MOTORING - The African Mirror

Jul

2021

Audi rolls out the new A3 – sportier and efficient

THE new Audi A3 is ready to roll into the showroom near you and it’s looking like and has features reflecting the new generation it represents. Audi South Africa says the A3 has, with customer delivery of more than 63 000 units in the past two decades, successfully established as firm favourite within the motoring community. “The Audi A3 now combines sportier looks with an efficient drive. In addition, Audi’s successful model range also features a digital operating concept and numerous other innovations. Whether as a five-door Sportback, a four-door Sedan or a performance S derivative – the A3 range…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

All Jaguar, Land Rover cars to be fully electric by 2030

MOTORING

NICK CAREY JAGUAR Land Rove (JLR)r's car range will be fully electric by 2030 as the carmaker joins a global race to develop zero-emission models to get ahead of looming bans on sales of new fossil-fuel vehicles. JLR, owned by India's Tata Motors, said on Monday the Jaguar brand will lead the way with a fully electric model range built on a brand-new electric platform by 2025. Known for its iconic, high-performance E-Type model in the 1960s and 1970s, Jaguar faces the challenge of many other carmakers - making the transition to electric vehicles while retaining the feeling and power…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Work and play with the new Ford Ranger FX4

MOTORING

FORD South Africa has added an alluring combination of distinctive style and innovative connected technology to its Ford Ranger line-up with the launch of the new Ranger FX4. Based on the popular 2.0-litre Single Turbo XLT Double Cab, the Ranger FX4 is available in 4x2 and 4x4 derivatives, offering exceptional capability, unrivalled fuel economy and a superb range of design and functional features – including FordPass Connect which makes its debut on the FX4, and is now standard fitment on all new Ranger XL, XLS, XLT, Wildtrak and Ranger Raptor models. “Following the remarkable success of the Ford Ranger Thunder,…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Ford helps to provide water to SA schools

MOTORING

ONE South Africa and Africa’s leading motor vehicle manufacturer has lent a hand to help provide water to drought-stricken school children. Ford has joined hands with the Gift of the Givers Foundation, a leading humanitarian organisation to get boreholes drilled at three schools in Gqeberha, formerly known as Port Elizabeth, in the Eastern Cape. Ford has donated R2.5-million to the Gift of the Givers Foundation to drill boreholes at three schools in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). The project also provides funding for the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber (NMBBC) Adopt-a-School initiative to address water leaks and conduct much-needed plumbing maintenance at…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Volkswagen Rwanda unveils new charging station for electric vehicles

MOTORING

CONTINUING the drive towards sustainable mobility for Sub-Saharan Africa, Volkswagen Mobility Solutions Rwanda (VWMSR) recently unveiled its second charging station for electric vehicles in the capital of Kigali. The Volkswagen brand previously introduced a fleet of four e-Golfs and one charging station in Kigali in October 2019, as part of an e-mobility pilot project in partnership with Siemens. This move made Rwanda the first African country to introduce a Volkswagen electric vehicle. The fleet has since expanded to 20 e-Golfs, which are mainly used as shuttles through VWMSR’s mobility services. The second charging station, located at the Kigali Convention Centre,…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Mazda introduces the All-New Mazda BT-50

MOTORING

MAZDA Southern Africa is pleased to announce the local launch of the All-New Mazda BT-50, the third model in a new generation of Mazda vehicles. The All-New Mazda BT-50 is fully redesigned from the ground up. The All-New BT-50 launched internationally in June 2020 and units sold in South Africa will be produced in Thailand. As an evolution of Mazda’s Kodo design, it gives life to a new form of elegance rooted in Japanese aesthetics. Mazda’s Kodo – Soul of Motion design language is immediately evident right from the front of the vehicle with the prominent front grille, and the…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

All New Nissan Navara now built in Africa for Africa

MOTORING

THE first Nissan Navara vehicles to be manufactured in Africa by Africans have begun rolling off the Nissan manufacturing production facility in Rosslyn on their way to South Africa and the rest of Africa. The official start of production (SOP) was witnessed by Mike Whitfield, Africa Regional Business Unit Managing Director; Kabelo Rabotho, Nissan South Africa Country Director; Shafick Solomons, Nissan South Africa Plant Director; and a group of Nissan employees due to COVID-19 regulations, as the rest of the company celebrated the milestone virtually. “This is a significant day for Nissan continentally,” said Whitfield. “Three years ago, Nissan South…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Subaru Southern Africa welcomes Ntsiki Biyela as new brand ambassador

MOTORING

ASLINA Wines founder and South Africa’s first black female winemaker, Ntsiki Biyela has joined the Subaru Southern Africa family as a brand ambassador. Renowned for her award-winning wines, Ntsiki Biyela has forged an inspiring path. Aslina Wines is a producer of world-class wines that are exported as far and wide as Japan, Europe, USA, Korea and closer to home in Ghana, Eswatini, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Aslina Wines was a dream realised in 2016 by Ntsiki, who had a passion, a vision and ambition to establish and become one of the most acclaimed wine brands in the premium wine…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

How Ford uses computers to accelerate vehicle development and improve real-world testing on the Ranger and Everest

MOTORING

NEW vehicle development can involve many hundreds of prototypes and thousands of staff at facilities around the world, with new vehicles taking many years to go from the drawing board to the showroom floor. New vehicles have become more sophisticated and feature-rich than ever before, and model line-ups are ballooning. The current Ford Ranger and Everest are perfect examples of how product lines have grown in complexity, with a considerable number of variations covering choices in powertrain, driveline, suspension style and body design. The process of developing a new vehicle from drawing board to showroom floor used to take more…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Mitsubishi’s local model line-up continues to win hearts

MOTORING

Just as other much-loved brands – ranging from appliances, foodstuff and beverages to clothing lines and footwear – have become household names in South Africa, Mitsubishi has, over more than five decades, entrenched itself in the local culture by providing products that local buyers can identify with and aspire to. In the process, it has established a base of customers that appreciate the core values of performance, quality, reliability and durability that the brand represents. With a number of instantly recognisable nameplates in its stable, Mitsubishi Motors South Africa (MMSA) continues to appeal to buyers in the leisure market who…