Author:focus-on-transport
I recently discovered the fascinating past of South African rail… Colour me ignorant, but I had no idea there was a transport museum in the historical town of George, in the Western Cape. So, imagine my surprise when I came across it while taking some rest and recreation time in the area. I was, I’ll admit, a little disappointed when I realised it was a Transnet Transport Museum (one of two in the country, apparently; the other in Kimberley). While […]
The Competition Commission is proposing a new, voluntary Automotive Code of Conduct, which the National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA) believes will be catastrophic to the vehicle industry. The Code proposes that vehicle owners can have their vehicles serviced at any workshop without breaching their warranty. The initial reasoning behind the Code was to offer consumers more competitive prices. However, NADA points out that there are many other factors of the Code that cause harm to consumers and other road users. […]
The 2019 Automechanika Johannesburg will be held on September 21 at the Johannesburg Expo Centre, Nasrec and will be co-located with the Futuroad Expo. Meanwhile, this year’s 25th Automechanikain Frankfurt trade fair for the automotive aftermarket had a great deal to offer for truck, van, bus, and trailer operators, as well as for service providers to this segment of the motor industry. Between September 11 and 15, more than 1 000 companies showcased products on stands displaying the orange Truck Competence […]
On Wednesday October 3, the price of diesel rose by 8,6 percent – from R14,40 to R15,64 per litre. The Southern African Bus Operators Association (Saboa) notes that this and other rising costs such as wage increases and industrial strikes, together with low annual subsidy increases, will put the industry under immense cost pressure. The overall increase in the cost of fuel since September 2017 (R11,71 per litre inland wholesale), year on year, amounts to 34 percent. In tandem, the […]
On Tuesday this week, FOCUS attended the launch of Sumitomo Rubber South Africa’s (SRSA) Truck and Bus Radial (TBR) factory in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal. This is the second phase of a more than R2-billion investment in the Ladysmith facility, which began in 2014. The first phase concentrated on developing the capacity to produce Dunlop, Sumitomo and the increasingly popular Falken brand of tyres for passenger vehicles, SUVs and light trucks. The TBR plant opened in July this year and currently produces approximately […]
The month of October will be chock-full of industry-related workshops. Successful Fleet and Transport Management Workshop The two-day workshop will be held at HB Connect, Sandton, Johannesburg on October 4 and 5, as well as at Protea Hotel by Marriot Edward, Durban, on October 18 and 19. The Vehicle Fleet Development and Management training course will examine the transportation function in a holistic manner. The training will start by outlining the requirements of successful fleet-maintenance programmes and workshops. The course […]
With operators seemingly stuck in a cycle of cost management and sweating of assets, Cummins has embarked on a concerted campaign to educate its customers about the disadvantages, and even dangers, of using non-genuine parts. “While many customers believe that doing so incurs an upfront cost-saving, our aim is to expose the detrimental long-term impact on engine lifespan in particular,” comments Marco Gouveia, parts marketing lead: southern Africa. “The immediate risk is never apparent upfront, as the engine will continue […]
Earlier this week the Automobile Association (AA), in partnership with Ford Motor Company Southern Africa, launched its 2018 #ISeeYou pedestrian visibility campaign in Mamelodi, Pretoria. The campaign was initiated with funding from the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) in 2017 through its Road Safety Grant Programme, an international road safety initiative which aims to reduce road deaths throughout the world. Pedestrian deaths in South Africa account for up to one third of all deaths on the country’s roads each year. […]
As it gears up for the official world launch of the sixth-generation Triton (set for November, in Thailand), Mitsubishi Motors is also celebrating 40 years of success in the demanding pickup segment of the market. “Now in its fifth generation, the Mitsubishi Triton currently is our best-selling product in the local market,” says Nic Campbell, general manager at Mitsubishi Motors South Africa. “When you look back at the development and changes over the past 40 years, it’s clear that each […]
The new generation of vans by Groupe PSA – including the Peugeot Partner, Citroën Berlingo van, Opel Combo and Vauxhall Combo – has been awarded the 2019 IVoY Award at the IAA Commercial Vehicles trade show in Hannover, Germany. “The new line-up is the most significant small panel van development in years,” commented Jarlath Sweeney, chairman of the IVoTY jury. Now in its 26th year, the IVoY Award brings together a jury of 25 journalists and publishers from independent magazines […]
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