Ford celebrates 1m Rangers; looks to PHEV production start before year-end

Ford South Africa (SA) has celebrated the assembly of the one-millionth Ranger at its Silverton plant in Pretoria. While the first million bakkies has taken 24 years, the second million is set to... 

Global EV sales growth continues, but significant slowdown in some markets – BloombergNEF

Electric vehicle (EV) markets around the world are not all travelling in the same direction, or at the same speed, in 2024, says research group BloombergNEF (BNEF) in its newest EV Outlook Report.... 

New-vehicle sales down 14.2% as consumers suffer from election jitters

April’s 2.2% bump in new-vehicle sales proved to be an anomaly as new-vehicle sales again returned to negative territory in May, with the market down 14.2%, to 37 105 units, compared with the same... 

Logistics Crisis Committee’s work to continue, freight sector poised to transform in next two years

Business Unity South Africa (Busa) president Mxolisi Mgojo says he is confident that work within the National Logistics Crisis Committee (NLCC) will continue as political parties grapple to form a... 

Construction of new TNPA multipurpose vessel gets under way

A keel-laying ceremony has marked the beginning of construction of a new multipurpose vessel that will increase the marine fleet availability for Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) in Cape... 

Already green V&A Waterfront eyes starting up desalination plant, building second seawater cooling plant

Since embarking on its sustainability journey in 2008, the V&A Waterfront (V&A) in Cape Town has reduced its energy use by 40%, with 2 MW of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels generating 1 640 000 kWh... 

Traditional bakkie powerhouses to be challenged by buying-down trend, newcomers – WesBank

South Africa is bakkie country, dominated by Toyota’s Hilux as the country’s long-standing number-one-selling vehicle, with the Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max also perennial favourites, among others.... 

AARTO demerit system set for mid-2025 launch, dealers urged to up admin game – NADA

Government aims for the system that will see road users accrue demerit points for road traffic offences to kick off in the middle of next year, says National Automobile Dealers' Association (NADA)... 

Yes, there are problems at SA ports, but World Bank report not entirely accurate – SAAFF

The newest World Bank Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) report, which places a number of South African ports at the bottom of the list, covers the crisis-ridden 2023 period, and does not take... 

Cape Town introduces reversible MyCiTi bus lane to reduce congestion

The City of Cape Town’s Transport Network Technology branch is set to activate a reversible MyCiTi bus lane along the R27 between Loxton road and Broad road in Milnerton. This bus lane, for... 

Barloworld profit dips as local mining industry slows

Barloworld’s South African businesses continued to face a myriad of challenging trading conditions, says CEO Dominic Sewela. Announcing the group’s financial results for the six months ended March... 

GovChat founders’ new venture, Suppple, lists in Luxembourg in £200m IPO

IT and AI company Suppple Plc in May witnessed its £200-million initial public offering (IPO) on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) in Europe. Suppple will be required to comply with LuxSE rules... 

Poor roads, bad weather and weak used-car market dent Zeda’s profit

Poor road conditions, hailstorms, a shortage of car parts and a deteriorating used-car market converged to dent Zeda’s operating profit for the six months ended March 31. The integrated mobility... 

Construction of Msikaba bridge progresses to highly technical phases

Construction at the Msikaba Bridge on the N2 in the Eastern Cape is set to move up a gear this year, with a number of challenging technical activities to be tackled. According to contractor Concor,... 

Cape Town releases more land for affordable housing under new housing strategy

With national government slashing Cape Town’s housing grants by R107-million this financial year, the city has been forced to change its housing strategy, says Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis. Cape Town... 

Mercedes-Benz SA considers cutting 700 jobs on back of struggling economy, ports

Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) says it will move from three shifts a day at its East London plant to two shifts, in a move that could potentially cut 700 jobs. MBSA assembles the C-Class for the... 

Recovery in logistics sector continued in April despite ports being lashed by storms – Ctrack index

After declining in the first two months of the year, the Ctrack Transport and Freight Index (Ctrack TFI) continued its momentum in April to reach a level of 123.4 – an increase of 2.8% compared... 

City of Cape Town hits apartment building developer with R1m fine

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has upheld a decision by the city’s Municipal Planning Tribunal to impose a record R1-million penalty for unauthorised building work. The penalty relates to a... 

NLCC’s work to continue, freight sector poised to transform in next two years

Business Unity South Africa president Mxolisi Mgojo says he is confident that work within the National Logistics Crisis Committee (NLCC) will continue as political parties grapple to form a... 

Cape Town calls for private-sector intervention as port ranks worst in the world

According to the newly published World Bank Container Port Performance Index, the Port of Cape Town has been identified as the worst performing port in the world. It is joined in the bottom 16 of... 

