Toyota SA targets 2024 introduction of hybrid Hilux produced at Prospecton plant

Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) has confirmed that it is targeting the introduction of a mild-hybrid Hilux bakkie into the South African market next year. TSAM says the hybrid version of South... 

Mercedes, Super Group unveil blueprint for luxury dealerships

Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) has unveiled the second of its local dealerships to have adopted the German carmaker’s new ‘luxury’ retail brand appearance, launched globally in 2018, and in... 

16 of TiAuto’s stores complete Phase 1 solar conversion

Sixteen of TiAuto’s retail stores have completed their conversion to solar power, as part of Phase 1 of a project to reduce the group’s dependence on Eskom and to move to renewable energy. The... 

Ever-expanding Maltento eyes opportunities in aquaculture and cosmetics 

The Maltento insect farm started as a small, test-scale operation in a home bathroom in Craighall Park, Johannesburg.  Almost seven years later, founder and CEO Dean Smorenburg has seen the... 

inDrive launches ‘name your price’ freight service in SA

California-based mobility and urban services platform inDrive has launched a name-your-price freight service in South Africa, targeting small businesses and individuals. InDrive is already active... 

What to do with an old mine? Turn it into a self-driving test track

BMW has launched a new test site in Sokolov, Czechia, aimed at developing self-driving and self-parking. The German car maker says the 300-million euro Future Mobility Development Center (FMDC)... 

Global electric vehicle sales to soar to 22m in 2025 as adoption gathers momentum

Electric vehicle (EV) adoption is set to soar in the coming years, with more than 100-million passenger EVs expected on the roads by 2026, and more than 700-million by 2040. This is a significant... 

Cape Town to roll out a number of technologies to combat crime

The City of Cape Town will this year introduce a number of new technologies to combat crime. Some of these technologies may be familiar, such as drones and body cameras, with other perhaps less... 

Daimler’s Atlantis Foundries signs embedded solar power purchase agreement

Atlantis Foundries (AF) has signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with integrated energy solutions company Energy Partners (EP). According to the agreement, EP will engineer, finance,... 

Survey reveals alarming trends in SME road freight sector

Sixty-eight per cent of small and medium-sized road-freight companies have inadequate vehicle maintenance programmes.  This neglect of proper maintenance increases the risk of mechanical failures,... 

Hino SA appoints new VP, expects a healthy 2023 truck market

Anton Falck has been appointed as the new VP of Hino South Africa (SA). Falck takes his first step into the world of trucking as he replaces Ernie Trautmann, who has retired.  

Car-sharing represents ‘significant, exciting opportunities’ – Legacy Group

Considering South Africa’s many transportation challenges, the emergence of car-sharing represents significant and exciting opportunities for boosting socioeconomic development and inclusive growth... 

SA tyre makers commit to net zero by 2050

All four of South Africa’s local tyre manufacturers have committed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Bridgestone South Africa, Continental Tyre South Africa, Goodyear South Africa and Sumitomo... 

Volkswagen, Rwandan govt to establish ‘modern farm with electric tractors’

Volkswagen has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Rwanda to establish “a modern farm with electric tractors”.  The MoU was signed Agriculture and Animal Resources... 

Ford’s Silverton plant achieves record daily production volume

Ford South Africa’s Silverton assembly plant, in Pretoria, has achieved its highest daily production number yet, at 704 vehicles. Based on three-shift 24-hour production, the plant is capable of... 

BMW to invest R4.2bn to produce new X3, including plug-in hybrid, in South Africa

BMW will invest R4.2-billion over the next five years in its Rosslyn plant in South Africa to build the new-generation X3 sports-activity vehicle, including a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle... 

Clean tech MoU inked, Fuso-Hino merger in the offing

Daimler Truck, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), Hino Motors and Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) have concluded a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on accelerating the development... 

Volvo Car SA expects big jump in electric vehicle sales this year

It is impossible to know what the real demand is for Volvo Car South Africa’s (SA’s) fully electric vehicles (EVs), as persistent supply challenges have skewed the sales numbers, says Volvo Car SA... 

Cape Town secures €100-million in infrastructure funding from French bank

The City of Cape Town has secured €100-million in developmental finance, with Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis signing the loan agreement with the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) on June... 

Green-energy-powered ship docks in Cape Town, vessel number two in the works

The zero-emission, green-energy-powered Energy Observer (EO) earlier this month docked in Cape Town for a visit of just more than a week. The vessel, which acts as an on-the-water laboratory able... 

