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... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

Lightstone expects 7.7% bump in new-vehicle sales; says 89% of buyers opting for 6-years-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... 

Cape Town’s Water Directorate adds 176 trucks to its fleet

The City of Cape Town’s Water and Sanitation Directorate spent R155.5-million on acquiring 176 new and upgraded trucks during the 2024/2025 financial year. The directorate says the fleet... 

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... 

Subaru Southern Africa appoints new MD

Toshimitsu Tanaka has been appointed as the new MD of Subaru Southern Africa, effective August 1. Tanaka succeeds Andrew Marshall, who retired after five years of leadership. 

SA women (slowly) catching up to men in vehicle ownership – Lightstone

Research group Lightstone says women in South Africa are catching up to men in financed car purchases, while they already lead in homeownership – shifts which reflect their growing socio-economic... 

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... 

Hydrogen light-vehicle development on hold – AFS

AutoForecast Solutions (AFS) describes the development of hydrogen light-vehicles as “on hold” in its newest AFS Monthly report. Over the last quarter century, hydrogen, especially through fuel... 

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’s East London plant restarts after five-week stoppage

Mercedes-Benz South Africa has restarted the assembly line at its East London plant following what it called a “planned nonproduction period” that ran from June 25 to the end of July. A... 

Lower interest rates boosting car sales; Asian brands expanding their influence

New-vehicle credit application volumes at WesBank are more than 20% higher than a year ago, says the asset finance group. This comes as new-vehicle sales blitzed through the 50 000-unit-a-month... 

Daimler Truck signs letter of intent on truck assembly plant in Senegal

Daimler Truck has signed a letter of intent on the establishment of a local truck assembly plant together with the government of the Republic of Senegal and private sector company Global Truck... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

Caetano group takes over JMC brand in SA, readies for bakkie, truck range launch

Salvador Caetano Auto South Africa (SCA SA) has taken over as the official distributor of China’s Jiangling Motors Corporation (JMC). SCA SA is a subsidiary of the global Salvador Caetano Group,... 

Masterplan development on the cards for Namibia–Western Cape hydrogen pipeline

Namibiaʼs Green Hydrogen Mid-Year Review 2025 reports that a conceptual master plan for the cross-border hydrogen pipeline between South Africa and Namibia will be developed between the middle of... 

Western Cape government launches R2bn-plus Founders Garden Development

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... 

President acknowledges that auto industry is under growing pressure

South Africa’s automotive sector is under “growing pressure”, writes President Cyril Ramaphosa in his weekly newsletter. He states that incrementally stricter vehicle emission regulations in the... 

SA’s fully electric fleet to reach 25 500 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 South... 

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... 

Electric motorbike sales growing rapidly, total bike 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... 

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... 

Volvo Car South Africa welcomes new MD

Volvo Car South Africa (VCSA) has welcomed Grant Locke as its new MD. VCSA says Locke is tasked to drive the company’s growth strategy, network expansion plans and customer experience in a rapidly...