Dealer industry news from around Southern Africa
Confidence among new vehicle traders declined to 35 on a 100-point scale in the first quarter of 2021 after surging to a two-year high of 41 in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the results of the latest Bureau for Economic Research (BER) retail trade survey.
Cape Town is sparking a new trend after opening its second public electric vehicle (EV) charging station.
The latest bi-annual AutoTrader Car Industry Report, titled #Rebound, has revealed some interesting findings pertaining to both the used and the new-car markets in South Africa. The report covers the period from July to December 2020.
The low base in new vehicle sales established in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 hard lockdown was largely responsible for the substantial 31.8% increase in new vehicle sales in March 2021 to 44 217 units from the 33 546 vehicles sold in March 2020.
The Automobile Association (AA) has launched its first AA Auto Centre in South Africa in Gauteng and plans to open several similar centres throughout South Africa.
The availability of stock is still impeding growth in the new-vehicle market despite the improvement in sales activity, says Motus Retail and Rental CEO, Corné Venter.
The African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) has been appointed to develop an automotive policy for the Ethiopian government that will encourage global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and component manufacturers to invest in the country.
South Africa’s automotive industry is set to meet Trade and Industry and Competition Minister, Ebrahim Patel, this week to discuss the latest developments in the global automotive industry, including decisions by some vehicle manufacturers to bring forward their electromobility plans.
The truck manufacturer, DAF, has just launched its brand new XF and CF models onto the South African market and announced that a local assembly plant would be built in KwaZulu-Natal within the next 12 months.
A fire at the world’s third largest producer of semiconductors – what the trade calls a chip – may exacerbate the current shortage of chips that is affecting vehicle factories around the world and delaying deliveries of new vehicles to dealerships.
Metair Investments, the JSE-listed automotive components and energy storage manufacturer, is taking steps to "EV proof" the business and is backtracking on initial plans to split the group in two.
BMW Group's Mini brand will be exclusively fully electric by the early 2030s and it will release the last Mini model with a combustion engine variant in 2025.
Nissan has appointed Guillaume Cartier as its new chairperson for the Africa, Middle East, India, Europe And Oceania (AMIEO) region effective 1 April 2021.
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Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?
George Carlin