Dealer industry news from around Southern Africa
Brazil has climbed back to the top of the global league table for Chinese outbound investment, drawing 10.9% of the total in 2025, according to the Brazil-China Business Council.
Chery has used a tightly packed programme of demonstrations around China’s 2026 International Business Summit to reinforce two priorities for its next wave of vehicles: credible crash protection in complex scenarios and rapid progress towards software-defined, connected driving experiences.
Stellantis is preparing to channel the bulk of its future investment into four key brands, namely Jeep, Ram, Peugeot and Fiat, as the global automotive giant seeks to stabilise its business and regain market share under chief executive Antonio Filosa, according to an exclusive Reuters report.
Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles South Africa is strengthening its leadership team as it targets measured growth in local market share, confirming Lex Kriel as its newly appointed Sales Director.
China’s carmakers are hunting for their own “Yaris moment”, the kind of locally tailored breakthrough that helped Toyota conquer Europe, as they race to turn booming exports into lasting overseas growth.
Hyundai Automotive South Africa has received an overwhelming 33 000 applications for its Youth Employment Service (YES) learnership programme, highlighting both the strong appeal of the brand among younger job seekers.
Volvo has confirmed that its vehicles will now integrate Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence system. This development builds on the company’s existing collaboration with Google, which already provides Android Automotive OS and Google services in Volvo models.
April 2026 marked a turning point in South Africa’s economic landscape, as global energy markets were jolted by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, according to naamsa | The Automotive Business Council.
Audi is preparing to roll out its biggest SUV yet in the United States (US) this summer, betting that demand for high-end, three-row models will hold up even as trade tensions threaten to raise import costs.
New vehicle sales in 2026 continued their positive trend in April, with the 47 979 units sold marking the best April figure since 2013. This represents a remarkable performance by local automotive retailers despite a host of economic headwinds and a challenging trading environment.
Donald Trump has threatened to increase United States (US) tariffs on cars and trucks imported from the European Union to 25% from next week, up from the 15% rate set under last year’s so-called Turnberry framework.
No, the Chinese are not coming to take over – they are already busy accomplishing it.
Motorists and households already under pressure will have to dig deeper into their pockets yet again from Wednesday, with sharp fuel and energy price hikes taking effect across South Africa.
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You can't buy happiness but you can buy cars and that's kind of the same thing.
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