SA’s logistics chain in ‘desperate’ need of PPPs – SAAFF 

Port and rail parastatal Transnet and government cannot “go it alone” to repair South Africa’s strained logistics network, says South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) CEO Dr... 

Toyota SA expects new-energy vehicles to comprise 10% of its local sales by 2025

Toyota Motors South Africa (TSAM) aims for 10% of its sales, or 22 000 units, to be new-energy vehicles (NEVs) in 2025. This means the local arm of the Japanese manufacturer aims for total market... 

Cape Town launches team to safeguard the city’s electricity infrastructure

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) has introduced an Energy Safety Team to assist law enforcement agencies and the South African Police Service (SAPS) in protecting critical electricity infrastructure... 

Cape Town mayor asks President to form joint committee on ‘urgent’ rail devolution

Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to form a joint working committee with the city for “the urgent devolution” of passenger rail services to the metro.  The... 

Police, Transport Minister instructed to protect Intercape buses after operator approaches court for second time

The Makhanda High Court on has issued an order compelling the Minister of Transport and the MEC for Transport in the Eastern Cape to work with the South African Police Service to develop a plan to... 

Pylon-spire construction advancing steadily at Msikaba bridge project

The pylon spires of South Africa’s Msikaba Bridge megaproject are soon to tower almost 130 m high at each side of the 197-m-deep Msikaba river gorge.  The bridge forms part of the South African... 

Toyota launches its cheapest offering in South Africa

Toyota South Africa Motors has launched what will be its cheapest new-vehicle offering in the local market.  The Vitz small car arrives in the country with a starting price of R189 900. 

Construction starts on Atlantis SEZ for green technologies

Construction on Zone 1 of the Atlantis Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for green technologies in the Western Cape has started. The first tenant in the 22 ha Zone 1 will be industrial and specialist gas... 

Third parties to start selling electricity using Cape Town grid 

Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has announced that 15 commercial electricity suppliers will start wheeling electricity through Cape Town’s grid in July.  The city’s Mayoral Committee has... 

Green Riders to add more e-bikes, e-motorbikes to delivery fleet

E-mobility solutions group Green Riders will expand its fleet of electric delivery bicycles from the current 200 units to 500 by the end of July, says founder and CIO Craig Atkinson. This means... 

New development to add 1 320 middle-class dwellings to Stellenbosch’s housing stock

The 48 ha Newinbosch mixed-use development will add 1 320 middle-class dwellings to housing stock in Stellenbosch, in the Western Cape, over the next four to six years. Newinbosch is being... 

10.1% more new vehicles year-on-year sold in May as exports rose by 67.5%

Domestic new-vehicle sales in May jumped by 10.1%, to 43 060 units, compared with the same month last year. The new-passenger-car market reached 27 401 units last month – a mere 0.1% up on May last... 

Cape Town’s solar PV applications reach record level

The appetite for rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) installations has reached record levels in Cape Town, with March now the best month on record for new applications to install solar energy, says... 

Ford Ranger takes Car of the Year 2023 accolade

The new made-in-South Africa Ford Ranger double-cab 4 x 4 has been crowned as South Africa’s Old Mutual Insure South African Car of the Year (COTY) for 2023. The South African Guild of Mobility... 

Current economic storm set to push luxury car buyers to electric vehicles, says Merc’s Raine

When considering the current energy crisis in the country, South Africa’s luxury vehicle market is destined to become an electric vehicle (EV) market, says Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) co-CEO... 

eCanters for local customer trials expected in SA by month-end

Daimler Truck Southern Africa (DTSA) will have six Fuso eCanters in South Africa for customer trials by the end of June, says DTSA sales and marketing VP Maretha Gerber. The small, fully electric... 

More bad news than good for auto industry in Q1

While the first quarter of the year saw new-vehicle sales inch up from the same time last year, domestic vehicle production, exports and employment all moved into negative territory. This is... 

Toyota SA to boost hybrid production as battery electric vehicles deemed not yet practical 

Hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) are “the most practical solution for carbon neutrality in Africa”, says Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) Africa region CEO Toshimitsu Imai. This is also true for South... 

Vehicle ownership costs soaring – WesBank

Vehicle owners are, on average, paying R3 776 more a month to keep their vehicles running than in May 2019, says WesBank. WesBank says consumers’ budgets are strained and “under pressure in all... 

19 of PRASA’s 40 corridors reopened but providing peak-period service only

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has seen passenger numbers plummet from 600-million a year in the 2014/15 financial year, to 15-million in the last financial year, says CEO...