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Passenger Cars, Bakkies & Vans News

Motus achieves H1 growth despite muted new-vehicle market

By: Marleny Arnoldi 26th February 2019 Amid a downturn in new-vehicle sales and a challenging economy, JSE-listed automotive holding company Motus achieved consistent operating profit, normalised headline earnings per share (HEPS) and revenue growth for the six months ended December 31, 2018, compared with the six months ended... →

Start of production at BAIC plant delayed until later this year

By: Irma Venter 26th February 2019 Following a delay in the completion of the Beijing Automotive Group Corporation South Africa (BAIC SA) plant in the Coega Industrial Development Zone, in the Eastern Cape, full-scale vehicle production is now scheduled to start before the end of the year. At the sod-turning event in 2016, it was... →

Ford South Africa achieves new export and production records

By: Irma Venter 26th February 2019 Ranger exports from Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa’s (FMCSA’s) Silverton plant reached an all-time high in 2018, with the company shipping 68 364 units to export markets. This is a 16.2% increase compared with 2017. →

The Silverton plant

Hyundai opens assembly plant in Ethiopia

By: Reuters 22nd February 2019 South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co opened a 10 000-a-year vehicle capacity assembly plant in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Thursday, its first factory in East Africa. While second-hand vehicles dominate sales in the Horn of Africa country, Hyundai hopes locally-assembled cars could prove... →

Africa still slow to take up EVs, energy storage solutions

By: Marleny Arnoldi 20th February 2019 Globally, there is a rise in the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) and battery storage systems, especially in regions where there is a lack of constant, reliable energy supply or more economically feasible solutions, Electric Vehicle Industry Association representative Carel Snyman said during a... →

VWSA to reach record production this year, says Schäfer

By: Irma Venter 20th February 2019 Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) should this year produce a record number of vehicles at its Uitenhage plant, in the Eastern Cape, says CEO Thomas Schäfer. He says the local arm of the German car maker should produce 161 900 vehicles, of which 108 000 are scheduled to be exported. →

The VWSA plant in Uitenhage

South African new-vehicle market to decline by 0.4% in 2019, says Toyota

By: Irma Venter 20th February 2019 South Africa’s new-vehicle market should reach roughly 550 000 units this year, 0.4% down from last year’s 552 226 units, says Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) president and CEO Andrew Kirby. He says TSAM expects the first half of 2019 to be tough, especially with elections looming in May. →

Load-shedding 'extremely dangerous' to local auto sector, warns Naamsa chairperson

By: Irma Venter 19th February 2019 Load-shedding is “extremely dangerous” to the local automotive industry, says Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) president and CEO Andrew Kirby. Kirby is also chairperson of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa). →

TSAM president and CEO Andrew Kirby

The world still doesn’t have enough places to plug in cars

By: Bloomberg 15th February 2019 Even in the biggest electric vehicle markets, a driver venturing too far from home can have a hard time finding a place to recharge. Try your luck on California’s Pacific Coast Highway. The roughly 600-mile route between San Diego and San Francisco has dramatic sea cliffs, off-the-grid retreats,... →

VW, Ford are said to discuss $4bn valuation for Argo AI

By: Bloomberg 15th February 2019 Ford Motor and Volkswagen are progressing toward a potential agreement to join forces on self-driving cars and have overcome earlier obstacles, according to people familiar with the talks. Breakthroughs in the deliberations Thursday include a possible framework for Volkswagen to work with and... →

Continental optimises tyre test with driverless test vehicle

15th February 2019 Automotive tyre manufacturing company Continental commissioned the first driverless tyre test vehicle for an assortment of road surface types at its test site in Uvalde, Texas, in the US. The aim of the endeavour was to make test results for the company’s passenger and light trucks more... →

DRIVERLESS NAVIGATION The driverless vehicle pilots the testing route with a GPS-supported satellite navigation system

Isuzu consolidates truck and bakkie manufacturing plants

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 14th February 2019 Isuzu Motors South Africa has consolidated its truck and bakkie manufacturing plant – relocating its truck production facilities from Kempston Road, in Port Elizabeth, to its new headquarters in Struandale, Port Elizabeth, where all truck and bakkie manufacturing will now take place. The... →

Fiat Chrysler South Africa aims for recovery to 4 000 units in 2019

By: Irma Venter 12th February 2019 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles South Africa (FCA SA) aims to sell more than 4 000 Fiats, Jeeps and Alfas in South Africa in 2019. This will be a significant improvement on the roughly 2 600 units moving off showroom floors in 2018. →

