South Africa

PARIS/ TOKYO/ JOHANNESBURG, July 18, 2008 -- The Renault-Nissan Alliance has confirmed the launch of a new manufacturing project in South Africa. Nissan’s manufacturing plant at Rosslyn was identified as having the potential to maximize synergies between Renault and Nissan.

Highlights:
* A new Nissan half-ton Pickup NP200 and Renault Sandero are to be produced at Nissan’s Rosslyn plant (Pretoria). Production of the new Nissan half-ton Pickup NP200 has already started in the plant. The production of Renault Sandero will start in 2009.
* This project marks the first time that a Renault vehicle will be produced in South Africa.
* Some 300 jobs will be created in the plant in 2008.

2008-06-17 -- Schaeffler South Africa has been awarded “Supplier of the Year” in the category Powertrain by GM South Africa (GMSA) for 2007 at the annual GMSA supplier awards function held in Port Elizabeth.

“As the award is based on performance in the areas of quality, technology, service and price, Schaeffler South Africa could prove once again that we put a lot of effort in our daily work in order to exceed our customers’ expectations”, comments Len Terblanche, Managing Director at Schaeffler South Africa. He also outlines that a stringent quality campaign has contributed significantly to that success as it reinforced employees’ awareness at all levels for what customer satisfaction really comprises of.

Third Overall For Darren Lobb (Nissan 350Z) In East London

June 10, 2008 -- East London, Sunday, June 8 - Tschops Sipuka and Leeroy Poulter qualified their Sasol Nissan Nissan 350Zs in first and third places respectively for the start of the first race at East London’s historic former grand prix circuit on Saturday. It was a result that Nissan Motorsport had worked hard for and it gave the team hope for a good race result on the fastest circuit hosting a round of the Bridgestone SA Production Car Championship.

Leading automotive supplier continues marketing strategy for passenger and light truck tires

Hanover & Zurich, 20 May 2008 -- International automotive supplier Continental AG is continuing its long-term marketing strategy for its premium tire brand Continental and has been named an Official Sponsor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup(TM) in South Africa in the tires product category. Continental also has an option to extend its sponsorship until the 2014 FIFA World Cup(TM) in Brazil.

2008-04-25 -- On February 25, 2007, 1,500 units of Great Wall vehicles reached the port of Durban, South Africa, ready to be sold across the country. Among them, Hover and Wingle brands account for the main part of the new arrivals, and others include Sing and Sailor. In March 2007, with the first batch of Great Wall vehicles sold in South Africa, Great Wall Motor’s sales endeavor to South Africa market began. As one of China’s largest auto exporters in South Africa, Great Wall Motor Co Ltd has sold 12,000 units of vehicles in the country, and they are well received.

The 2008 Johannesburg International Motor Show will feature passenger cars, light and heavy commercial vehicles.

Dates:
30 October - Press day
31 October - 9 November - Open to public

Organizer:
National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA)

Location:
Expo Centre
Johannesburg, South Africa

28th March, 2008 -- The India-South Africa Test series that got underway on March 26 in Chennai, promises to be a Grande affair. The Man of the Series in the three test series will win the newly launched Tata Sumo Grande. Tata Motors announced this during an unveiling function at the Chepauk cricket stadium, Chennai, just before the beginning of the first test. The three test match series between India and South Africa will be held at Chennai (March 26-30, 2008), Ahmedabad (April 3-7, 2008) and end at Kanpur (April 11-15, 2008).

01.04.2008 -- 12 GWM Sailor Single Cabs were delivered to Reshebile Aviation on March 2 in Durban, South Africa.

2008 GWM Sailor: GWM Sailor's to be used in South African airports

These pickups are to be used in the following airports:
- Johannesburg or Tambo,
- Cape Town,
- Port Elizabeth,
- East London, and
- Durban.

Please do not forget to look around when you are in any aforesaid airports in South Africa, since a GWM pickup may be next to your flight!!!

Source: Great Wall Motors

29.03.2008 -- In order to celebrate Chinese Spring Festival, Chinese Embassy in South Africa held a traditional temple fair in Randburg, South Africa at the end of February.

The South Africa based distributor of GWM, Great Wall Motors (SA) attended this fair taking GWM Sailor and GWM SING with new front grill, as well as newly launched model GWM WINGLE.

Although this is only one common outdoor show, GWM still attracted much attention due to its good appearance and reputation in South Africa.

Source: Great Wall Motors

13.03.2008 -- GW Wingle pickup is the first high-end pickup produced by Great Wall Motor Company Limited. Although it entered South Africa market for a very short time, it has already attracted abroad attention due to its strong & handsome outlook and excellent performance.

In Best Barkki 2008 organized by one of the famous magazines named Barkki and Trucks in February 2008, Great Wall Wingle made the Top 3 by 8 stars evaluated by the professional testers from South Africa. This award verifies the quality of GW products and efficiently enhances the image of GW brand in South Africa.