Suppple launches AI health bot for AU member States

Cape Town- and London-based technology company Suppple launched an AI health bot at Africa Health ExCon, held in Egypt this month. Suppple says the health bot will provide digital healthcare... 

Despite ‘visible progress’ on loadshedding front, Eskom boss says SA not out of the woods yet

On day 55 of no loadshedding in South Africa, on May 21, newly appointed Eskom boss Dan Marokane warned that the country was “not of out the woods yet” in terms of more reliable energy supply.... 

Eskom CFO calls for mechanism to ensure utility gets paid as municipal debt relief programme falters

Municipal debt remains one of Eskom’s biggest challenges, says Eskom CFO Calib Cassim. “At the end of March, we were sitting at around R75-billion of municipal arrears owing to us. That has grown... 

Plans for acceleration of Eskom’s transmission expansion falling into place – Scheppers

Eskom Transmission CEO Segomoco Scheppers says he believes the “pieces are falling into place” that will allow the power utility to “ramp up and move faster” in expanding the country’s constrained... 

Steady increase in demand for Cape Town’s MyCiTi bus service

The latest audited statistics on MyCiTi ridership in and around Cape Town show that there is increasing demand for the bus service. “It took some time for the service to settle in again after the... 

Volvo to launch trucks with combustion engines that run on hydrogen

Volvo Trucks says it is developing trucks with combustion engines that run on hydrogen. On-road tests will begin in 2026, and the global commercial launch is planned towards the end of this decade. 

Already green V&A Waterfront eyes starting up desalination plant; building second seawater cooling plant

Since starting its sustainability journey in 2008, the V&A Waterfront (V&A) in Cape Town has reduced its energy use by 40%, with 2 MW of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels generating 1 640 000 kWh of... 

New-vehicle sales down 14.2% as consumers suffer from election jitters

April’s 2.2% bump in new-vehicle sales proved to be an anomaly as new-vehicle sales again returned to negative territory in May, with the market down 14.2%, to 37 105 units, compared with the same... 

GovChat founders’ new venture, Suppple, lists in Luxembourg in £200m IPO

IT and AI company Suppple Plc in May witnessed its £200-million initial public offering (IPO) on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) in Europe. Suppple will be required to comply with LuxSE rules... 

ECDC announces R50m scheme to boost small black auto businesses

The Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) has launched a R50-million blended finance scheme to aid emerging Eastern Cape-based micro, small and medium-sized automotive component suppliers, as... 

JustGO CarPooling connects people looking for a city-to-city ride

Online bus and flight-ticket sales specialist JustGO has launched a new CarPooling service. Using an online booking platform on which drivers can post their availability for inter-city travel,... 

How it’s made: A new Ford Ranger every two minutes

Ford’s Silverton manufacturing plant, in Pretoria, is one of five global manufacturing hubs for the Ranger bakkie. The plant is able to produce up to 200 000 vehicles a year and, based on... 

Cape Town’s Copperheads recover 1.7 t of stolen metal

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) says it has recovered more than 1.7 t of stolen metal in the nine months between July last year and March this year. This effort was led by the city’s Metals Theft... 

More than 430 Cape Town households apply to sell their excess solar electricity

A total of 432 Cape Town households have applied to earn cash from selling their excess solar power to the city. These applications will now be assessed to determine their eligibility. 

Contractors, subcontractors battling as late payments worsen – MBA North

The construction industry value chain is at risk of collapsing as shrinking margins, unfair practices and payment issues continue to undermine the sector. This is according to members of the Master... 

Stellantis plant site being readied for construction

The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) has started to prepare the site at the Coega Special Economic Zone for the construction of the new Stellantis vehicle-assembly plant, says the Department of... 

Poor roads, bad weather and weak used-car market dent Zeda’s profit

Poor road conditions, hail storms, a shortage of car parts and a deteriorating used-car market all managed to dent Zeda’s operating profit for the six months ended March 31. The integrated mobility... 

Barloworld profit dips as slowdown in local mining industry takes its toll

Barloworld’s South African businesses continued to face a myriad of challenging trading conditions, says CEO Dominic Sewela. Announcing the group’s financial results for the six months ended March... 

Stellantis assembly-plant site being readied for construction – dtic

The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) has started to prepare the site at the Coega Special Economic Zone for the construction of the new Stellantis vehicle-assembly plant, says the Department of... 

Shipping losses hit all-time low, shadow fleet growing, says new report

The 2024 Allianz Safety and Shipping Review notes that 26 large ships were lost worldwide last year – down by a third year-on-year, and the industry’s lowest ever total. Around 90% of international...