The 2019 Jeep Wrangler

Ford’s Silverton plant starts production of refreshed Ranger

By: Irma Venter 11th February 2019 Ford’s Silverton vehicle assembly plant in Pretoria has started production of the refreshed 2019 Ford Ranger. “Following the investment of over R3-billion in our local operations and extensive upgrades to our plants over the past 18 months, we are delighted to see the first of the new Ford Ranger... →

The refreshed Ford Ranger

Lance Schultz appointed as Gauteng AIDC CEO

By: Irma Venter 8th February 2019 The Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC) in Gauteng has appointed Lance Schultz as its new CEO. He joins the AIDC after a near four-year tenure as CEO of the Centurion Aerospace Village. →

Lance Schultz

New tech balances ever-increasing demands

8th February 2019 As Industry 4.0 continues to cut a swathe through the automotive industry globally, Port Elizabeth-based global technology company Jendamark Automation is providing new technologies that allow local and international manufacturers to keep pace with the ever-increasing demands. Jendamark... →

NEW TECH Odin software improve efficiency when operated

Naamsa projects 1% increase in new-vehicle sales

By: Thabi Madiba 8th February 2019 The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) projects a marginal increase in new-vehicle sales of 1.0% for 2019, premised on the assumption that South Africa will not be downgraded and a modest increase in gross domestic product (GDP) to about 1.5%, says Naamsa... →

Photo by Creamer Media
READY FOR A PRICE TAG The new passenger car market and light commercial vehicle market reflected year-on-year volume declines of 0.2% and 7.0%

Fuel price increases led to decline in new-car sales, says Strobel

By: Thabi Madiba 8th February 2019 Bearings and power transmission products distributor Bearings International (BI) customer offer marketing manager Victor Strobel says fuel price increases have affected new-car sales, which slid from 47 478 units sold in November 2018 to 39 984 units in December 2018. Subsequently, many people... →

SALES DOWN New-vehicle sales have dropped owing to increased fuel prices

New paint process leads to greater flux stability

By: Thabi Madiba 8th February 2019 Converting to potted Koch KPAK ultrafiltration (UF) membrane in the automotive electrodeposition paint process from the drop-in style process can lead to greater flux stability over time and lower system downtime, says filtration and water purification solutions company Sagisa sales engineer... →

LITTLE BIT OF COLOUR The UF membrane has been supplied to automotive manufacturers for vehicle paint jobs

OneLogix to broaden logistics footprint in R280m Umlaas project

By: Irma Venter 7th February 2019 Niche logistics provider OneLogix aims to more than double the size of its automotive logistics site at Umlaas, in KwaZulu-Natal, in a project that is named ‘Umlaas 3’. OneLogix CEO Ian Lourens said on Thursday in Johannesburg that the R280-million development, next to the N3 highway, will add... →

The Umlaas hub

Ford digs up litany of unexplored claims ahead of inquest into burnt Kuga

By: News24Wire 6th February 2019 Unexplained casino chips, a "bullet cartridge" and a suspicious maroon car are among a litany of unexplored claims which the Ford Motor Company dug up ahead of a High Court inquest into the death of Reshall Jimmy. Jimmy's burnt body was found in his Ford Kuga four years ago while he was on... →

Ford engages the mining sector on the road to more EVs

By: Kim Cloete 5th February 2019 Ford is quickening its pace towards the mass production of electric vehicles (EVs) and researching how the mining industry can help it to achieve its goals. “There are tremendous investments taking place at every level to achieve this radical revolution in the automotive industry,” Ford energy... →

New investor for Cape Town Cobra maker; electric car on the table

By: Irma Venter 4th February 2019 Les Hayden’s Cobra replica assembly line in Cape Town is up and running again, following a change in ownership. Automotive Investment Holdings (AIH) in 2017 initiated a project to modernise the Hayden Cobra, but sold its interest in the venture after a decision to return to its core business of... →

The Hayden Cobra

2019 kicks off with 7.4% decline in new-vehicle sales

By: Irma Venter 1st February 2019 New-vehicle sales in the domestic market declined by 7.4% in the first month of the year, to 42 374 units, compared with January last year. Sales numbers released by the Department of Trade and Industry on Friday showed that January new-passenger car sales dropped by 10.8%, to 29 040 units. →

New-look APDP could change face of the local auto industry, says Naacam

By: Irma Venter 1st February 2019 Cabinet in November approved a new automotive support programme for the domestic automotive industry. The revised Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP) will replace the current APDP in 2021, and will run to 2035. National Association of Automotive Component and Allied... →

