The eighth generation Volkswagen Golf GTI will be launched in South Africa from the third quarter of 2021.
The Golf 8 GTI is Volkswagen’s highly anticipated vehicle launch this year. South Africa is one of the biggest Golf GTI markets outside of Europe.
The Golf 7 GTI has sold over 14 000 units since its launch in South Africa in July 2013. The Golf was also the best-selling model range in the A Hatch segment in South Africa last year with a 29.1% segment share.
The most digitally advanced Golf GTI has been given 11kW more power than its predecessor. The 2.0l turbocharged engine now develops 180kW with a torque peak of 370Nm.
The four-cylinder engine is coupled with a 7-speed dual clutch transmission. It takes 6.4 seconds to complete the 0 – 100km/h sprint.
Recommended Retail Price (VAT and emissions tax included): Golf GTI 2.0 TSI 180kW DSG® R669 300
The Volkswagen Golf GTI comes standard with a 3 year/120 000km warranty, 5 year/ 90 000km EasyDrive Service Plan and a 12-year anti-corrosion warranty. The service interval is 15 000km.
The Audi e-tron features the latest in lithium-ion multicell battery technology. The advanced battery is built within a protective honeycomb structure and has integrated thermal management, designed to help optimise performance in varying conditions.
What maintenance does the Audi e-tron battery require?
The battery has an in-built battery management system and is maintenance free.
To empower its employees and the larger community in the fight against Covid-19, Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) has begun vaccinating its employees in Kariega against the virus.
The VWSA vaccination centre, which was set up at the VW PeoplePavilion near the plant in Kariega, began administering the Pfizer vaccines to VWSA employees on 2 August. In its first week, the centre vaccinated 426 employees, with plans to vaccinate 150 employees per day from this week onwards.
The process to establish this vaccination centre started a few months ago, with the centre being approved and accredited by the Department of Health as a workplace vaccination site. The centre is staffed with four professional nurses, some of whom are contract staff and some from the company’s Wellness Centre, as well as two administrators.
As one of the largest employers in the Eastern Cape, we take the responsibility of protecting our employees and the community against Covid-19 seriously
– Dr Robert Cisek, VWSA Chairman and Managing Director
At the current pace and envisaged planning, it would take the vaccination centre approximately 16 working days to vaccinate all willing employees who have not yet received both doses of the vaccine, after which the company plans to expand the vaccination programme to VWSA’s on-site service providers and then the loved-ones living in the same household as VWSA employees.
VWSA employee Siphiwo Alwyn receiving his first Covid-19 jab from Sister Zanele Mboniswa
The vaccination centre functions separately from the Covid-19 testing facility which was set up by VWSA last year, and which continues to provide free drive-through Covid-19 testing for employees in Kariega. By the end of the first week of August, the facility had performed in excess of 6 800 tests since its opening.
“VWSA has played an instrumental role in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic so far,” said Dr Robert Cisek, VWSA Chairman and Managing Director. “As one of the largest employers in the Eastern Cape, we take the responsibility of protecting our employees and the community against Covid-19 seriously. This vaccination centre is an important part of fulfilling that duty, and I am proud of each employee who supports us in our duty by choosing to vaccinate.”
Continental Tyre South Africa (CTSA) has appointed a new senior management team for its tyre manufacturing plant in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), Continental’s only tyre production facility on the African continent.
Ahmed Boualam is the new General Manager for Manufacturing with responsibility for overall management of the plant operations. Ramoabi Moeng has been appointed Deputy Plant Manager, supporting Boualam with the running of the facility – both of whom have extensive experience in both the manufacturing and tyre industries.
Boualam was seconded from Continental’s South Carolina Sumter tyre plant in the United States, where he served as Plant Manager for the past two years.
Continental Tyre SA’s outgoing GM for Manufacturing, JJ Dowling, has relocated to the US to take up the position of Production Manager for the Sumer plant.
“I want to thank JJ Dowling for all of his hard work and commitment to CTSA over the past five years he was with us, and wish him all the best for his new role at our sister plant in Sumter,” says Martin Buday, MD of Continental Tyre SA. “We extend a warm welcome back to Ahmed who takes over the reins as our new GM for Manufacturing.
“Our Gqeberha plant in South Africa is not new to Ahmed as worked here for three years prior to his move to the US. I am certain that he, along with our newly appointed Deputy Plant Manager Ramoabi Moeng, will be a force to be reckoned with as they use their combined experience and expertise to successfully steer the manufacturing side of our business,” Buday says.
It is fantastic to be back in South Africa, and I look forward to working with the local management team to continue increasing the production of light truck tyres.
Ahmed Boualam, new General Manager for Manufacturing, continental tyres South Africa
Ahmed Boualam is the new General Manager for Manufacturing
Boualam has been involved in the tyre industry since 2007, starting in his native France as a production management engineer before moving up to Production Manager in the curing and final finishing areas. He joined Continental in France in 2011, initially as Area Manager in the Curing and Mold Shop, and later in the hot preparation and mixing room.
A three-year stint as Production Manager for the Continental Tyre plant in South Africa followed in 2016 before he was selected to head up the Sumter plant in 2019.
“It is fantastic to be back in South Africa, and I look forward to working with the local management team to continue the transformation of our facility as we work towards increasing the production of light truck tyres,” Boualam says. “While optimising the output of our current assets, we are working closely with our colleagues in Hanover and will be making further investments in our factory to expand our production capacity for this important sector.
“The goal is to make Continental Tyre SA a major producer of light commercial vehicle tyres within Continental globally, and supply tyres of the highest quality to more markets around the world,” Boualam says. He is a qualified mechanical and production engineer, and has a Master’s degree in Business Management which he completed in 2005.
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