Author: Gugu Lourie
Chinese automotive giant Build Your Dreams (BYD) has officially launched in South Africa after unveiling the fully-electric BYD Atto 3. BYD is a rival to electric car manufacturer Tesla owned by Elon Musk. BYD transformed from a factory making rechargeable batteries to a formidable electric vehicle maker expanding globallly. The carmaker also produces battery and electric vehicle chips. BYD is launching the BYD Atto 3 with a starting price of R768,000 for the Standard range version and R835,000 for the Extended range model. All models come with a standard 5-year warranty and 100,000km maintenance plan. Why expansion into South Africa?…
BMW will be investing R4.2 billion over five years to prepare its manufacturing plant in Rosslyn in Pretoria for the electro mobility era. Fifty years ago, Plant Rosslyn was the BMW Group’s first foreign facility. It has since become a mainstay of the global production network. To mark its silver jubilee, Milan Nedeljković, BMW AG Board Member for Production, has now announced the electrification of Plant Rosslyn. Speaking in South Africa, he said: “From 2024 we will manufacture the BMW X3 as a plug-in hybrid for global export in South Africa. An investment of 4.2 billion rand (over 200 million…
JUWI Renewable Energies, a global solar, wind and hybrid project developer, EPC and operations and maintenance company, today announced that it has 400 MW of EPC projects in advanced stages of development for mines in South Africa. The news follows the financial close of the 89 MW Castle Wind project by the African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) Consortium for Sibanye-Stillwater’s mining operations, a project initially developed by JUWI for the South African government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers’ Programme (REI4P). The AIIM Consortium included African Clean Energy Developments as developer and Reatile as investment partner. “We’re seeing a wave of formal requests for…
MTN SA is moving fast to become a standalone Independent Power Producer (IPP) by harnessing the power of multiple generation technologies, which will include additional solar, gas and battery energy systems, in one plant at its head office in Fairlands, Johannesburg. The plant will be a first in South Africa with five different generation technologies being housed in one plant, with a full load of 4.5MW during load shedding. MTN SA’s head office hybrid facility currently has a 2MW gas trigeneration system, a 330kW Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) Plant and a fleet of backup diesel generators. MTN SA now intends…
MTN Group announced today the return of Stephen Blewitt to the group as Operations Executive: Markets, effective July 1, 2023. Stephen will be taking over from Wim Vanhelleputte, who is departing to pursue new opportunities outside the company. In his new role, Stephen will be the Executive responsible for our WECA markets of Liberia, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau and Congo Brazzaville, and also provide general operations support across the same region, reporting into the Senior Vice President: Markets, Ebenezer Twum Asante. Stephen Blewitt brings a wealth of experience to his new position, having most recently served as the Group Chief…
The Empire Partner Foundation (EPF) is seeking sponsors for the inaugural 2023 South African Annual Tech for Innovation and Social Impact Awards. The awards ceremony, which will be held on Saturday 11 November 2023 at the Montecasino Ballroom in Fourways, Johannesburg, is set to be the epitome of all ICT awards ceremonies in the country. The awards provide a platform for youths, businesses, startups, and innovators to showcase their tech solutions. The awards aim to promote tech innovation, facilitate networking opportunities, provide a platform for market access for young entrepreneurs and promote skill development. “We ask you to support our upcoming…
Although the demand for electricity is increasing, Eskom is able to maintain a much lower stage of load shedding due to the improvement of the Energy Availability Factor (EAF), says Minister of Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. Addressing a virtual media briefing on Sunday, Ramokgopa said Eskom is much closer to achieving its target of 70% EAF. “The EAF has been consistent on an average of 60% for the past 14 days. We are getting much closer to the target of 70% EAF that we had promised, and the benefit will be to the South African economy, households and the ability…
JSE-listed retailer Mr Price today released its full-year 2023 results for the 52 weeks ended 1 April 2023. Group revenue increased by 17.0% to R32.9 billion, supported by the acquisition of 70% of Studio 88 with effect from 4 October 2022. With the addition of Studio 88, the group’s total number of shops increased to 2 702. The three recent acquisitions delivered double-digit sales growth and had a positive impact on the group’s profit. The retailer said a significant increase in power cuts severely impacted the key festive months, resulting in an annual EBITDA increase of only 5,4% to R7,2…
Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a business of Cassava Technologies, a pan-African technology group, is proud to announce the opening of its office in East London in the Eastern Cape (EC). “The new East London office establishes a local presence for Liquid in the province, reinforcing our commitment to providing best-in-class service by leveraging advanced technology, offering exceptional customer support, prioritising security, maintaining compliance, and driving innovation. The business strives to exceed our client’s expectations and empower them to succeed in the dynamic and digitally connected world,” said Deon Geyser, Chief Executive Officer of Liquid Intelligent Technologies, South Africa. Access to broadband…
The Empire Partner Foundation (EPF), in collaboration with MICT SETA, has launched a call for nominations for the Inaugural 2023 South African Annual Tech for Innovation and Social Impact Awards. EPF has been pioneering youth and entrepreneurship development in the ICT sector since 2016. The South African Annual Tech for Innovation and Social Impact Awards aim to recognise South African talent and locally developed technologies that have made a significant impact on the advancement of technology in the country. EPF said the awards aim to promote a vibrant and competitive technology ecosystem in the country, while supporting local talent and…