5 important things that happened in South Africa’s car industry this week

These were the five biggest stories in South Africa’s transport industry this week.

Toyota sends warning to South Africa

Andrew Kirby, CEO of Toyota South Africa Motors, has warned that government intervention is needed to protect the domestic auto industry from cheaper imports.

In particular, the CEO warned about models hailing from China and India, which have exploded in popularity in recent years owing to their more attainable price tags.

The result is that domestic car sales have dropped while imports from these markets have jumped by over 600% in just a few years.

Big loss for Cape Town

The City of Cape Town is trying to take control of its commercial ports, but is facing resistance from Transnet.

The city wants to open the harbour to private investment in an attempt to improve its poor performance, but this plan has been rejected by the state-owned entity.

At the same time, ports in other parts of the country have been opened to private sector contributors, with Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis claiming that there is an ideological bias behind Cape Town’s exclusion.

Good news for motorists in South Africa this week

South African car owners will enjoy lower finance payments from this week onwards, thanks to a reduction in interest rates.

The South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) Monetary Policy Committee cut interest rates for the third-consecutive time, lowering the prime lending rate to 11%.

The better rates are attributed to an improvement in inflation, which fell well below of the SARB’s expected target of 4.5%.

2025 South African Car of the Year finalists revealed

The South African Guild of Mobility Journalists has revealed the 17 finalists for the 2025 Car of the Year (COTY) competition.

Another 12 cars were eliminated from the semi-finals, leaving 17 models that will be assessed over a three-day period in March.

The vehicles are all competing with one another for the coveted COTY title, but are also being ranked in separate categories based on factors like their price, body shape, and powertrain.

Trouble brewing for South Africa’s “Afrikaans Uber”

The new e-hailing platform Wanatu is facing criticism over its policy of only hiring drivers who can speak Afrikaans.

The company was launched in 2024, and employs its drivers full-time rather than as independent contractors, in contrast to competitors like Uber.

However, it only hires individuals who can speak Afrikaans, which could be viewed as discrimination by the country’s various labour laws.