WeeklySA_AdminMORE HONOURS FOR
VOLVO EX30
The small SUV Volvo EX30 has been honored with the prestigious Red Dot award: Best of the Best Product Design 2024. The award recognises excellence in design based on four basic principles of good design: the quality of function, the quality of seduction, the quality of use, and the quality of responsibility. The jury of 39 experts from all over the world selected the EX30 as the winner in a competitive field with a total score of 93/100.
The EX30 was revealed last summer (early March in SA) and has already won more than 20 major awards, including the prestiguous Car Design award 2024, established in 1984 by auto&design magazine. It has also recieved The Sun Car of the Year, World Urban Car from World Car of the Year, the Small SUV/Crossover of the Year award from the Sunday
JAC EXPANDS T-SERIES RANGE
JAC Motors announced the expansion of its T-Series double-cab range by introducing a T8 2.0L CTi 4×2 Lux derivative priced at R399,900. This expansion addresses intensified competition in the double-cab bakkie market, with new brands entering the local market facing significant competition from established competitors.
Since its launch in 2017 with just ten dealerships and the X200 2.8L TDI 1.5-tonne forward-cab bakkie, JAC Motors South Africa has expanded its product line-up to include the T-Series double-cabs and N-Truck range, while also growing its dealer network to over 70 dealerships across Southern Africa. In 2019, the T-Series expanded with the introduction of the T8 1.9L TDI, offering more than the T6 double-cab workhorse range. Responding to market demand in 2021, the T8 received upgrades, including a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine and enhanced features, boosting its performance.
MERCEDES FOR BRIGHT MINDS
Mercedes-Benz South Africa is proud to announce its substantial donation towards empowering learner education through three (3) Sprinter Inkanyezi vehicles to the Ruta Sechaba Foundation. Ruta Sechaba Foundation is a non-profit organisation dedicated to empowering South Africa’s brightest young minds by providing opportunities to pupils that deliver academic and sporting excellence, despite their socio-economic circumstances.
The Sprinter donated to the Ruta Sechaba Foundation have been converted into 23-seater school buses by a Mercedes-Benz approved VanPartner. The school bus conversion was specifically designed in collaboration with South African schools to prioritise the safety and well-being of school children during their journeys on the road
TESTING RANGE ROVER ELECTRIC
Range Rover Electric will lead the way for electric propulsion capability, refinement and luxury travel, with the first vehicle prototypes now deployed at some of the world’s most challenging test locations.
The all-electric drivetrain is now being put through its paces at extremes of temperatures, from -40°C in the Arctic Circle, to +50°C in the searing deserts of the Middle East.
The first tests have focused on the capability of the battery and Electric Drive Unit (EDU) – effectively the vehicle’s core components including the transmission, electric motor and power electronics – in extreme sub-zero temperatures as low as –40°C. Both the battery and EDU are assembled in house by JLR in a first for the brand.
Testing on the frozen lakes of Sweden has demonstrated Range Rover’s new-in house all-electric propulsion system, which will allow Range Rover to exceed its already renowned performance on low-grip surfaces, ensuring the all-terrain, all-weather and all-surface capability of the Range Rover remains unparallelled.
