, e-hailing permits available

The City of Cape Town’s Urban Mobility Directorate, in collaboration with the Western Cape government’s Provincial Regulatory Entity (PRE), is initiating a two-phase process to allow for the... 

Solareff opens new Cape Town office on back of regional boom

The Johannesburg-based Solareff group last week cut the ribbon on its new off-grid, 720 m2 regional office and warehouse in Cape Town. Chief commercial officer DeVilliers Botha says the engineered... 

Solareff mulling its options regarding its GridCars shareholding

Solareff CEO Jaco Botha says the engineered solar PV and battery energy storage solutions group is weighing the future of its 75% shareholding in vehicle charge network operator GridCars. GridCars... 

300-plus problem buildings identified in Cape Town

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) says its active problem building caseload is hovering at just more than 300 properties. The city’s Law Enforcement Problem Building Unit (PBU) has a total of 922... 

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... 

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... 

Cape Town turns to Finland for support as it centralises facilities management

The City of Cape Town’s Corporate Services Directorate will receive support from the Finnish government on how to apply data analytics in its long-term planning and decision-making processes. As... 

SATMC appoints new chairperson as local tyre manufacturers face influx of imports

The South African Tyre Manufacturers Conference (SATMC) has appointed Bridgestone Southern Africa MD Jacques Rikhotso as its new chairperson. This move is aligned with a renewed focus on defending... 

Stabilisation in freight system, 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... 

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

The Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) Business Chamber says it is deeply saddened at the proposed closure of the Goodyear tyre plant in Kariega. CEO Denise van Huyssteen says a section189A process has been... 

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. 

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

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

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... 

Cape Town asks Constitutional Court to invalidate Public Procurement Bill

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the city has approached the Constitutional Court to invalidate the Public Procurement Act. The city previously warned that the Bill would slow down local... 

Building confidence loses ground in Q2, residential sector under pressure – FNB/BER index

After gaining one index point in the first quarter of the year, the FNB/BER Building Confidence Index fell by five points to 36 in the second quarter. The current reading means that almost 65% of... 

Volkswagen appoints Simphiwe Nghona as sales and marketing director

Volkswagen Group Africa (VWGA) has appointed Simphiwe Nghona as its new sales and marketing director. Nghona succeeds Thomas Milz. 

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... 

Infrastructure SA preparing 34 projects to come to market before end-2026

Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) is currently preparing and packaging 34 projects with an estimated capital value of R259-billion, says ISA acting head Mameetse Masemola, with these projects... 

ISA unveils its seven priority projects for 2025/26 fiscal year

Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) has unveiled the seven projects it has selected under Bid Window 1 for priority project preparation. The list was announced at the Sustainable Infrastructure... 

Ramaphosa seeks trillions from private sector as he acknowledges past infrastructure failures

As government prepares to spend more than R1-trillion on infrastructure over the next three years, President Cyril Ramaphosa wants the private sector to quadruple that to R4-trillion. “I want... 

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... 

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 –... 

Would you buy a car from a robot? Chery deploys its AiMOGA Robot at selected dealerships

At the Joystar 4S dealership in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, visitors are treated to a glimpse of a possible new era in car-buying as a humanoid robot enters the showroom floor. Clad in a silver-grey... 

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

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 now...