The SA Vehicle Industry Thread

These three models have just been scrapped in SA…

A handful of models have this month been officially discontinued in South Africa.

All of these vehicles have been removed from their respective manufacturers’ official price lists, although there may well be some run-out stock scattered round the country.

So, what’s no longer available? Well, the Nissan Sentra – which was offered in SA in two variants, both employing a 1,6-litre naturally aspirated petrol unit – has quietly left the local scene. A look back over Naamsa’s stats, in fact, shows that not a single unit has been sold in 2017, with the last Sentra buyer taking delivery as long ago as November 2016.

The Chevrolet Cruze hatchback, meanwhile, has also been discontinued locally, with the second-generation model expected to hit SA in the third quarter of 2017. Interestingly, the sedan remains in Chevrolet SA’s range for now.

Lastly, the local Tata Xenon range has been culled from seven derivatives to just three, with a pair of 3,0-litre turbodiesel variants falling away and a pair of 4×4 models (including the range-topping Xenon XT 2,2L double-cab 4×4) also being scrapped. All that remains are a trio of XT 2,2L 4×2 derivatives.

http://www.carmag.co.za/news_post/these-three-models-have-just-been-scrapped-in-sa/
 
FiestaST said:
These three models have just been scrapped in SA…

A handful of models have this month been officially discontinued in South Africa.

All of these vehicles have been removed from their respective manufacturers’ official price lists, although there may well be some run-out stock scattered round the country.

So, what’s no longer available? Well, the Nissan Sentra – which was offered in SA in two variants, both employing a 1,6-litre naturally aspirated petrol unit – has quietly left the local scene. A look back over Naamsa’s stats, in fact, shows that not a single unit has been sold in 2017, with the last Sentra buyer taking delivery as long ago as November 2016.

The Chevrolet Cruze hatchback, meanwhile, has also been discontinued locally, with the second-generation model expected to hit SA in the third quarter of 2017. Interestingly, the sedan remains in Chevrolet SA’s range for now.

Lastly, the local Tata Xenon range has been culled from seven derivatives to just three, with a pair of 3,0-litre turbodiesel variants falling away and a pair of 4×4 models (including the range-topping Xenon XT 2,2L double-cab 4×4) also being scrapped. All that remains are a trio of XT 2,2L 4×2 derivatives.

http://www.carmag.co.za/news_post/these-three-models-have-just-been-scrapped-in-sa/
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I don't understand how nobody buys the sentra, that's actually a relatively attractive vehicle, but there is lots and lots of the butt ugly Almera's on the road.
 
Cr419 said:
I don't understand how nobody buys the sentra, that's actually a relatively attractive vehicle, but there is lots and lots of the butt ugly Almera's on the road.
Click to expand...

It's F'ing hideous!
 
Sentra only recently came back, didn't it?

I don't mind it really...not much worse looking than a Toyota. I always imagined proper assassins \ hitmen drive around in cars like that...nondescript sedans rather than the expensive German saloons we normally see in movies.
 
Neoprod said:
Sentra only recently came back, didn't it?

I don't mind it really...not much worse looking than a Toyota. I always imagined proper assassins \ hitmen drive around in cars like that...nondescript sedans rather than the expensive German saloons we normally see in movies.
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If by recently you mean around 5 years then yes.
 
Cr419 said:
I can't see why not. Although it will have to be really good. When my wife for example test drove the current fiesta, she like the looks, but only only few kilometers into the test drive she decided she can't live with the cars suspension. Very harsh and bumpy. If the new car improves on that I'm sure it will give the Polo a good run for it's money.
Click to expand...

...unless a new Polo is released. Oh... wait...
 
kripstoe said:
...unless a new Polo is released. Oh... wait...
Click to expand...

True, but the Polo is will most probably be expensive, even on the second hand market. So if the Fiesta is good it might scavenge quite a few sales from the Polo.
 
Cr419 said:
I don't understand how nobody buys the sentra, that's actually a relatively attractive vehicle, but there is lots and lots of the butt ugly Almera's on the road.
Click to expand...

Cr419 said:
I kind of like it, unlike the almera. That thing is just disgusting.
Click to expand...

While an Almera is ugly, it's way cheaper than a Sentra, The Sentra was quite an okay car, but Nissan scored an own goal by discontinuing it for no good reason a while ago, now that was a REAL Sentra, and the 200STI was a force to be reckoned with in the affordable performance segment.

