Author:focus-on-transport

Can-do with Canter

If there’s one name inextricably linked with the Fuso brand, it is Canter. With the addition of its smallest member, the famous range of medium commercial vehicles is now bigger and better than ever before. For the past four years, FUSO Trucks Southern Africa has expanded its range by one new model a year. Plugging market gaps is part of the company’s drive for expansion, and 2018 sees another gap filled with the introduction of the Canter FE4-130. The venerable […]

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Future Fuso in the making

Fuso Trucks Southern Africa is on a path to bigger and better things, having embarked on an ambitious drive to increase market share. GAVIN MYERS speaks to the team. Ziyad Gaba, head of FUSO Trucks Southern Africa, has created a roadmap for the brand leading up to 2020, the destination of which is an overall market share of ten percent. This will require 60-percent growth from the brand’s current base – growth that he notes will not happen overnight. However, […]

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Still one of the best

It’s hard to believe the current ford Ranger has been with us for eight years and was facelifted four years ago. With a new model waiting in the wings, GAVIN MYERS tests the locally developed Fx4 and finds that it is still as capable as ever. Let’s get something out the way from the beginning – the Fx4 is a special-edition model that simply benefits from a few styling upgrades. If you’re looking for some additional ponies under the hood, […]

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Can Mercedes-Benz make a “real” bakkie?

GAVIN MYERS attended the launch of one of the most anticipated vehicles in its segment – the Mercedes-Benz X-Class double-cab bakkie. Let’s address the elephant in the room without delay … we’re all aware that the Mercedes-Benz X-Class shares its underpinnings with the Nissan Navara and Renault Alaskan. The company, itself, makes no bones about the fact. “Nissan has 80 years of experience and is second in the world with pickups. We wouldn’t have made it to market in just […]

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That Hilux high

“Welcome to bakkie country” is what the signs at the Free State borders should read. In fact, “Welcome to Hilux country” would be more appropriate … and not only in the Free State, but South Africa as a whole, writes GAVIN MYERS. Month after month, the Hilux is the nation’s best-selling vehicle – in April, 2 679 left Toyota showrooms, and the month before recorded 3 825 units sold; 1 072 more than its nearest rival. A visit to Nampo […]

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Volvo commits to youth development

With President Cyril Ramaphosa; Minister of Economic Development, Ebrahim Patel; Minister of Higher Education, Naledi Pandor; and Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Bulelani Gratitude Magwanishe in attendance, Volvo Group Southern Africa committed itself to continued youth development at a ceremony at its Durban assembly plant during May. Learners from schools and higher-education colleges from the Star for Life programme were in attendance. Star for Life is a non-profit organisation that aims to provide young people in South Africa with […]

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Health and Safety in the logistics industry

It is well known that South Africa has some of the worst road-safety statistics in the world.  The death or injury of loved ones exacts a high social cost, but accidents also hit the economy hard – vehicles have to be repaired or replaced and often goods in transit are destroyed or delivery is delayed. Morné Stoltz, head of MiWay Business Insurance, comments that one of the biggest contributors to road safety is the fitness of drivers. “Can they maintain […]

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More visibility with Autotrak Camera Dashboard

Autotrak has extended its AutoCam video-footage service to include the Camera Dashboard software, which allows AutoCam users to view multiple cameras simultaneously on multiple tabs or computer screens. AutoCam also includes tachographs to record a vehicle’s speed and distance travelled, and is one of several auxiliary fleet-management products provided by Autotrak. Transport operators that manage large fleets will now be able to monitor numerous vehicle-camera sets simultaneously. The use of cameras in the transport industry has become essential to manage […]

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Ctrack Drives SMMEs

Small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) can now expertly manage and administer their vehicles thanks to Drive from Ctrack. Drive is an affordable, feature-rich software solution ideal for companies with fleets of up to 30 vehicles that do not employ dedicated fleet managers and for which transport is not a core business. Drive’s intuitive dashboard simultaneously provides a top-down view of all vehicles, drivers and tasks. GPS integration locates vehicles and drivers in real time through easy-to-use map software, giving […]

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Russia joins the race to an automated future

Russia might finally be ready for the self-driving vehicle revolution that is consuming many vehicle manufacturers in Europe, the United States (US) and China. FOCUS investigates plans for an automated future in Russia. Russian Volgabus Group launched its driverless bus, dubbed Matryoshka, in September 2017, at the Skolkovo Innovation Center in Moscow. Top Russian truck manufacturer Kamaz introduced a self-driving bus in 2016. Its debut at the 2016 Moscow International Auto Show was so successful that Kamaz and Russian internet […]

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