Car maker leaves South African shores

GONER Daihatsu has very quietly left SA. The car maker was previously distributed by Associated Motor Holdings (AMH), a division of Imperial Automotive, but with declining sales and rising import costs due to exchange rate pressures, AMH decided to drop the brand from its portfolio. The company will, however, continue to service Daihatsu vehicles through its existing agents.

Giant strides for safety project

PROGRESS Volvo Cars, the Swedish Transport Administration and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration are working together on a project to enable cars to share information about conditions that relate to road friction (such as icy patches). The information will be shared through a cloud-based network — a revolutionary approach to improving traffic safety. And with the test fleet expanding from 50 cars to 1,000, the project is moving towards its goal of making the technology available to customers within a few years’ time.

Reward for energy efficiency

SAME AGAIN Toyota SA’s efforts in the area of energy efficiency have been rewarded with its second consecutive Energy Company of the Year award. The award was presented by the Southern Africa Association for Energy Efficiency.

Investment in rubber recycling

WHEELY GOOD A multimillion-rand investment in a rubber crumb manufacturing plant in Hammarsdale will take rubber tyre recycling to a new level in KwaZulu-Natal. Mehran Zarrebini, head of British investment group PFE International, said the facility would be the new home of the Mathe Group. The group’s new factory will comprise a 2,500m2 factory and a 1,000m2 warehouse.