NEXT FORD MUSTANG FOR MZANSI?

2013 Shelby GT500

Good news for pony fans in Europe as Ford announces that it’s taking the next-generation legendary Mustang muscle car across the pond into Europe. Europe includes the United Kingdom, which means official right-hand-drive Mustangs for the very first time. By extension what this means is that Mzansi could be in line for its first Ford-backed batch of RHD Mustangs for the first time too!

AUDI RS 5 CABRIOLET IS OUT

The Audi RS 5 Cabriolet has been unveiled. Obviously based on the RS 5 Coupe, which itself is based on the A5 range, the drop top has come quite late in the car’s lifecycle. In fact, a brand new A5 range goes on sale in the next three years.

BMW: NO 3 SERIES TOURING FOR MZANSI

BMW South Africa has confirmed that it will not be offering a 3 Series Touring for our market. Touring is BMW speak for “station wagon”. This decision contradicts all direct rivals available in Mzansi. For instance, Audi offers Avant versions of the A4. Mercedes-Benz and Volvo also sell C-Class Estate and V60 models respectively.

FACELIFT FORD FIESTA ANNOUNCED

Ford today revealed the dynamic new version of the best-selling Fiesta that features a sharper design and a host of exclusive technology features. The new Fiesta will be on stage tomorrow in Amsterdam at Ford’s special “Go Further” product event hosted by Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally and attended by 2 500 dealers.  

2013 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 7 BREAKS LOOSE

The brand new 2013 Volkswagen Golf is out! Well, it only launches in Mzansi in 2013, but these are the official pictures of the car. Soon to be known as the Golf 7 or Golf Mk7, the new hatch has arrived earlier than was planned owing to several reasons, including tougher competition. And as you can see, it looks more like an evolution of the Golf 6 than a complete redesign.

BEST-SELLING CARS OF AUGUST 2012

Good times are here for the motor industry, just in time for the fresh Spring season. Sales have remained high for the month of August, resulting in 40 345 new passenger cars moving into new homes. This is an 11.6% growth rate over August 2011, and a market growth of 6.6% over the previous month.

The popular names stayed on top, although one or two shuffled positions. For example, the Chevrolet Utility again got upset by the Nissan NP200 for the second time this year.  

“August was always going to be a slower sales month for FMCSA due to logistical planning to allow second shift production in Silverton to commence,” said Ford Motor Corporation SA’s Vice President Marketing, Sales and Service, Dean Stoneley. “It was also impacted by supply constraints beyond our control.”

“The market remains strong and set for total sales of over 600 000 units,” says Dr Johan van Zyl, President and CEO of Toyota South Africa Motors. “One has to keep in mind that we are at the cusp of the replacement cycle following the significant sales achieved in 2006 and 2007. Many of these customers held back on replacing their vehicles, but are now returning to the market thanks to low interest rates and the general affordability of vehicles in this market.”

“The new car market has been characterised by strong levels of demand for new passenger cars. With interest rates at the lowest level in thirty eight years, debt servicing costs for households are low and sufficient credit is available to service demand for new cars. New car prices are growing at less than 3% on an annual basis and in real terms, after adjustment for inflation, have been in negative territory for over two years,” said Mike Glendinning, Director: Sales and Marketing, Volkswagen Group South Africa.

Audi saw its biggest August ever, with sales of 1500, buoyed by the A4 range.

These are the best-sellers for the month of August 2012
Passenger Cars
Model                                            Units
1. Volkswagen Polo Vivo            2 654
2. Volkswagen Polo                     2 158
3. Toyota Etios                             1 563 
4. Toyota Corolla                          1 541
5. BMW 3 Series                         1 200 
6. Toyota Yaris                             1 096
7. Volkswagen Polo Vivo Sedan 1 060
8. Toyota Fortuner                          961
9. Ford Figo                                    877
10. Chevrolet Spark                       822


Light Commercial Vehicles
Model                                          Units
1. Toyota Hilux                             2 942
2. Nissan NP200                         1 652
3. Chevrolet Utility                       1 555
4. Toyota Quantum                      1 355
5. Ford Ranger                            1 238
6. Isuzu KB                                   1 192
7. Nissan NP300 Hardbody          759   
8. Volkswagen Amarok                 515
9. Toyota Landcruiser Pick Up     270
10. Mazda BT-50                           180

CITROEN DS3 CABRIOLET FOR YOUR SUMMER!

Citroën says its technical solution for the brand new DS3 Cabriolet is modern, but one can clearly see the “retroness” in it. Instead of being able to open the whole entire roof with pillars, only the top part can be displaced, slid backwards towards the rear end. It’s just like they used to do back in the day.

SPEED PACK FOR JAGUAR XFR

Buyers of the Jaguar XFR in the United Kingdom are in for a bit of a treat after the company announced it would offer them more speed than what other countries are currently gathering. The appropriately-named XFR Speed Pack is now available across the UK at a price of £2750 (about R36 700).

147KW PEUGEOT 208 GTI BREAKS COVER

Peugeot has released the most intimate details of its latest hot hatch, the 208 GTi. Small in size but seemingly big on attitude, GTi of course based on the new 208 range but adds a few touches of pepper spray in the mix, just in case you look at it in the wrong way.

FORD CELEBRATES 350 MILLIONTH CAR

Ford Motor Company today celebrates the company’s 350 millionth vehicle – a Ford Focus, which is the world’s best-selling car for the first half of 2012.