Major concern over Gauteng’s new number plates, a luxury carmaker re-opens factories, and VW launches the new Transporter in South Africa

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

Major concern over Gauteng’s new number plates

The upcoming number plate recognition system, envisioned to help fight crime in Gauteng, could have dire consequences if its data falls into the wrong hands.

Nathan-Ross Adams, the founder and managing director at ITLawCo, highlighted how criminals who gain access to the data on the new system could stalk their targets, mapping out their daily movements to find an ideal opportunity to strike.

He used an example of a case in Europe, where a person gained unauthorized access to a number plate tracking system to track their partner following a domestic violence dispute.

The new traffic law that makes it easier to lose your driving licence

The soon-to-be-implemented AARTO Act will make it far easier for drivers to lose their licences, meaning that motorists will need to take extra care to avoid falling prey to the new laws.

Barry Berman, Chief Executive Officer of Fines SA, highlighted this issue ahead of the AARTO’s implementation in December.

“It introduces demerit points, licence suspensions, and stricter penalties for non-payment. With millions of fines issued annually and fraud already on the rise, the stakes for motorists and businesses are high.”

New VW Transporter launched in South Africa

VW has expanded the next-gen Transporter series in South Africa.

The series now has a total of five Kombi units that can carry up to eight people, with prices starting at R1,081,700.

There’s also a panel van version meant for commercial activities, which asks for R770,000.

Luxury carmaker re-opens factories

Jaguar Land Rover Automotive will resume production at some of its UK sites after weeks-long outages following a cyberattack that snarled its global manufacturing network.

In late August, JLR was hit by a cyberattack that forced it to shut down factories worldwide, including UK sites that make about 1,000 vehicles a day, as well as plants in China, India, Brazil and Slovakia.

The disruption rippled through its supply chain, threatening thousands of jobs. 

Cheaper Chery Tiggo Cross launched in South Africa

Chery has introduced a new entry-level model to the Tiggo Cross series in South Africa.

The new option, called the Million Edition, starts at R359,900, making it R40,000 cheaper than the previous base model – the Comfort.

The spec sheet has understandably lost a few features to meet this lower price tag, but it retains the 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine found on the rest of the series.