Author:focus-on-transport

A cruise liner capable of carrying 3 000 passengers and 1 000 crew is what two 2005-model Hino 15-258 freight-carriers have moved in the past 13 years… Well, actually, the amount of steel scaffolding that could make up a cruise liner – more than 100 000 t of it, to be exact! During this time, one of these freight carriers has covered nearly 900 000 km and the other more than 500 000 km. Importantly, both the Hino trucks have […]

The annual UD Extra Mile challenge – the UD Trucks global driver competition – has arrived yet again and the winners of the South African competition have been announced. Tatiya Sisilia, from Clover SA in Johannesburg, won the Quon category, while Chuttur Sunilduth, from Serveng Ltd Mauritius, walked away with top honours in the Quester category. They beat out 13 other fleet drivers in the two categories. For the first time, the South African event included drivers from countries outside […]

News broke this morning of trucks being targeted by protesters at the Kasumbalesa border post between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Mike Fitzmaurice, CEO of the Federation of East and Southern African Road Transport Associations (Fesarta), writes: “The locals (in the DRC) are protesting against local government, but are using the opportunity to attack and extort money out of the foreign drivers parked in the queue at the border post with threats of burning the driver in […]

Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles (VECV) has today launched its Eicher Pro 6000 Series of heavy-duty trucks. This is the second range of models launched by the brand since its incorporation in 2016, and will be made up of the 6016 freight carrier with a 16-t gross vehicle mass (GVM) and 8-t payload, as well as the 6025 25-t construction models, which includes a 10 m3 tipper. Surender Singh, vice president and country head, VECV South Africa, says: “The Eicher Pro 6000 […]

When times are tough and margins are slim, it’s not uncommon to hear of operators stretching out the service intervals of their vehicles and opting for cheaper, non-specialised replacements. Engine oil is a case in point and this is something Mercedes-Benz recognises – which is why its developed its Mercedes-Benz genuine oil. Specifically formulated to keep Mercedes-Benz trucks on the road for longer, Mercedes-Benz genuine oil is a cost-effective, yet high-performance formula. It is claimed to flow at ideal viscosity, […]

In addition to its brand-new SMB product, Ctrack Drive, the Ctrack stand, at this year’s Festival of Motoring, will also be home to a futuristic Sasol Solar Challenge (SSC) vehicle. Taking place between September 22 and 30, the SSC is a biennial competition in which teams from across the world design and build solar-powered vehicles and then drive them across South Africa. Seen as a live testing laboratory for new technologies, it will once again showcase highly innovative vehicles that […]

While transport companies are fighting to move forward against a headwind of rising costs and overheads, the average motorist is having to shell out more, too. According to the latest data from WesBank, the average costs of motoring have increased by approximately R940, or 14 percent, in the last year, and 31 percent since 2013. Despite prevailing interest rates remaining at low levels and favourable vehicle price inflation, the rising cost of fuel and an increase in VAT from 14 […]

In this blog piece by PG Glass, it’s clear that today’s simple piece of glass shielding the occupants of a vehicle will soon be so much more… Experts predict that consumer demand for ever-safer vehicles, and up-to-the-minute technologies, will drive their implementation despite barriers to cost. Lisa Dorn, reader in driver behaviour and director of the driving research group at Cranfield University, says that the automotive industry can learn a lot from fighter pilots, who have been using this kind […]

A Ford Ranger Wildtrak 3.2 Double Cab, fittingly painted in the range-topping model’s distinctive and exclusive Pride Orange, is the 500 000th current-generation Ford Ranger to be produced at the Ford Motor Company’s Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria. “The current Ford Ranger has been a remarkable success story for Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa, and we are delighted to have reached the 500 000 unit mark for this vehicle programme,” says Ockert Berry, VP operations, Ford Middle East and […]

Netstar, a subsidiary of JSE-listed Altron, has concluded a partnership with SqwidNet, the Sigfox operator and network provider in South Africa. The agreement will see Netstar move beyond traditional vehicle tracking by availing new opportunities made possible by Sigfox’s technology. Netstar’s product range will see new, cost-effective telematics devices introduced using this technology. A Sigfox communication module will enhance the existing radio-frequency network to offer new internet communication opportunities to the Netstar solution. “In order to evolve our internet communication […]