New appointment at Dunlop Tyres South Africa
Dunlop Tyres South Africa has announced the appointment of Thuli Gasa as Head of Corporate Services, serving as a full member of the Executive Committee.
- Industry News
- 31 May 2025
Volkswagen plans to invest 180 billion euros over five years in certain areas, including battery production and raw material sourcing, in a bid to cut electric-vehicle costs and protect its market share, Reuters reported on 14 March.
The Reuters report appeared the same day VW made the announcement.
Over two-thirds of the company's five-year investment budget is allocated to electrification and digitalisation, including up to 15 billion euros for batteries and raw materials.
With markets in turmoil over the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Chief Financial Officer, Arno Antlitz, told analysts that the company could, however, postpone some battery investments should the market not grow as expected.
"The overall target is having solid financials at all times," Antlitz said.
Volkswagen, Europe's top carmaker, is striving to close a gap with electric vehicle (EV) pioneer Tesla by expanding its slice of the growing market for battery-powered cars.
The carmaker is still aiming to bring an affordable EV – costing around 25,000 euros at today's prices – to market by 2025, produced on a second-generation version of its all-electric MEB platform.
Antlitz said he hoped the company would by then have struck enough raw material sourcing deals and expanded battery production to bring down EV costs, 40% of which stem from the cost of the battery.
"We expect to reach 20% electromobility in new sales from 2025 and are already investing two-thirds in that area," Antlitz said. "On the other hand we need to keep combustion engines competitive... that is a double burden."
The carmaker said it is finalising high-performance software for its premium and luxury brands, which could in the medium term be applied across the company, in an attempt to improve operations at its software unit, Cariad.
The unit set up under former CEO Herbert Diess has gone over budget and fallen behind on its goals, suffering an operating loss of 2.1 billion euros in 2022 on revenue of 800 million euros, according to the carmaker's annual report released on Tuesday.
(1.00000 EUR = 19.45510 ZAR on 16 March 2023)
Dunlop Tyres South Africa has announced the appointment of Thuli Gasa as Head of Corporate Services, serving as a full member of the Executive Committee.
The South African Reserve Bank’s decision to lower interest rates by 25 basis points – bringing rates to their lowest level in more than two years – has been cautiously welcomed by the retail motor sector.
“South Africa’s youth are talented, hungry to learn and eager to work, but they need the opportunity to gain real-world skills that translate into jobs,” says Thembinkosi Pantsi, Vice-Chairperson of the National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA).
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A light on my car’s dashboard came on, and instead of fixing the problem, I waited for the bulb to burn out. Crisis solved.
Jarod Kintz
Zero Carbon Charge (CHARGE), South Africa’s first company to pioneer a national network of off-grid, solar-powered ultra-fast electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, announced a R100 million equity investment from the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).
The new Volvo XC70 mid-size SUV is Volvo Cars’ first extended-range plug-in hybrid. It provides a pure electric range of up to 200 kilometres, making it Volvo Cars’ longest-range plug-in hybrid to date.
A shift towards an electric vehicle landscape in South Africa will get another boost with the soon-to-be released Geely Riddara double cab 4x4 and 4x2 bakkies locally by Enviro Automotive.