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.

VW’s new South African-made budget SUV revealed

VW has officially revealed its smallest crossover to date – the Tera.

The Tera is based on the Polo and is intended to help the automaker regain a foothold in the budget-car space, which is currently dominated by Chinese and Indian brands.

The Tera will be built at the company’s South African factory, and is set to enter production in late 2026.

Joburg’s R110-an-hour answer to traffic

The City of Johannesburg is recruiting pointsmen to operate intersections with defunct traffic signals to address congestion.

The job pays R110.88 an hour and is secured by a short-term contract lasting no longer than 12 months.

The programme is intended to reduce the number of vagrants taking it upon themselves to direct traffic at these intersections, who are unqualified and present issues for motorists whose cars are damaged by poor directions.

New Chinese car brand coming to South Africa

The Chinese car brand Shanhai is coming to South Africa, though it will likely be in an unofficial capacity.

Shanhai is a sub-brand of Jetour that specializes in new-energy powertrains and has two cars lined up for our market – the T5 SUV and the P5 bakkie.

The Shanhai models will likely be sold under Jetour badges when they arrive, which is a common practice seen by other Chinese carmakers like Omoda.

The new Suzuki 7-seater SUV that could be coming to South Africa

Suzuki is developing a new seven-seater SUV in India, and it’s looking likely for a South African launch.

The automaker’s local division confirmed to TopAuto that it is currently investigating the possibility of introducing the SUV here, though it is too soon to give it an official release window.

The new model is an expanded version of the Grand Vitara, and is expected to be one of the most affordable three-row SUVs if and when it arrives in domestic showrooms.

Official petrol price decreases for March

The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources’ latest fuel price adjustments came into effect this week on 5 March 2025.

Both grades of petrol dropped by 7c per litre, while diesel was cut by as much as 24c per litre.

The modest reductions are thanks to an improvement in the rand/US dollar exchange rate, which offset the cost of importing oil.