
Asian brands, EVs dominate 2025 Best Buy Awards
The 2025 Best By Awards, announced by Kelley Blue Book, reflect the rapidly shifting landscape of the automotive market not only in the USA, but also elsewhere.
- Industry News
- 17 April 2025
At Halfway Toyota in Howick, workshop foreman Devesh Saamcharan stole a march on his Japanese colleagues in the Toyota Motor Corporation when he assembled a few foot-operated, hand-sanitiser dispensers back in May 2020.
The dispenser proved to be a novelty in May, before it became commonplace in dealers across South Africa.
Toyota announced recently that its Kamigo Parts Centre in Japan will be making up to 2 500 sanitiser stands a month, which are to be sold or leased to dealers in Japan from December onwards.
Saamcharan told Dealerfloor he built his stands as strong but as cheaply as possible, using wood and old clutch housings that he salvaged at the dealership. To this he added only a few new bolts, making it a very cost-effective solution for the dealership.
The sturdy stands are in daily use at the busy Halfway dealership, but despite being stepped on many times a day, are still cleaning hands as fast as the bottles can squirt.
In the face of a shifting premium automotive market, Audi South Africa is also currently re-aligning its retail operations according to the new reality where the premium vehicle sector has contracted to nearly a third of its size compared to a decade ago, with 2024 marking the lowest level yet.
The commercial vehicle industry has seen a complete shift in the market over the past year. Despite challenging market conditions, Daimler Truck Southern Africa (DTSA), along with its dealers and general distributors, successfully navigated the landscape to deliver great results, it says.
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