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South African Auto Industry Takes Off
When I think of the South African car industry, I’m a bit ashamed to admit that I first think of the Citi Golf, the ageless Mk.1 VW Golf that was built there from ’84 to 2009 (or possibly armored...
View ArticleOut Of Africa, A Car For Africa
In the auto industry, as in so many other areas, Africa is something of a forgotten continent. Without the new roads and emerging middle class of a China, the most underdeveloped part of the...
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Don’t Give LaHood Ideas: They’ll Take Your Phone Away
They do that in South Africa. Use your phone for texting or gabbing, and police in Cape Town will arrest your cell. Police in unmarked “ghost squad” cars seized 16 phones from motorists who flaunted...
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Decades After Bringing Workers To France, Jobs Go Back To Africa While...
The establishment of a new manufacturing base in North Africa has fascinated me for the past couple months – though few others seem to really care. The leader in this movement has been Renault, which...
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Datsun May See African Expansion
Datsun’s association with Africa might be best linked with the East African Safari rally – but 42 years later, Datsun could return to the continent, though not in a motorsports capacity. As Nissan’s...
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Renault, VW, In Spat Over North African Plants
Renault’s plans for a plant in Algeria have stalled, amid the French auto maker’s desire for an agreement barring auto makers from setting up shop in the country for 5 years after the plant comes...
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Renault Says “Kuss Ummak” To VW, French Unions With Algeria Deal
Renault’s Algerian plant became a done deal Thursday, with production beginning in mid-2014, which will see the French auto maker become the sole passenger car builder in the North African state. The...
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Piston Slap: Is it Piston Slap? Ja-nee, baby!
Mu-een (from Cape Town, South Africa!) writes: Hi I would like to know what is the difference sound of a tappet noise, or bad rocker, or a piston slap. Thanks regards. Mu-een Sajeev answers: I suspect...
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Best Selling Cars Around The Globe: How The Chinese Are Setting Themselves Up...
Today we inaugurate a 5 Part series about how Chinese carmakers are setting themselves up for success abroad. Each day of this week I will publish a new Part for the series. I hope you enjoy it! For...
View ArticleFrench Authorities Sell Off Ultra Luxury Cars Seized From Son of Dictator
Click here to view the embedded video. While Equitorial Guinea is one of the wealthiest countries in Africa, only half of the people have access to clean, safe drinking water. One fifth of children...
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Datsun Looking To Latin America, Africa For Expansion
Datsun’s first product, the GO subcompact, has yet to go on sale in its first market, but Datsun is already looking elsewhere to expand its offerings beyond the initial four markets of India,...
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Beyond The BRICs
Emerging markets have been a big theme at TTAC for the past few years, with our coverage going beyond the cursory articles on automotive developments in the BRIC countries. Our articles on places like...
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Ford to Fight for the Heart of Middle East, Africa
From the Blade Runner future in Dubai to the shores of Tripoli, Ford aims to launch an aggressive campaign in the Middle East and Africa markets through the creation of a fifth business unit that will...
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Morocco’s Cash For Clunkers Means Discounted Dacias
Fans of the W123 Mercedes better book the next flight to Marrakech. If the Moroccan government has its way, the country’s ubiquitous fleet of W123 taxi cabs will be scrapped, in favor of Renault and...
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Mobius Motors: A Different Kind Of Low-Cost Car
Africa is quickly becoming the focus for auto makers looking to discover the last island of growth in an overly saturated global marketplace. Toyota, PSA and Renault-Nissan are hoping to make inroads...
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Mobius Leads Path Toward Local Manufacturing For African Consumers
Today, 50 units from Nairobi-based manufacturer Mobius are set to be delivered to customers, marking the first step for the company as it aims to prove Kenya — and the continent of Africa — can...
View ArticleWith New Honda CEO, Possible FCA Partnership?
New Honda CEO Takahiro Hachigo told media Monday that the automaker wouldn’t aim for a specific global sales figure to drive growth and would be open to partnerships with other automakers, Automotive...
View ArticleCould Africa Support Its Own Auto Industry?
Africa may be one of the last untapped continents for automakers and one of the largest growth markets in the future. But the opportunity is now for carmakers such as Uganda-based Kiira Motors,...
View ArticleFour Weeks in Africa with the Land Rover Defender
After 67 years, production of the iconic Land Rover Defender ends today. It’s an amazing feat that the Defender has lasted this long. It was a utilitarian vehicle developed at a time when going...
View ArticleFrom In-Road Rock Formations to Traffic-Directing Robots: A Dispatch from Congo
If you can describe a road surface as being home to a rock formation, you might be in Kinshasa, Congo. Protrusions of solid rock extend several feet above the road surface, as though thrust upward by...
View ArticleGhana Have Factories: African Nation Bans Importation of Old Cars
Ghana has banned the importation of cars older than 10 years in a move designed to attract automotive plants. As a major importer of second-hand vehicles, the West African nation is largely dependent...
View ArticleSouth African Crash Test for Dummies
The Steed 5 pickup, Haval H1 five-door SUV, and the Renault Kwid five-door compact, all achieved poor levels of adult and child protection in crash tests conducted by Global NCAP and AA South Africa...
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