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.
Many forward-thinking individuals propose that autonomous vehicles will improve road safety as problematic driver behaviour, which contributes to 90% plus crashes, will be eliminated. A recent incident may cause some to doubt this, however.
South Africa’s vehicle market has seen a steady influx of emerging brands, alongside continued expansion from established players.
Motorists travelling over the Easter period can expect heavy traffic across South Africa’s road network, with authorities warning that routes to Limpopo will come under particular pressure as thousands of pilgrims make their way to Moria.
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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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FAW Johannesburg South (ELT Group) took the top podium position as Dealer of the Year at FAW Trucks Southern Africa’s 2026 Annual Dealer Conference. It is the fourth time the dealership scooped up the top award.
Audi South Africa has launched The Audi Open Haus Sales Event, a national retail campaign inviting customers into Audi Dealerships nationwide.
With youth unemployment remaining one of South Africa’s biggest challenges, the National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA) has launched Motoring Mavericks, a movement designed to show young people that car dealerships offer far more than sales or mechanical jobs.