Ghosn blames arrest on 'plot and treason' by Nissan executives

By: Bloomberg 30th January 2019 Fallen auto titan Carlos Ghosn said his arrest for alleged financial crimes was the result of a “plot” against him by Nissan Motor Co. executives trying to prevent the Japanese carmaker’s deeper integration with Renault SA. There was a plan to combine Nissan with Renault and third partner... →

Automotive sector to prioritise local, specialised component manufacturing

By: Marleny Arnoldi 29th January 2019 Vehicle manufacturer Toyota South Africa (Toyota SA) on Tuesday pointed to localisation and specialised component manufacturing as the top priorities in the five-year Automotive Sector Business Plan. Toyota SA president and CEO Andrew Kirby presented the plan on behalf of the automotive sector at... →

Toyota SA president and CEO Andrew Kirby addresses the Business Economic Indaba. Video and editing: Nicholas Boyd.

Volkswagen signs agreement with Ethiopia to develop auto industry

By: Irma Venter 29th January 2019 Volkswagen has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Ethiopia to deliver a joint vision for the development of an automotive industry in the East African country. The MoU was signed by Volkswagen sub-Saharan Africa region head Thomas Schaefer and Ethiopian Investment... →

Thomas Schaefer signs the memorandum of understanding with Abebe Abebayehu. With them are German federal republic president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Ethiopian minister for finance and economic cooperation Ahmed Shide

WesBank expects 1.5% dip in new-car sales, heavy truck market to drop by 4.4%

By: Irma Venter 28th January 2019 A slump in the global economy, as well as a local economy offering “little in the way of economic stimulation”, should result in a 1% decline in new-vehicle sales in South Africa in 2019, says vehicle finance group WesBank. “It is quite comforting to know that we were very close with our 2018... →

Nissan is said to face SEC probe in US over executive pay

By: Bloomberg 28th January 2019 The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Nissan Motor Company accurately disclosed its executive pay in the US, according to several people familiar with the matter, compounding the carmaker’s woes as it grapples with the aftermath of former chairman Carlos Ghosn’s arrest.... →

VW to manufacture mobile electric car recharging stations

By: Reuters 25th January 2019 Volkswagen will manufacture electric car batteries and charging stations in its home region in Germany, as it prepares to mass produce electric vehicles and overhaul its components division, which makes engines and steering parts. Volkswagen (VW) said on Friday it would invest €870-million by... →

Renault-Nissan alliance gets a reboot as combatants step back

By: Bloomberg 25th January 2019 The strained two-decade marriage of Renault and Nissan Motor is about to get a fresh start. Within hours, the two main antagonists in the crisis that’s paralyzed the world’s biggest automotive alliance have said they’re leaving the stage. Carlos Ghosn, 64, resigned as chairman and chief executive... →

Ghosn could walk away with millions from Renault after quitting

By: Bloomberg 24th January 2019 Carlos Ghosn, who has quit as chairman and chief executive officer of Renault SA, may walk away from the carmaker with millions – even as he sits in a Tokyo prison charged with financial crimes. Renault’s board and Ghosn signed a two-year non-compete agreement in 2015 that would kick in whenever... →

Electric car growth rate to cool in 2019, says report

By: Irma Venter 23rd January 2019 Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) expects the electric passenger car sales growth rate to cool in 2019. In its ‘Transition in Energy, Transport – 10 Predictions for 2019’ report, BNEF says there are now almost five-million passenger electric vehicles (EVs) on the road globally. →

Ghosn denied bail yet again with trial still months away

By: Bloomberg 22nd January 2019 Carlos Ghosn’s bail application was rejected again, even after the fallen car titan offered to wear an electronic tracker and be monitored by guards to end his custody that has now lasted more than two months. The latest rejection by a Tokyo court is a win for the prosecutors, who can now keep... →

Mahindra breaks through 5 000-unit barrier in 2018

By: Irma Venter 21st January 2019 Mahindra South Africa has recorded its best year ever in 2018, when the company sold 5 486 new vehicles in the domestic market. “Breaking through the 5 000 barrier in 2018 culminated in a very busy year for Mahindra,” says Mahindra South Africa CEO Rajesh Gupta. →

The KUV100

South African-built Hilux wins Dakar 2019

By: Irma Venter 18th January 2019 A South African-built bakkie has clinched the 2019 Dakar rally. Driven by Qatari driver Nasser Al Attiyah and French co-driver Mathieu Baumel, the Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa’s (SA’s) Hilux powered to the checkered flag on Thursday, nearly 47 minutes clear of second-place Nani Roma and Alex... →

Mathieu Baumel, Glyn Hall and Nasser Al Attiyah

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