Tuesday, February 9, 2010.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Shannon de Ryhove.

Making headlines today:

Peugeot South Africa public relations GM Toni Herbst says that the Peugeot 107 isn't being recalled in South Africa.

This follows as French company PSA Peugeot Citroën has decided to launch a European recall programme for a selected range of Peugeot 107s and Citroën C1s, which are produced in cooperation with Toyota in a shared plant in the Czech Republic.

Toyota recently announced a recall campaign on eight of its models on sale in Europe to remedy a potential sticky accelerator problem. This includes the Aygo model, which shares a high percentage of engineering with the C1 and 107 models.

A Citroën South Africa spokesperson says the C1 is also not being recalled in South Africa.

Meanwhile, Ford will re-enter the entry-level passenger car market in South Africa in the third quarter of this year with the launch of the new Indian-made Figo.

The company left this segment 18 months ago when it halted sales of the Ka range.

Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa president and CEO Jeffery Nemeth says the company is excited about the launch of the Figo, as it will again put Ford in touch with a bigger customer base.

He adds that the small car provides the company with a huge opportunity, as issues around affordability become increasingly important.

Also making headlines:

The mine nationalisation debate in South Africa is less about policy than internal ANC tussles.
South Africa's energy shortage has emerged as a top-three risk factor for potential investors into the country.
The Algerian Atomic Energy Commission expresses interest in South Africa's pebble-bed modular reactor technology.
And, Egypt aims to start an international bidding process to grant cement licences by the middle of this year.

That's a round up of news making headlines today. For more on these and other stories please visit engineeringnews.co.za.