GM LOOKS TO GROWTH IN 2013

NAAMSA vehicle sales statistics for December reflect 46 016 new vehicle deliveries for the month, an increase of 1.8% on December 2011. This brought total sales for the year to 623 914 units, up 9.2% on 2011.

TOYOTA HILUX STARTS DAKAR 2013 WITH A BLAST

On a day that saw the Dakar Rally start to show its teeth and several of the top contenders lose time with navigating problems Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz made an early move with a trouble-free drive to second place on stage two in their Imperial Toyota Hilux.

TEAM TOYOTA SA'S DAKAR CHALLENGE FOSTERS ON

The countdown to the 34th running of the Dakar Rally is almost over and, with just two days to go to the start in Lima, Peru, on January 5, the Toyota Imperial South Africa team is good to go.

MERCEDES-BENZ CLA REVEALED IN PROMO SHOTS

The baby Mercedes-Benz CLS is going official at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Called the CLA, it rides on the same platform as the A and B-Class compact premium cars, but is a sedan. Its main competition will come from the upcoming Audi A3 sedan and BMW 1 Series sedan. These are the first official Photoshoped promo pictures.

AUDI'S R150 BILLION INVESTMENT PUSHES AHEAD

Audi, having targeted the year 2016 as the one in which it unsettles BMW as the world’s biggest maker of premium cars, changed its mind and shifted the target to 2020. And in order to do this effectively it will invest €13 billion (about R150 billion today) in itself.

MERCEDES-BENZ E-CLASS FACELIFT FOR 2013

Amid “Festive” cheer and noises, Mercedes-Benz revealed the new facelift E-Class. We were expecting the car much earlier in the year, but that it’s come in 2012 is still fine by us. South Africa, which will see its launch in 2013, could also benefit from the Hybrid model.

GENERAL MOTORS, PEUGEOT TO CO-DEVELOP NEW CARS

Ever since PSA Peugeot Citroen established its new alliance with General Motors, things have been happening behind the scenes. The latest of these is that the two companies have confirmed that they are developing several products together, including some major products.

INFINITI CHANGES CAR NAMING STRATEGY

Marking another significant step in its plan to further expand its presence in the premium automotive sector, Infiniti today announced details of a new nomenclature strategy to be applied to its complete product range beginning with the 2014 model year. The first model to carry Infiniti’s new Q badge will be the Q50, an all-new premium sports sedan to be unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in January 2013.

JAGUAR F-TYPE: FIRST TEST VIDEO

The F-TYPE has undergone its first dynamic challenge outside of Jaguar’s internal development programme, following an invitation to three world-renowned drivers – Martin Brundle, Christian Danner and Justin Bell – to put both 280kW V6 and 364kW V8 prototype models to the test.

TOYOTA SA DAKAR 2013; FIRST MAJOR HURDLE SKIPPED

Toyota Motorsport has won the first 2013 Dakar Rally battle by meeting the South African Airways deadline last Friday for delivery of the two Imperial Toyota Hilux double cab pickups that will contest the nearly 9 000-kilometre 15-day marathon race in South America in January.