Author:focus-on-transport
Germany has a problem – more and more trucks are flooding the country’s freeways and highways. This has pushed up the number of serious accidents involving commercial vehicles. One result of this is that an increasing number of Germans would feel safer with fully automated, driverless trucks on the road. This is the outcome of a survey conducted by Bosch and Innofact AG in the lead-up to the IAA Commercial Vehicles show in Hannover. The survey interviewed 1 068 people […]
Speaking at the recent National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) Automotive Conference, Lionel October, the director-general of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) commented that the DTI and the motor industry are now close to finalising the South African Automotive Masterplan, which will come into effect in January 2021 and run until 2035. October, who has been director-general at the DTI since 2011, said that both the department and industry were “99-percent there” in getting agreement […]
Having been inaugurated in July 2014, FAW South Africa’s Coega assembly plant has now celebrated the production milestone of 4 000 units. The R600-million plant was the first large-scale investment made by a China-based company in the Eastern Cape region and remains one of the largest foreign direct investments made in the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ). To date, a total of 16 different models have been assembled at the plant in Coega, ranging from the ever popular 8.140 to the […]
GAVIN MYERS recently put the all-new Volkswagen (VW) Crafter to work and came away very impressed I will forever be grateful for some of the perks associated with my job. At the beginning of August, VW South Africa offered FOCUS one of its new Crafters to test (you may have read our launch report in Issue 7) and, as luck would have it, that same month I was due to move house. With all the relevant dates arranged, a Crafter […]
Thanks to the rapid advancement of internet-enabled communication technology, the art of fleet management is evolving Fleet-management technology has evolved to become an integral part of a growing economy,” says Justin Manson, the sales director at TomTom Telematics for South Africa. “Before the mid-1990s when the first vehicle-tracking systems were introduced to South Africa for commercial use, fleet management was manual and largely paper-based. Drivers were entrusted to take exhaustive notes in log books, keeping track of routes, stops and […]
Truck drivers in Colombia are allowed to choose the number of hours that they work. They sleep in hotels, or hospedajes, and often drive vehicles built decades ago. Having only half a brake pad is no problem in this country, as long as the engine brake still works, writes RICHARD KIENBERGER. The reports about Colombia in the world’s media over the last couple of years focused mainly on cocaine, drug trafficking, or the civil war – which is regarded as […]
Following the launch of the new-generation Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Mercedes-Benz Vans followed up with an all-electric eSprinter and surprised everyone (including Jarlath Sweeney, editor of Ireland’s Fleet Transport magazine) at a special press event in Hamburg, Germany, with the concept F-Cell hydrogen version And so, D (diesel), E (electric) and F (fuel cell) completes the DEFinitive drivetrain on the new Sprinter… The latter two developments are all to do with the Mercedes-Benz Vans eDrive@VANs zero-local-emission mobility strategy. The eSprinter follows on […]
Aftermarket body parts and chrome accents will make a company’s fleet stand out to prospective clients, but accessories are also designed to protect the vehicles and make them safer and more efficient on the road. Bull bars are one of the most common aftermarket accessories fitted to trucks. The term “bull” was coined in North America after drivers installed bull bars to prevent cattle smashing through their radiators, leaving them stranded. Many South African trucks venture into sub-Saharan Africa and […]
Taking a different look at finance – Gareth Greathead finds out more about options for future funding of road infrastructure, which may directly impact on the pockets of all road users. It is clear that many road users in Gauteng have not bought into the decision by the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) to implement e-tolls as a means to build and maintain the province’s main arterial routes. Non-payment of tolls, and the cost associated with attempts to collect […]
Liana Shaw takes a look at the current state of the used-vehicle industry and the latest trends among buyers and sellers of used vehicles. With the economy under severe pressure, South African consumers are being compelled to tighten their belts, and the business environment is being impacted. No sector of industry is immune, including the commercial transport sector. Market indications are said to be pointing to a surge in the sale of used vehicles over new ones. This view is […]
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