Still at number one, Toyota sees growing sales, despite onslaught from China

Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) last year retained its long-standing number-one position in the domestic new-vehicle market, with total sales of 148 124 units – a 15.1% jump from the 128 663... 

AAAM sets eight goals for 2026 as it seeks ‘measurable outcomes’

The African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) has set eight goals for the new year, says CEO Victoria Backhaus-Jerling. “As we enter 2026, we proudly declare this the year of... 

Volvo Car recalls 372 EX30s over battery concerns

The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has announced that Volvo Car South Africa (SA) is recalling 372 Volvo EX30 single-motor extended range and twin-motor performance vehicles, with the model... 

Lego adds electronic elements to its building blocks, enabling motion detection, sound tracks

Danish toymaker Lego this week unveiled three new electronic additions to its classic building blocks at the Consumer Electronics Show 2026, in Las Vegas, that can see some of its creations come to... 

New-vehicle sales recover to above pre-pandemic levels; exports also in the green

The 2025 new-vehicle market has finally recovered to above 2019 pre-pandemic levels, says naamsa | The Automotive Business Council. South Africa’s new-vehicle market reached 536 612 units in 2019. 

Motus cuts staff numbers at its retail division

JSE-listed automotive group Motus has confirmed that it is cutting staff at its South African retail division. The Motor Industry Staff Association (MISA) says the vehicle importer and retailer... 

Construction activity sees civil contractor sentiment jump to multiyear high

The First National Bank (FNB)/Bureau for Economic Research (BER) Civil Confidence Index rose to 52 in the fourth quarter of last year, up from 43 in the third quarter. This marks the joint best... 

European competition commission hands Metair’s Rombat steep fine

Battery producer Rombat, a subsidiary of JSE-listed auto parts group Metair, has been handed a €20.2-million fine by the European competition authority. Metair’s Romanian subsidiary is one of... 

Jaguar Land Rover turns to drones to conduct plant inspections

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is trialling drone technology at its Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre (EPMC) in Wolverhampton, in the UK. The British marque says the technology has the potential to... 

Meet the SA mechanical engineer who became a full-time violin maker

Somewhere in Linden, Johannesburg, Albertus Bekker is putting the finishing touches to a new violin after almost 150 hours of painstaking work. Bekker is what is known as a luthier – he handcrafts,... 

Biovac boosts vaccine capabilities with new lab, health tech park to open next door

Biopharmaceutical company the Biologicals and Vaccines Institute of Southern Africa (Biovac) has opened a product development laboratory at its Cape Town facility. The company says the new... 

Cape Town moves to beat the heat as it appoints its first Chief Heat Officer

Cape Town has become the first South African city to have a Chief Heat Officer (CHO). Cities such as Los Angeles and Athens already have CHOs. 

Meet the SA mechanical engineer who became a full-time violin maker

Somewhere in Linden, Johannesburg, Albertus Bekker is putting the finishing touches to a new violin after almost 150 hours of painstaking work. Bekker is what is known as a luthier – he handcrafts,... 

Dealer body says there are green shoots in the SA economy, despite ongoing challenges

The National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA) says there are growing signs of gains being made in the South African economy, despite the fact that several structural challenges remain.... 

SA’s ‘big six’ auto brands dip below 50% market share as Chinese onslaught expands

The top six-selling light-vehicle brands in South Africa in the year 2000 were Toyota, Volkswagen, Nissan, Opel, Mazda and Ford. From the turn of the century to 2010, these six brands held around... 

DSV acquires nine electric trucks from Volvo Trucks SA

Volvo Trucks South Africa (SA) has delivered the first of nine new electric trucks to logistics group DSV. Three new Volvo FM 4x2 8-t electric trucks will be joining DSV’s fleet in support of its... 

WBHO seals the deal to build the R8bn Cape Winelands Airport

The Cape Winelands Airport has appointed Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon (WBHO) to take responsibility for the technical development and construction of its new R8-billion airport, set to be built in... 

Building confidence index jumps to 10-year high

The FNB/BER Building Confidence Index jumped to a 10-year high of 43 in the fourth quarter of this year, up from 35 in the third quarter. However, despite the uptick, the current index level still... 

Highest weather station in Southern Africa installed in the Maluti-Drakensberg range

The National Research Foundation – South African Environmental Observation Network (NRF-SAEON), in collaboration with the University of the Free State’s (UFS’s) Afromontane Research Unit (ARU), has... 

Hyundai opens its first shopping centre sales pod; aims to get back to number three

Hyundai aims to win back the number three spot in the South African new-passenger car market in the next three years, says Hyundai Automotive South Africa (HASA) CEO Stanley Anderson. The Korean... 

