http://www.maxauto.co.za/CntView.aspx?CatID=26&CntID=986
South Africa's total industry new vehicle sales fell by 12.5% year-on-year in October, showing another contraction but at a slower rate of decline, adding to signs the economy may be pulling out of recession.
The auto industry, one of the biggest in the country's manufacturing sector and a key employer, has been in decline for more than two years, knocked by soft domestic demand, but recent data suggests the worst of the cycle now be in the past.
The central bank and Treasury predict Africa's biggest economy will emerge from its first recession in 17 years in the final quarter of this year, led by an expected rebound in factory output and in response to a series of interest rates cuts.
"Overall, the latest domestic sales figures reinforced the view that the industry was at an early stage in emerging from the extremely severe recession in the automotive market which had started mid-2006," the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers (NAAMSA) said in a statement on Tuesday.
Bolstered by fleet sales
Naamsa said total industry sales dropped to 36 082 units in October, with passenger car sales beginning to recover, supported by a seasonally strong sales to car rental companies.
When stripping out sales from Associated Motor Holdings and Amalgamated Automobile Distributors - which report separately - sales fell by 16.9% to 31 622 units compared with October last year.
The numbers show another improvement from the previous month and the rate of contraction was the slowest in more than a year - well down on the more than 40% decline of earlier this year.
Passenger car sales were down only 3.7% year-on-year, although sales of commercial vehicles remained soft, reflecting lower corporate investment.
Exports, badly hit by a global downturn that slashed demand, were 25.4% lower compared with October last year at 20 948 vehicles but surged 49.9% from September's sales.
"The better performance suggested that a recovery in demand in a number of export markets was under way, probably on the back of demand stimulation packages and fiscal support measures," Naamsa said.
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Why drive when you can fly...
http://www.maxauto.co.za/CntView.aspx?CatID=26&CntID=987
The government of Kazakhstan, an ex-Soviet country the size of Western Europe with an average weekly wage of $114, has urged its citizens to make more use of small planes to replace the "anachronism" of long car journeys.
Deputy Prime Minister Umirzak Shukeyev Tuesday announced new laws to cut the paperwork required for flights on private planes, some of which are "no more expensive than a jeep."
"Come to any African country and they have a small runway, they take a small plane when they need to, start it like a car and go shopping to a neighbouring village," Shukeyev told a government meeting.
"Driving a car to travel 1 000 kilometres is a total anachronism," he said.
Shukeyev did not say if the laws aimed to encourage Kazakhs to set up businesses with small planes to ferry passengers around or if the government's aim was to encourage individual purchases of light aircraft.
Most of Kazakhstan's 16 million citizens, whose average wage is around $455 per month, are used to long car and rail journeys, such as the 2 000-mile trip between main business hub Almaty and capital Astana.
But a small elite, many with close ties to the government and the oil business, use helicopters and private planes to traverse the country's vast steppe.
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GM Board Decides to Keep Opel
http://www.maxauto.co.za/CntView.aspx?CatID=26&CntID=988
In a surprise move, GM's board of directors has decided to keep Opel. While details are scarce, the board believes Opel and Vauxhall are vital to the success of General Motors.
As you may recall, a 55% share of Opel was put up for sale shortly after GM went into bankruptcy. After months of review, GM announced Opel would be sold to a joint-venture lead by Magna International.
The decision to keep Opel likely caused a few curse words to spill out in Berlin, as the government had promised to provide 4.5 billion euros ($6.58 billion) worth of funding to Magna. According to a government spokesman, Ulrich Wilhelm, "The government regrets the decision of the General Motors board to restructure Opel itself and to keep it in the group." Several officials are now demanding that GM repay 1.5 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in bridge financing provided by German state banks.
Regardless, CEO Fritz Henderson stated "GM will soon present its restructuring plan to Germany and other governments and hopes for its favorable consideration. This was deemed to be the most stable and least costly approach for securing Opel/Vauxhall's long-term future." This likely means GM will be lobbying the German government for some of the money promised to Magna.
While Opel had been a critical partner for the ill-fated Saturn brand, GM is now positioning the company as a key player for Chevrolet and Buick. The upcoming Buick Regal and next-generation Chevrolet Malibu will be heavily based on the Opel Insignia, not to mention the recently nixed Vue-ick was basically a rebadged Opel Antara.
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MR Car Design Black Rocco with 272kW
http://www.maxauto.co.za/CntView.aspx?CatID=26&CntID=989
MR Car Design has unveiled a heavily modified Volkswagen Scirocco, dubbed the Black Rocco.
Boasting an aggressive appearance, the car features a Rieger body kit (which consists of a front apron, side skirts, and rear valance with faux diffuser), a matte black paint scheme, and 20-inch 'Emotion' wheels with Hankook S1 EVO high performance tires.
Power comes from a 2.0-liter TSI engine that has been outfitted with a revised ECU, a downpipe, and a MR Car Design stage 3 turbo kit. Connected to a four tailpipe exhaust system, the engine produces 272kW and 519Nm of torque. Other performance tweaks include a limited slip differential, a Stoptech braking system (with 4-pistons calipers grabbing onto slotted discs that measure 355x32 mm), and V3-coilovers from KW Automotive.
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