GAC Motor arrives in SA with two SUVs, EV to follow next year

GAC Motor is one of the newest companies to join the inflow of Chinese brands into the South African new-vehicle market. Engineering News Online spoke to GAC Motor South Africa (GAC SA) CEO Leslie... 

Selling Mutlu, stabilising Hesto key as Metair moves towards new strategy

Selling the troubled Mutlu battery business in Türkiye and continuing stabilisation efforts at Hesto Harnesses are key in returning Metair to solid ground, says CEO Paul O’Flaherty. Announcing the... 

Belgian team claims 2024 Sasol Solar Challenge title

Belgium’s Innoptus team has secured the 2024 Sasol Solar Challenge title, with the team breaking the daily distance record twice in a row during the competition. The Innoptus team consists of... 

VWA operating normally amid rumours of plant closures at German parent company

Volkswagen Group Africa (VWA) says its Kariega assembly plant, in the Eastern Cape, is operating as normal amid possible plant closures and job cuts at its parent company in Germany. In fact, the... 

Grindrod to acquire remaining stake in Matola Terminal

Ports and logistics group Grindrod will acquire the remaining 35% shareholding in Terminal de Carvão da Matola (TCM), at the Maputo port, from Vitol Mauritius for $77-million. The JSE-listed... 

Rail masterplan to be finalised by October next year – DoT chief director

The Department of Transport (DoT) aims to have the interim National Rail Masterplan (NRMP) ready by February next year, says DoT chief director Jan-David de Villiers. This will be followed by an... 

South African fly farmer Maltento expands into the UK, EU

Insect-based animal-feed solutions producer Maltento has grown its production capacity and is now expanding into the EU and UK. The Cape Town-based company already achieved its EU export... 

Zero Carbon Charge, AIDC-EC launch off-grid EV charger programme in the Eastern Cape

Zero Carbon Charge (Charge), in partnership with the Automotive Industry Development Centre Eastern Cape (AIDC-EC), and together with the Eastern Cape provincial government, has broken ground on... 

Construction begins on Cape Town solar PV plant, battery storage tender released

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) has started construction on a R200-million, 7 MW solar PV plant, located in Atlantis, with the first electricity to be delivered by the end of next year. The tender for... 

BMW Group South Africa starts production of the new plug-in X3

BMW Group South Africa’s (BMW SA’s) Rosslyn plant, in Tshwane, has started production of the fourth-generation BMW X3, following a R4.2-billion investment. It is the only facility in the BMW global... 

SA to host third round of World Rally-Raid Championship

South Africa has been selected to host the third round of the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC). The South African Safari Rally will take place from May 18 to 24 next year. 

R12m bill to replace 6 590 stolen and vandalised sewer drain covers

Vandalism and theft have forced the City of Cape Town’s Water and Sanitation Directorate to spend more than R12-million to replace and repair 6 590 stolen and vandalised sewer drain manhole covers... 

Metair to acquire troubled AutoZone chain

Metair is set to acquire the entire issued share capital of AutoZone Holdings. The JSE-listed Metair is a manufacturer, distributor and retailer of automotive components and energy storage solutions. 

Afrimat Construction Index bounces back in second quarter

The Afrimat Construction Index (ACI) has managed to bounce back in the second quarter of this year. The ACI is a composite index of the level of activity within the building and construction... 

Cape Town proposes new CBD spatial plan, expects up to 50 000 new inner-city residents by 2040

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) has invited the public to comment on its 2040 local spatial development framework (LSDF) for the central business district (CBD). The LSDF will guide decisions about... 

Multiple projects planned in Sanral’s Western Region

The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has a number of multibillion-rand projects in the pipeline in its Western Region, which includes the Western and Northern Cape provinces. On... 

Eskom’s proposed tariff hikes untenable; reduction mechanisms being weighed – Ramokgopa

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is confident that government will be able to positively intervene on Eskom’s tariff-hike application for the 2025/26 financial year at the... 

Chinese vehicle sales accelerating rapidly in South Africa – Lightstone Auto

If you think you are seeing more Chinese vehicles on the road, you are correct. Chinese vehicle brands accounted for 9% of all passenger and light commercial vehicles (light vehicles) sold in South... 

Cape Town airport records 20 months of growth at international terminal

The international terminal at Cape Town International Airport has recorded its twentieth month of continuous growth. August saw a 7% year-on-year increase in traffic, with more than 213 000 two-way... 

New-vehicle sales down 4.1%, exports plummet by 38.1%

New-vehicle sales in South Africa in September dropped by 4.1%, to 44 081 units, compared with the same month last year. naamsa | The Automotive Business Council reports that the new-passenger-car... 