This one unfortunately was not quite the Sentra that South African knew and loved.
 
Aha yes...Some lovely memories with a buddy's 200 STI from moons ago.

Slightly tuned.

Trying to beat 0-100 km/h times with a Nokia S60 phone connected to an external BT GPS.
 
thechamp said:
While an Almera is ugly, it's way cheaper than a Sentra, The Sentra was quite an okay car, but Nissan scored an own goal by discontinuing it for no good reason a while ago, now that was a REAL Sentra, and the 200STI was a force to be reckoned with in the affordable performance segment.

This one unfortunately was not quite the Sentra that South African knew and loved.
Click to expand...

How big is was the price difference?
 
They kept on selling the old Sentra in some backwards countries but it was nowhere near as safe as the current one.
[video=youtube;85OysZ_4lp0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85OysZ_4lp0[/video]

I think this has been posted elsewhere already
 
thechamp said:
Can't quite remember how much the price has risen to recently but at launch the Sentra was between 230 and 260k I think, look at the Almera now, it's still under 200k.
Click to expand...

New, under 200k, I will have to go check. That's most probably why they are everywhere. It would have to be REALLY cheap, with a crap load of features for me to look past the looks.
 
Cr419 said:
New, under 200k, I will have to go check. That's most probably why they are everywhere. It would have to be REALLY cheap, with a crap load of features for me to look past the looks.
Click to expand...

As long as you'll be able to sleep at night knowing you own that thing, as one journalist said, " it looks like an overgrown teenager" the proportions are just wrong, quite sure you can get something acceptable for under R200k.
 
thechamp said:
As long as you'll be able to sleep at night knowing you own that thing, as one journalist said, " it looks like an overgrown teenager" the proportions are just wrong, quite sure you can get something acceptable for under R200k.
Click to expand...

I can live with anything if it saves me a lot of money, but in this case it will have to be a ****load of money to be able to live with the looks.
 
Toyota promises review after profits drop

Japanese giant’s president says he feels “sense of crisis” about car-making processes

Toyota president Akio Toyoda has said he feels a “strong sense of crisis” about the firm’s car making process, after the Japanese giant’s profits fell last year.

The Toyota Motor Corporation’s net income fell to 1.83 trillion yen (£12.4 billion) for the fiscal year ending in March 2017, down from 2.3tn yen (£15.5bn) in the previous 12 month. It is the first time in five years that Toyota's profits have fallen.

Toyota actually sold more cars in the last fiscal year – 8,970,860, a rise from 289,532 in the previous period – and cited the strength of the Japanese yen as a major factor behind the fall in profits. Toyota warned it expected profits to drop to 1.5tn yen (£10.1bn) for the 2018 financial year as a result.

While citing the impact of currency markets on Toyota’s profits, Toyoda promised that the results would prompt the firm to “take a critical look at our true selves and strive to improve our competitiveness.”

Toyota was recently overhauled by the Volkswagen Group as the largest producer of cars in the world.

The firm has invested heavily in upgrading facilities around the world to accommodate the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) car platform. The platform is already used on cars including the Prius PHV and C-HR.

While Toyoda praised the firm’s drive to make more advanced cars, he questioned whether the firm’s car-making process focused enough on customers. He said: “Until now, there were times when Toyota’s cars were called ‘boring’ or were said to be lacking in character. But I now feel that, in terms of driving and design, our customers have begun to favourably evaluate our cars.

“On the other hand, when it comes to making ever-better cars in a smart way, it is becoming apparent that there is still room for improvement.

“I feel a strong sense of crisis about whether or not we are actually executing car-making from the perspective of the customer in all Toyota workplaces – from development, production, procurement and sales, all the way to administrative divisions.”

Toyoda said the firm’s focus on making better cars would start with compact models. Toyota recently launched the Toyota Compact Car Company, made Daihatsu a whole owned subsidiary and launched a compact car division for emerging markets.

“With these in-house companies competing and such with our in-house companies responsible for larger vehicles, the in-house companies will improve by learning from each other,” said Toyoda. “Through this, I want to make Toyota’s car-making simpler and more low-cost.”

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/toyota-promises-review-after-profits-drop
 
Toyota is in an odd predicament where they've alienated the existing customer base by upping the price on newer models but not really increasing the power or comfort trim. So why upgrade? Just for looks?

Right now if a Toyota owner had to upgrade his existing Corolla, they should be looking at a second hand German sedan for the same value.
 
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