Cape Town budgets R5.3bn for water and sanitation capital projects

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) says its total proposed budget for water and sanitation for the upcoming 2024/25 financial year is R18.5-billion. Of this, R5.3-billion will be spent on capital... 

Hyundai unveils nano cooling film able to slash interior heat in cars

The Hyundai Motor Company has unveiled what it says is the world’s first application of a nano cooling film. The South Korean car maker describes the film as “a revolutionary vehicle window tint... 

PRASA partially restores five more railway corridors

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) says it has restored another five Metrorail corridors across Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. These rail services were interrupted by... 

Volkswagen to invest R4-billion to produce third model at Kariega plant in show of commitment to South Africa

Volkswagen Group Africa (VWA) will invest R4-billion in its manufacturing plant in Kariega, in the Eastern Cape. The investment will be used to prepare the plant for the addition of a third model... 

‘No operational issues’ as Golden Arrow tests electric Explorer bus

Golden Arrow Bus Services (GABS) says it will probably make a final decision in the third or fourth quarter of this year on whether it will acquire any Lion’s Explorer E electric buses from MAN... 

Fly farmer Maltento opens laboratory to expand insect research

Fly farmer Maltento has unveiled a new laboratory at its insect breeding facility in Cape Town. The laboratory has been built to expand Maltento’s research on insect biotechnology, and aims to... 

Blue Energy signs 20-year green power deal with wheel manufacturer

Local developer and operator of clean energy infrastructure, Blue Energy Africa, has signed a 20-year deal with Borbet South Africa (SA) for the procurement of power from renewable-energy sources.... 

Urgent need to develop Africa’s fuel storage, distribution networks – Puma Energy

Puma Energy Africa head Fadi Mitri has issued a call to action to the African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA) to urgently develop the continent’s energy infrastructure. ARDA is the... 

Jaguar Land Rover develops portable charger using second-life batteries 

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has developed a portable battery energy storage system (Bess) using second-life Range Rover and Range Rover Sport plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) batteries.  The... 

Conditions challenging, but some green shoots emerging – MBA North

Last year was one of the most challenging years the Master Builders Association (MBA) North has ever experienced, with many of its long-standing members entering business rescue or closing their... 

New-vehicle sales plummet 11.7% in March, extending months-long slide

New-vehicle sales plummeted by 11.7% in March, to 44 237 units, compared with the same month last year. Sales for the first quarter of the year are now 5.3% below the same period last year. 

Record R12.1bn set aside for infrastructure in Cape Town’s R76.4bn budget for 2024/25

Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has tabled a R76.4-billion draft budget for the city for the 2024/25 financial year. The budget proposes record infrastructure investment of R12.1-billion for the... 

Metair reassures market amid huge debt, challenges at Türkiye battery business

Metair is still very much open for business and the group is able to accommodate new clients should they need automotive components or energy storage solutions, says new CEO Paul O’Flaherty.... 

GAC Motor joins inflow from China

China’s GAC Motor has appointed Salvador Caetano Auto as the distributor and retailer of GAC vehicles, spare parts and related services in South Africa (SA). GAC Motor is a subsidiary of the... 

Electric trucks too expensive? Now you can rent one from Volvo Trucks SA

Volvo Trucks South Africa (SA) has introduced an equipment-as-a-service (EaaS) model for its new electric truck rentals business. Following last year’s launch of Volvo electric trucks in South... 

VW Africa laments power outages in ECape; Patel says Electricity Minister is tackling the problem

Volkswagen Group Africa (VWA) last week suffered four power outages at its Kariega plant, says VWA MD and chairperson Martina Biene. This happened while there was no loadshedding scheduled for the... 

Volkswagen to invest R4bn to produce third model at Kariega plant

Volkswagen Group Africa (VWA) will invest R4-billion in its manufacturing plant in Kariega, in the Eastern Cape. The investment will be used to prepare the plant for the addition of a third model... 

Millennials, Gen-Zs want cars, but are struggling to afford them – WesBank

Young South Africans, aged 35 and younger, are demonstrating a growing preference for private mobility. This is evident in recent WesBank data that shows a consistent increase over the past three... 

Jaecoo launches its first cars in South Africa

China’s Jaecoo brand has launched its first vehicle in South Africa – the J7 sports-utility vehicle (SUV). Chery/Omoda & Jaecoo South Africa (SA) says the “urban off-road SUV brand” is “poised to... 