Business as usual at VWA amid rumours of German plant closures

Volkswagen Group Africa (VWA) says its Kariega assembly plant, in the Eastern Cape, is operating as normal amid possible plant closures and job cuts at its parent company in Germany. In fact, the... 

Numerous N4 upgrade projects underway, more to follow – TRAC

Maputo Corridor road concessionaire Trans African Concessions (TRAC) says there are numerous construction and rehabilitation projects underway on the N4 highway between Gauteng and Maputo, with... 

SAS partners with Fincantieri, Vard Marine to build offshore patrol vessels in SA

Sandock Austral Shipyards (SAS) in Durban has signed a technology partnership agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and its Canadian subsidiary Vard Marine to construct the Afrika class... 

Sanral awards R1.4bn Eastern Cape contracts, R3.8bn pending

The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has awarded 12 road infrastructure contracts to the value of R1.4-billion in the Eastern Cape since the start of the 2024/25 financial year,... 

East London port welcomes two new tugs as TNPA completes fleet renewal

The Port of East London has taken ownership of two new tugboats, marking the end of Transnet National Ports Authority’s (TNPA’s) R1-billion marine fleet renewal programme, aimed at boosting tugboat... 

We all feel a lot better about South Africa, says construction group WBHO boss

Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon (WBHO) is currently in “a good space”, says CEO Wolfgang Neff. “We all feel a whole lot better about South Africa.” 

Demand for used cars streaks ahead, Asian newcomers big new-car winners

The prolonged economic downturn experienced across multiple sectors in South Africa has resulted in markedly depressed sales in the new-car segment over the past 12 months, says finance group... 

Selling Mutlu, stabilising Hesto key as Metair moves towards new strategy

Selling the troubled Mutlu battery business in Türkiye and continuing the stabilisation efforts at Hesto Harnesses are key in returning Metair to solid ground, says CEO Paul O’Flaherty. Announcing... 

Cape Town to wrap up desalination plant feasibility study in 2025, first water possible in 2030

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) has started the feasibility study on the proposed Paarden Island desalination plant, says CoCT Water and Sanitation MMC Zahid Badroodien. The study is being undertaken... 

Belgian team clinches 2024 Sasol Solar Challenge title

Belgium’s Innoptus team has secured the 2024 Sasol Solar Challenge title, with the team breaking the daily distance record twice in a row during the competition. The Innoptus team consists of... 

Electric motorbike powered by the sun to travel from Kenya to South Africa

An electric motorbike, designed and built in Africa and powered only by the sun, is set to tackle the road from Nairobi, in Kenya, to Stellenbosch, South Africa, in October. Researchers from the... 

August new-vehicle sales 4.9% lower as exports nosedive by 34.3%

August’s negative new-vehicle sales numbers dashed any hope of a sustained upward trend in the market following July’s 1.5% increase. Total new-vehicle sales in August dropped by 4.9%, to 43 558... 

BMW SA halts third-generation X3 production, gears up for new model next month

BMW Group South Africa (BMW SA) has halted production of the third-generation X3 at its Rosslyn plant, in Pretoria, and will now gear up for production of the new-generation model. The last vehicle... 

Diversification rescues Motus as SA economy struggles

Motus’s Import and Distribution business took a significant bite out of the automotive group’s profit in the financial year ended June 30, says CEO Osman Arbee. “Minus the importers, we had a great... 

Logistics sector under pressure in June, July – Ctrack index

After moving upwards for three consecutive months, the newest Ctrack Transport and Freight Index (TFI) declined in June and July to reach a level of 119.8 in July – the lowest level since February.... 

Norway’s electric car parc now outnumbers its pure petrol car fleet

For the first time ever there are more electric cars than pure petrol cars in Norway’s passenger-car fleet. Of the 2.8-million registered passenger cars in the Nordic country, there are 754 303... 

Grindrod acquires rest of shareholding in Matola Terminal

Ports and logistics group Grindrod will acquire the remaining 35% shareholding in Terminal de Carvão da Matola (TCM), at the Maputo port, from Vitol Mauritius for $77-million. The JSE-listed... 

Metair to sell its troubled Turkish operations, return its focus to auto parts

Energy storage and automotive component manufacturer Metair says it will sell its troubled Mutlu operations in Türkiye to Quexco for R1.95-billion in cash. Mutlu forms part of Metair’s Energy... 

Protest action outside Rosslyn plant linked to fraud investigation, says BMW

BMW Group South Africa (BMW SA) on Monday confirmed protest action outside its plant in Rosslyn, Pretoria, where the X3 model is produced for the local and export markets. The local arm of the... 

Cape Town’s Metal Theft Unit recovers 1.8 t of metal, 54 km of cable

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) says its dedicated Metal Theft Unit (MTU) in the past year (ending June 30) recovered more than 1.8 t of metal and 54 km of stolen cable. “The scary thing is that for...