Source: Great Wall Motors

2008-02-25 -- 2008 will see GM Holden celebrate its 1000th ute export to South Africa with the announcement that General Motors South Africa is to take delivery of the new Holden VE Ute.

This is the first export program for the all-new Ute, outside New Zealand, and enters GM Holden into its 5th year of ute exports to South Africa.

To be sold as a Chevrolet Lumina SS Ute, the VE derivative will be almost identical in terms of specification and features to the domestic version of the sporty SS V Series, and joins the popular Lumina SS Sedan already on sale.

New Nissan GT-R to challenge for SUPER GT Series in Japan

TOKYO, January 31, 2008 - Nissan Motor Co. Ltd and Nissan Motorsports International Co., Ltd. (NISMO) today announced their 2008 Global Motorsport Programs.

Highlighting the company’s continued commitment to global motorsport, Nissan will enter the all-new Nissan GT-R into the premium Japanese motorsport series, SUPER GT.

1. SUPER GT

2008 marks the return of GT-R to racing, following the transition from the R34 model to the Z five years ago. Continuing from last year, Mr. Kunihiko Kakimoto will be the General Manager for all Nissan related teams, and the NISMO Team Manager will be Mr. Yoshitaka Iijima.

Manufacturing will be realigned by 2011 to produce next generation small pickup

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Jan. 30, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) today announced plans to invest more than R 1.5 billion to expand operations for the production of Ford's next-generation compact pickup truck and Puma diesel engine. The investment will commence in 2009 and be split between its assembly plant in Silverton, Pretoria and engine facility in Struandale, Port Elizabeth. Production of the new diesel engine is scheduled to begin in 2010, followed by production of the new pickup in 2011.

- Honda, Toyota Each Capture Four Awards in South Africa Automotive Customer Satisfaction Index Study
- J.D. Power and Associates and CAR Magazine Report: Industry Achieves Record High Results for a Second Consecutive Year

JOHANNESBURG, January 21, 2008 — Honda and Toyota models capture four segment awards each, earning more awards than any other manufacturer, according to the J.D. Power and Associates/CAR Magazine 2007 South Africa Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) StudySM released today.

December 9, 2007 -- On Dec. 8, 2007, Chery and South African McCarthy Company entered into the Distributorship Agreement in Wuhu, Anhui Province, China. As the representatives from the two parties, Mr. Yin Tongyao, Chairman and General Manager of Chery, and Mr. Jolyon Nash, CEO of McCarthy signed the agreement. This is another milestone of Chery in the South African market since Nov. 2007 when Chery super bulletproof vehicles were exported to this country.

J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Non-Premium Nameplates Demonstrate Considerable Improvement, Largely Due to Salesperson Performance

JOHANNESBURG, 13 December 2007 — For a second consecutive year, BMW ranks highest in satisfying new-vehicle buyers with the purchase experience, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 South Africa Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) StudySM released today.

November 8, 2007 -- On Nov. 1, Chery Armored and Sateh Afrique from South Africa officially signed a sales contract. It is known that Sateh Afrique will order 200 units of super bulletproof car from Chery. This is another breakthrough of Chery bulletproof cars in the international market since Sep. 23, 2007 when the first batch of bulletproof Eastar was exported to Brazil.

As a famous commercial venture in South Africa, Sateh Afrique mainly deals with electrommunication, mechanical equipment, special safety products, and vehicles etc. Having established branches in 22 countries and regions in Central, South, and West Africa, it is the first agent of Chery super bulletproof cars in southern part of Africa.

Global car will continue push into new markets, including Malaysia and the Philippines

TOKYO (October 22, 2007) – Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., today confirmed that the Nissan Livina and Grand Livina both launched this weekend in Taiwan. The Grand Livina also will be introduced in South Africa next month, followed in January 2008 by the Livina. With the introduction of the Livina series in these markets, Nissan is growing its model lineup to include the MPV and compact hatchback segments.

2008 Nissan Livina

* World-class, flexible manufacturing facility will serve as small car production hub for ASEAN region, South Africa, Australia & New Zealand
* New production expected to create up to 8,000 direct and indirect jobs

BANGKOK, Thailand, October 9, 2007 – Ford Motor Company and Mazda Motor Corporation today announced plans to invest more than US$500 million in a new, highly-flexible small passenger car plant at AutoAlliance Thailand (AAT) – the successful joint-venture of the two global automotive leaders. Senior executives from Ford and Mazda made the announcement at a press conference in Bangkok.

The winner of the Grand Challenge for autonomous automobiles stops off in Johannesburg as part of its world museum tour

Wolfsburg, 04 October 2007 - The second leg of its museum tour around the world now takes the Volkswagen Touareg Stanley to sunny springtime South Africa. Having completed the first part of the tour in Singapore, Stanley will now be on display at the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in Johannesburg, the country’s commercial capital.