• Honda Revises Civic Hatch
  Honda’s new Civic 5-door hatchback has been launched locally. The previous Civic hatchback was noted for its quirky styling and while the newcomer has toned some of those elements down to some degree, it remains a very distinctive package. Sitting 20 mm lower and 10 mm wider than its predecessor, the new Civic hatch marries [...]
• Thule Raises Production Bar
  Production at the Thule Towing Systems plant in Pietermaritzburg has been ramped up with an additional two welding robots to meet growing demand from both local and international clients. Capacity at the plant now exceeds 100 000 units per annum, helping to drive Thule’s total annual towbar output worldwide towards the 2-milllion mark. These intelligent, [...]
• SA Retail Sales Fall
  Retail sales fell 1,2 percent in the first quarter of the year, marking the first contraction in three years, official figures showed yesterday. Coming on the heels of news that manufacturing output dived unexpectedly in March, the data suggest that growth in the economy slowed during the first quarter of the year. Full story and [...]
• Motor Producers Add Over 500 Jobs
  A total of 509 new jobs were created in the motor manufacturing industry in the first quarter despite a downgrade to vehicle export projections for this year. This month’s 10 percent downward revision to export forecasts to 270 000 units because of the economic problems in Europe could have been expected to result in stable [...]

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• Automotive Investments Steadily Increasing
  The automotive industry was poised to spend over R5-billion in capital expenditure (capex) during 2012, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) reported on Wednesday. Full story and source: Engineering News
• PetroSA Launches SA’s First Academic Fuel Research Centre
  PetroSA’s first academic fuel research centre would not only improve the company’s gas-to-liquid processes, but also increase SA’s intellectual property, University of Western Cape (UWC) vice-chancellor Brian O’Connell said at the launch on Wednesday. Full story and source: BusinessDay
• Change In Buying Patterns Noticed
  As the fuel price rises to sky-high levels, motorists are changing their shopping patterns. That’s according to Darryl Jacobson, managing director of Burchmore’s, who says that the fuel price has had a number of direct influences on business at Burchmore’s. “We have seen drastic changes in buying patterns,” he reveals. “It is clear that the [...]
• Vehicle Sales Growth Slows
  New vehicle sales grew in the first quarter of 2012, but at a slower rate than the same period last year, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa) said on Tuesday. “All sectors registered significantly slower growth during the first quarter of 2012 compared to the corresponding quarter in 2011,” Naamsa said. The [...]

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MPEANEWSLETTERMAY2012

• BB&T Weekly Aftermarket Intelligence Update
  AIA and BB&T Capital Markets have teamed up to provide a unique report available through AAIA. This report, AAIA/BB&T Weekly Automotive Aftermarket Intelligence Update, is published every week in AAIA SmartBrief. The report provides comprehensive and timely information and trends about the aftermarket and the relative performance of companies serving the industry, including manufacturers/suppliers; distributors; retailers; [...]
• Much Needed Manufacturing Plan Unveiled
  A R5.8 billion injection into the manufacturing industry could not have come at a better time, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said on Tuesday. “The first recession in 2008/2009 resulted in a loss of approximately a million jobs in the South African economy, 200,000 of which were in manufacturing,” Davies said at the Manufacturing [...]
• Partnership To Boost Small Businesses
  Local banking group Absa (ASA) and UK Trade and Investment, through the Micro Enterprise Development Organisation (MEDO), have signed a partnership agreement aimed at providing support to South African small and micro businesses. Full story and source: Business Report
• Mazda Tech Enhances Efficiency
  Mazda’s SKYACTIV technology will ensure reduced running costs and harmony with the environment through class leading fuel economy and low CO2 emissions. SKYACTIV will feature in all of Mazda’s upcoming new models from 2012. The CX-5 is the first Mazda to feature the entire suite of SKYACTIV Technology using a ‘clean sheet’ approach where engineers [...]

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• SAAW 2012 Overview
  The South African Automotive Week is an international trade show based in Africa’s manufacturing centre – Nelson Mandela Bay. It is Africa’s automotive intellectual gathering and focuses on stimulating trade and partnership opportunities in manufacturing and the related sector. SAAW 2012 Overview
• RMI Calls For Waste Tyre Management Input
  The RMI expresses an intention to facilitate an urgent meeting that aims to invite comment and suggestions on the way forward regarding a sustainable and effective Waste Tyre Management strategy for South Africa. Full story: THE RMI CALLS ON INDUSTRY 
• Prototype Disc-Brake System Remembered
  Jaguar Heritage Racing will field a six-car strong team in the 2012 Mille Miglia, an event which will see Jaguar celebrate the 60th anniversary of its entering a C-type equipped with a prototype disc-brake system in the 1952 running of the 1,000-mile road race. That 1952 Mille Miglia entry represented the first competitive endurance test [...]
• Trade Test Centre Opens In East London
  The Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) Trade Test Centre is the first decentralised Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority (merSETA) accredited facility of its kind in the region. MBSA have invested in excess of R3 million into the establishment of the centre, with further investment planned in 2012 for equipment upgrades. Vice [...]

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WasteTyreManagementMeetingMay142012

• Hino Comes Out Tops
  Hino South Africa has been rated the leading brand in the overall local truck market for the third successive year. This was announced at the annual awards function of the PMR Africa magazine held in Johannesburg recently. The survey was conducted by means of telephonic interviews with a random national sample of 180 respondents from [...]
• Fastest Production MINI Ever On The Way
  The MINI John Cooper Works GP, the sportiest road-registered MINI ever made, will go on sale internationally later this year in a limited run of 2 000 cars, before being made available locally in limited numbers from the first quarter of 2013. It is currently completing a programme of testing in preparation for series production [...]

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• BB&T Weekly Aftermarket Intelligence Update
  AIA and BB&T Capital Markets have teamed up to provide a unique report available through AAIA. This report, AAIA/BB&T Weekly Automotive Aftermarket Intelligence Update, is published every week in AAIA SmartBrief. The report provides comprehensive and timely information and trends about the aftermarket and the relative performance of companies serving the industry, including manufacturers/suppliers; distributors; retailers; [...]
• SA Mulling E-toll Options
  South Africa is looking at options to retire a multi-billion rand debt incurred by the state road agency for highway upgrades, after a court halted a planned road toll to recoup the money, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Friday. The Treasury may have to pay for the entire 20 billion rand ($2.50 billion) debt, [...]
• Automotive Training Solutions Now Online
  Jones & Bartlett Learning, a division of Ascend Learning, has partnered with Midas Group’s Technica Online to develop world-class interactive automotive training solutions to practicing professionals, students, and training institutions worldwide. CDX Automotive, the leading online automotive training curriculum developed by Jones & Bartlett Learning, will form the core of more than 32 training courses [...]
• SA Faces Iran Oil Sanctions Deadline
  South Africa has less than seven weeks to “significantly reduce” its oil exports from Iran, or face possible US sanctions and an oil shortage, Beeld reported on Friday. Full story

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