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

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


Massive petrol price hikes for September

South African motorists were hit with massive fuel price hikes in September, which is expected to have knock-on effects on the rest of the economy.

Petrol prices shot up by R1.71 per litre while diesel rose by an even more astounding R2.84 per litre, with the former now drifting around the R24-per-litre mark and the latter at R23 per litre.


New number plates for two major provinces

The provinces of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal are getting new number plates in the not-so-distant future, but for completely different reasons.

The KwaZulu-Natal transport department said there is an urgent need to introduce new plates in light of the current designations being outdated in terms of the registering authority boundaries.

Gauteng, on the other hand, is plagued with fraudulent identifiers with the new plates to feature tighter security measures intended to crack down on unlawful cloning.


R4.7-billion N3 upgrades

The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) is set to begin an immense upgrade project on the N3 in October, between the Westville viaduct and the Paradise Valley Interchange, which will cost in the region of R4.7 billion.

This will include the widening of the 5.74km section of the freeway in addition to other enhancements to improve traffic flow.

The project is expected to extend over approximately 51 months, causing travel delays for motorists traveling to and from major destinations including the Durban Port and King Shaka International Airport, said Sanral.


Joburg clears up confusion about roadblock debt payments

The City of Johannesburg has cleared up the confusion about its new debt-collection strategy of targeting residents with outstanding municipal bills at roadblocks.

When the announcement was first made, many feared that if they did not pay their outstanding debts right there on the spot, they would be arrested and taken into custody.

However, the city said that this is far from the case, as its revenue officials will only be stationed at select roadblocks in order to notify citizens of their unpaid accounts, provide them with a copy of their records, and assist in finding a solution to settle their debts – and that no arrests for unpaid bills will be actioned.


World’s biggest electric-car maker to open factory in South Africa

Build Your Dreams (BYD), the world’s largest electric-vehicle manufacturer, is in talks with the South African government to establish a new factory on local soil, Cabinet recently announced.

BYD only recently entered the country with its new Atto 3 crossover, one of the most affordable battery-electric vehicles that is currently on sale.


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