Never dull moment in world of wheels

It’s hard to believe that we are less than three weeks away from singing Auld Lang Syne in celebration of the infancy of yet another new year. And can you believe that it will be humankind’s 20th anniversary of surviving the apocalyptic Y2K bullet already?

But before we start popping the corks, let’s take a minute to reflect on a year that was quite a roller coaster in the world of motoring. One that – apart from seeing the Motoring staff clocking up ten of thousands of kilometres spread over the lengths and breadths of our own beautiful country – also saw us do extensive travelling in Southern Africa as well as crisscross the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and making numerous treks to Europe to keep you – our readers – on the forefront of all things four wheels. Even when our flourishing bakkie market, a renewed battle in the entry level segment and the latest fad in the SUV market – the compact segment – is hogging most of the headlines.

2019 was a year which provided us with lots of insights into the future of mobility amid the ongoing trend of limitless resources being poured into it by carmakers. Electric vehicles and autonomous driving undoubtedly remain the major focus going forward as more and more uncommon bedroom partners are joining hands in trying to stay ahead of the game whose new rules are far from being finalised. We might be made to believe that we will share autonomous electric cars that will charge themselves and be 100% safe in the near future, but it will most definitely not happen overnight.

And while the latest tech in the automotive world might be generally slow in reaching the foot of Africa, there are at least other things we can get excited about like our monthly exports. Significant upgrades to Ford’s Silverton Assembly Plant and more to follow in the form of Nissan’s Rosslyn Assembly Plant will boost the conveyor belt of locally built cars feeding the global supply chain.

And apart from keeping South Africa relevant on a world scale, every new job created in these assembly plants ensures another handful of jobs crested down the supply chain. And the more expenditure there’ll be, the more new cars will be sold locally in turn to keep the economy clicking over. And speaking of new car sales, the market finally seemed to have recovered after the hangover of the projected mid-year slump following the general elections might have carried on slightly longer than expected.

And despite the 2019 slump, Toyota is on course to finish the year for the 40th consecutive time as South Africa’s market leader in terms of sales, quite a remarkable achievement.

See you in 2020.