Racing cars for Germany to be built by VW in Kariega
- Industry News
- 7 February 2025
Dealer industry news from around Southern Africa
Overall new vehicle sales declined by 25.7% or 12 886 units in April this year compared to the previous month, with automotive business council, naamsa, warning that it expected sales to remain subdued for most of the remainder of 2023.
The National Automobile Dealers’ Association (Nada) put a positive spin on the domestic new vehicle sales figures for April 2023 despite the year-on-year decline in sales.
The Simola Hillclimb is renowned as South Africa’s premier motoring and motorsport lifestyle event, and its growing stature internationally has attracted three star drivers from the world of Formula 1, the World Rally Championship (WRC) and World Rallycross (WRX).
History was made with both the global and local governing bodies of Daimler Truck Southern Africa Ltd (DTSA), officially opening and welcoming its customers and stakeholders into its newly designed and strategically located new office building and business campus.
The Chinese Shanghai Auto Show once again put the emphasis on the country’s strong position regarding electric vehicles as well as the fierce competition between different Chinese manufacturers.
The Ford Wildlife Foundation (FWF) is supporting the protection of threatened freshwater and marine environments and their important fishes by providing a Ford Ranger Double Cab 4x4 to the Rivers of Life Programme at the University of Mpumalanga.
In Abu Dhabi, a rare car licence plate with the single-digit number "P7" was sold for a whopping $15 million, which is approximately R218 million. Mind you, a standard personalised number plate with seven letters or numbers can cost around R2 500 to R5 000 in South Africa.
For the opening remarks at naamsa’s thought-leadership discussions, which were held on 19 April, Ford CEO, Neale Hill, donned his naamsa presidential cap to give a short overview of the local and global auto industry with an emphasis on the transition to new-energy vehicles (NEVs).
The first session of naamsa’s roundtable industry discussions on the transition to new energy vehicles (NEVs), which was held in Pretoria on 19 April, delivered a healthy mixture of concern, hope and possible solutions by the seasoned expert auto industry participants.
Former Trade and Industry Minister, Alec Erwin, summed it up succinctly in a slightly off-colour but candid remark, when he told industry leaders “get off your a***s” at naamsa’s SA Automotive Thought Leadership Roundtable Discussions on 19 April.
In order to live up to its corporate social responsibility, Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) announced the donation of Mercedes-Benz Vans to charitable organisations involved in education, community upliftment, sport for development and environmental sustainability.
Absa has entered into a vehicle finance alliance agreement with BAIC SA, the local subsidiary of the Beijing Automotive Group Co, as the vehicle manufacturing firm expands its operations in the region.
One of Asia’s premier auto shows, the Shanghai Auto Show (Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition) kicks off on 18 April and will last to 27 April.
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If you are not taking care of your customer, your competitor will.
Bob Hooey