This Week In The News

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NEWS IN SHORT

  • The factory warranty on your OMODA vehicle is valid for a period of 5 years or 150 000km whichever occurs first, from first registration date. Chery International, will offer a further 1 000 000km or 10 year engine warranty. (Terms and Conditions apply)

  • The recent facelift to the Toyota Land Cruiser (LC) 79 has boosted the popularity of the venerable 4×4 in South Africa by a noticeable margin. Toyota South Africa confirmed In February, 229 units of the bakkie found local buyers, split across 111 double cabs and 118 single cabs. Marking an 88% increase in comparison to the 127 sales that the pre-facelift model accrued in January.

  • The new Ford Territory has finally reached South African showrooms after being confirmed for the local market back in November 2023.
    Prices start at R576,000 without a service plan, and R590,000 with the optional after-sales agreement included. The most affordable 4-year/120,000km option coming in at R14,000.
Model Price excl. service plan Price incl. service plan
Territory Ambiente R576,000 R590,000
Territory Trend R632,600 R646,600
Territory Titanium R707,000 R721,000
  • At present, there is about R2.3 trillion of active credit in the market split across approximately 30 million people, and of this total value, R1.8 trillion is made up of home loans and vehicle finance. South Africans owe R498 billion in vehicle debt. As of the end of 2023, South African households had close to R2 trillion in outstanding debt, with R25.8 billion in default. Several credit providers in South Africa have reported an increase in bad debts, resulting in a rise in impairments across all major banks.
  • Passenger car sales dipped by 3.1%, but there were some positives, with light commercial vehicles experiencing 2.5% growth.
  • ISUZU Foundation, a collaborative initiative between ISUZU Motors South Africa and its Dealer Network, has expanded its impact into neighbouring Namibia by handing over 100 much-needed school desks and chairs to Elias Amxab Combined School,...

  • Damage to at least three subsea cables off the west coast of Africa is disrupting internet services across the continent.
  • Microsoft has informed customers that repairs to four undersea cables that went offline around noon on Thursday have been delayed. In the meantime, the company has re-routed traffic to restore functionality of its cloud platforms in South Africa.
  • Here is the expected petrol price for April. Petrol 93: increase of 13 cents per litre
    Petrol 95: increase of 11 cents per litre
    Diesel 0.05% (wholesale): decrease of 28 cents per litre
    Diesel 0.005% (wholesale): decrease of 32 cents per litre
    Illuminating paraffin: decrease of 45 cents per litre

  • For South Africa, there is consensus among economists and analysts that interest rates have peaked, but given the sticky levels of inflation in the US and back home, there are big questions about when the cycle will turn, and the SARB will start cutting. According to Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop, South Africa is only expected to see rate cuts in the second half of the year.
  • South Africa’s Reserve Bank (SARB) governor, Lesetja Kganyago, says he is confident the country will be removed from international financial crime watchdog FATF’s “grey list” next year.

 

Chinese car makers bet big on South Africa – and won

Clickacar_Haval-Jolion

Chinese car brands are lapping up market share in South Africa thanks to a perfect storm of financial strain on consumers coupled with the value-for-money they offer – and other brands are taking a knock as a result.
Over the years, the demand for notable Chinese brands such as Chery and Haval has increased significantly.

According to NAAMSA, in 2019, Haval had only sold 872 cars, while Chery wasn’t even on the radar.

Fast-forward to 2024, Chinese cars are now outselling many traditional and trusted brands such as Kia, Renault, Isuzu, and even BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

According to NAAMSA’s data, Havel has sold approximately 19,904 units, representing an increase of over 2,000% from that recorded in 2019.

Additionally, these numbers show a stark increase in Haval’s sales since 2019, representing a 198% increase, while Chery’s sales are likely to be in the same region.

Suzuki, a neighboring Japanese car maker, has also seen tremendous growth, with their annual sales growing exponentially in the past decade from 6,402 to 47,201 – a 637% increase.

In contrast, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW have more than halved in the last decade – with total sales declining by 63% from 71,889 in 2014 to 26,202 in 2023.

 

Thought of the week :

“You’re never too important to be nice to people”