Author:focus-on-transport
MAN opens N7 satellite workshop April 17, 2024 MAN Automotive South Africa has opened a new satellite workshop in the town of Trawal on the N7 route. FERDI DE VOS paid it a visit. The small settlement of Trawal is situated on the banks of the Olifants River, 15km south of Klawer and 267km north of Cape Town, along the N7 national road from Cape Town to Windhoek. The town’s name derives from an old-fashioned Afrikaans word borrowed from Portuguese, […]
Volvo Buses launches global e-mobility platform March 27, 2024 Volvo Buses launched its BZR Electric – a global platform for city, intercity, and commuter operations – in Gothenburg last week. We were there! The new platform is “so much more than a new product”, according to Anna Westerberg, president of Volvo Buses. “It’s a global multi-purpose platform for several new products,” she explained. The Volvo BZR Electric comes as high-floor or low-entry, in two or three-axle configurations, and with a […]
A battery bank could make a huge difference February 2, 2024 The world is moving towards battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and alternative fuels, with good reason. Engines aren’t the only components that can benefit from electrification, though. German multinational engineering and technology company Bosch already highlighted the benefits of electrified semitrailers back in 2018. It presented an electrified axle at the IAA commercial vehicle show in Hannover that year, which could be integrated into these truck-towed transporters. The idea behind it […]
Irizar e-mobility embraces recycled aluminium in buses December 14, 2023 Irizar e-mobility, a Spanish customer of Hydro Extrusions – a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy producer, is the first company to use Hydro’s recycled aluminium, produced with green hydrogen, in its products. The aluminium profiles will be used for bodywork in Irizar’s electric vehicles – one such being its “ie tram”, an electric zero-emission bus with the appearance of a tram. The recycled aluminium was produced at Hydro’s recycling operation in Navarra, […]
Debunking the myths of expensive original spare parts February 5, 2024 Spare parts represent a fair share of maintenance costs for bus and coach owners, and their prices can vary considerably. Why should you buy original spare parts when there are alternatives at much lower cost? Roland Henriksson, who is responsible for Volvo Buses’ circular parts business and chassis and body parts assortment, gets to the heart of the matter, explaining how price and cost are two very different things. […]
Supply chain profession’s toughest year ever? March 4, 2024 Supply chain management may be the toughest it has ever been in 2024. For some time, change has been the only constant in supply chains. It looks like this volatility is set to continue, fuelled by geopolitical tensions, climate crises, and economic instability. With the following trends shaping supply chains in 2024, SAPICS (The Professional Body for Supply Chain Management) president MJ Schoemaker says that they should be on the agendas […]
MAN invests in talent to fortify bus leadership March 5, 2024 MAN Automotive – the long-time leader in South Africa’s bus market – has announced two key appointments within its bus and coach division. Giacomo Virgili is the new head of sales and product bus and Ryno Blignaut has been appointed sales manager bus. Virgili joined MAN eight years ago, while Blignaut joined the company in 2013, and both are seasoned professionals in the commercial vehicle industry. During his decades-long […]
An eagle eye on truck tyres March 14, 2024 GoMetro has launched ConnecTyre: a rim-mounted tyre pressure and temperature management system that lets commercial vehicle owners livestream tyre pressure and temperature into their control centres. Tyre pressure and temperature are considered some of the hardest but most important factors to manage in a commercial vehicle fleet, says Justin Coetzee, CEO of GoMetro. Historically, tyre pressure monitoring systems only alerted the driver of the vehicle to any issues, despite vehicles often […]
MiX: Harnessing telematics for driver performance and fleet management March 13, 2024 Drivers and operators are the core of fleet-first companies, representing a pivotal area for driving tangible operational improvements. Monitoring drivers is critical for safety; telematics and fleet management empower businesses to proactively assess and optimise driver performance. By leveraging this technology and data-driven insights, companies can ensure safer operations, mitigate risks, and enhance overall productivity. Digitised solutions in vehicle telematics streamline fleet management protocols. This improves safety, compliance, […]
Babcock wins DAF’s ultimate accolade March 14, 2024 Babcock – the sole importer and distributor of DAF trucks, parts, and service in Southern Africa – has won the prestigious DAF International Sales Dealer of the Year award. Marius Barnard, the company’s managing director, and Mark Gavin, national sales director, reveal that customer loyalty is one of the key reasons for the company’s success. It costs five times more to attract a new customer than keep an existing one. That’s according to […]
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