Cape Town to tighten procurement process in effort to combat extortion

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) says the yearly review of its Supply Chain Management Policy proposes additional measures to reduce the risk of extortion impacting city projects. The proposed Supply... 

Suzuki breaks through the 50 000-unit sales mark

Suzuki Auto South Africa (Suzuki SA) has broken through the 50 000-units-a-year sales barrier for the first time in its history. The year in question is the company’s financial year, running from... 

Cape Town to depoly camera-fitted aircraft in war against crime

The City of Cape Towns’ (CoCT’s) Safety and Security Directorate is enhancing its crime prevention capabilities with the inclusion of new aerial surveillance technology. The information,... 

Cape Town’s MyCiTi depot construction 65% complete

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) says construction work on two new MyCiTi depots, located on the corner of Spine Road and Mew Way between Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain, is now 65% complete. City... 

Toyota, Ford and VW shine in AutoTrader report

In 2023, Toyota took top position as South Africa’s most sold used-car brand, with 60 296 units changing hands, while the Ford Ranger reigned supreme as the country's most sold model, at 20 156... 

Toyota adds Hilux, Fortuner hybrids to its local production line-up

Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) has added the Hilux double-cab and Fortuner 48 V mild hybrids to its local production line-up at its Durban plant, in KwaZulu-Natal. The addition of the new models... 

WeBuyCars lists on the JSE

Preowned-vehicle sales specialist WeBuyCars on Thursday listed on the main board of the JSE under the share code WBC. The listing follows WeBuyCars’ unbundling from Transaction Capital, which also... 

Cape Town takes second stab at rolling out electric buses for its MyCiTi service

The City of Cape Town should have battery electric buses (e-buses) operational on its MyCiTi bus service by 2027, says Urban Mobility MMC Rob Quintas. It will be the city’s second stab at rolling... 

Zero Carbon Charge says it will build 120 off-grid e-truck charging sites

Electric vehicle charging startup, Zero Carbon Charge, has launched a new subsidiary, Zero Carbon Logistics, which it says will roll out 120 off-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) electric truck charging... 

Shoprite, four global retailers form $125m venture fund aimed at innovation

Five grocery retailers, including South Africa’s Shoprite group, have established a venture fund called W23 Global. W23 Global brings together Ahold Delhaize (US, Europe, Indonesia), Tesco (UK,... 

Reforms to cut red tape starting to bear fruit – Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa believes that government’s efforts to cut the red tape holding back infrastructure development are beginning to bearing fruit. Delivering the keynote address at... 

Govt turns to private sector to fix public facilities

Given the current economic downturn, government does not have the resources to look after all its assets, says Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) property management trading... 

Infrastructure SA names 12 projects it will unlock in 2024/25

Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) unveiled 12 “infrastructure projects for preparation” for the 2024/25 financial year at the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium South Africa 2024... 

Infrastructure SA gets R600m boost from Treasury for project preparation

The National Treasury has allocated Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) a budget of R600-million over three years to “prepare projects”, says ISA head Mameetse Masemola. Addressing a media conference... 

DP World wins big as bpSA outsources its secondary transport ops

DP World will take over bp Southern Africa’s (bpSA’s) Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Rustenburg logistics operations as the energy group has opted to outsource its secondary transport. In... 

PRASA restores five more rail corridors partially

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) says it has restored another five Metrorail corridors across Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. These rail services were interrupted by... 

New-vehicle sales plummet 11.7% in March

New-vehicle sales plummeted by 11.7% in March, to 44 235 units, compared with the same month last year. Sales for the first quarter of the year are now 5.3% below the same period last year. 

New online portal launched to aid Cape Town’s solar PV boom

The City of Cape Town has launched a new online application portal for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. More than 5 000 solar PV systems have been authorised to date, totalling 126 MVA, with... 

Varsity, private firm in partnership to develop protocol for production of radiopharmaceuticals

Stellenbosch University (SU) and high-tech company Enlightened Isotopes, a subsidiary of ASP Isotopes, have entered into an R8.5-million research partnership to develop a protocol for the... 

Toyota launches expanded accessories programme in SA

Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) has launched a new programme called Associated Accessory Products (AAP). The local arm of the Japanese carmaker says this one-stop-shop offering will complement... 

Ctrack transport, freight index shows deterioration in all but one of six sectors tracked

After increasing somewhat in December, the Ctrack Transport and Freight Index (TFI) declined notably in January to a level of 119.3 – a drop of 2.1%, compared with December’s 121.9. The extent of...