Cape Town switches on landfill gas to energy plant

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and Urban Waste Management MMC Grant Twigg in November powered up the city’s new gas-to-energy plant at the Coastal Park Landfill. The plant generates enough... 

Construction starts on R2bn mixed-use development in Green Point

Construction work has started on The Granger, a R2-billion mixed-use development adjacent to the DHL Stadium in Green Point, Cape Town. Situated between the city’s central business district (CBD)... 

Smart EV rolls out 50 electric bus chargers at Golden Arrow depot in Cape Town

Smart EV has wrapped up the installation of a high-capacity hub to charge Golden Arrow Bus Services’ (GABS’s) new BYD electric bus fleet at the transport company’s Arrowgate depot. Smart EV is a... 

VSL Manufacturing opens new, R750m facility to supply Isuzu assembly plant

VSL Manufacturing (VSL) has started operations at its new, R750-million manufacturing facility adjacent to the Isuzu Motors South Africa (IMSAf) assembly plant in Struandale, Gqeberha. VSL is a... 

Hydrogen to keep on growing as it emerges from hype cycle; China rapidly driving down costs

The hydrogen sector may have been in a hype cycle for the last few years, but the fundamentals around the global energy market have not changed – the need for clean and localised energy and a just... 

Polyco’s Packa-Ching initiative pays out R50m, diverts 41m kg of waste from landfills

Polyco’s Packa-Ching community recycling initiative has paid out more than R50-million to South African communities, and diverted more than 41-million kilogrammes of waste from landfills.... 

Automotive market races to 11-year high as Chinese brands boom in ‘structural reset’ – TransUnion

South Africa’s automotive market in the third quarter posted its strongest sales in more than a decade as greater macro-economic stability, easing interest rates and a firmer rand supported renewed... 

Volkswagen completes second phase of R90m Kariega solar project

Volkswagen Group Africa (VWGA) has completed the second phase of a solar PV project at its Kariega manufacturing plant, in the Eastern Cape. The multiphase solar project, located at the VWGA... 

New-vehicle sales up 12.5% in November, exports down 3.9%

November new-vehicle sales, at 54 896 units, jumped by 12.5% compared with the same month last year. naamsa | The Automotive Business Council said on Monday that South Africa’s domestic new car and... 

Auto sector inks three-year wage deal

The Automobile Manufacturers Employers Organisation (Ameo) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) have finally signed a wage agreement, following a protracted process that... 

Cape Town tables business plan to take over PRASA operations

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says Cape Town aims to be the first South African city to take over the management of its passenger rail system. This follows the tabling of a Rail Business Plan,... 

Working group established to put Africa on global superyacht map

Stakeholders in Africa’s superyacht industry have formed the African Superyacht Working Group, with the aim of rolling out an African superyacht growth strategy. A superyacht is a large, luxury... 

WeBuyCars reports 8.4% sales uptick, moves to absorb Chinese influx

WeBuyCars is on track to reach its goal of selling 23 000 vehicles a month in three years’ time, says CEO Faan van der Walt. Detailing the JSE-listed company’s financial results for the year ended... 

Cape Town’s Macassar wastewater treatment works gets R1.3bn upgrade

The City of Cape Town is rolling out a R1.3-billion upgrade to the Macassar wastewater treatment works (WWTW). The upgrade will more than double the plant’s current treatment capacity, from... 

Daimler Truck enters second fuel-cell trial as it prepares for series production

Following the initial customer trials of its Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Trucks, Daimler Truck is now preparing its fuel-cell trucks for series production based on real-world customer requirements. This... 

Zeda bets on Africa as it eyes expansion opportunities

Three years after listing on the JSE, integrated mobility group Zeda says it plans to scale up by expanding its reach into the rest of Africa. Announcing the company’s financial results for the... 

Charge breaks ground on two EV charging stations along the N3

Zero Carbon Charge (Charge) has broken ground on two off-grid, solar-powered ultrafast electric vehicle (EV) charging stations along the N3 corridor. The first, Charge N3 Roadside in the Free... 

Toyota launches Hilux Custom Builds for workhorse owners seeking special solutions

Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) has brought the customisation of its Hilux workhorse range in-house through its newly launched Hilux Custom Builds (HCB) programme. The programme eliminates Hilux... 

Rehabilitation work on the N4 progressing well ahead of the festive season – TRAC

N4 concessionaire Trans African Concessions (TRAC) has warned travellers ahead of the festive season that several major upgrade and rehabilitation projects are still ongoing on the toll route... 

Maersk cuts the ribbon on the final cold store in its R1.7-billion investment drive

Logistics giant Maersk has wrapped up a R1.72-billion investment drive in cold-chain infrastructure in South Africa with the opening of the R800-million Maersk Belcon cold store logistics park in...