New Chinese premium brand Lepas confirmed for South Africa in 2026: here's what we know so far
Although it is a newly launched brand, Lepas forms part of the Chery stable, and it will aim to expand its parent company's presence in the premium segment.
The automaker has confirmed that the Lepas brand will be launched in South Africa in 2026, spearheaded by the L8 flagship SUV that was revealed at the 2025 Chery Business Conference in Wuhu, China, in late April.
Although the full South African line-up has yet to be confirmed, the L8 is likely to be joined by the smaller L6 and L4 models that were also previewed at the Wuhu event. In time, the brand will expand its line-up to five vehicles, with the aim of achieving annual global sales of more than 500,000 units, Autostat reports.
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Daily Maverick
29 minutes ago
- Daily Maverick
Drive to survive — the cost of SA's road safety crisis
South Africa's roads are a death trap — claiming nearly 12,000 lives a year, draining 3% of GDP and enabling corruption through fake vehicle roadworthiness checks. With failing infrastructure, rigged testing stations and weak roadworthiness inspection enforcement, every fake certificate risks another fatal crash. As investigations begin, will the government finally steer policy in the right direction — or keep driving blind? 'To ensure greater safety on our roads, and reduce the devastating toll road accidents have on lives and livelihoods, we aim to reduce road fatalities by 45% by 2029 so we reach the UN target of halving road fatalities by 2030,' said Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy during the ministry's budget vote in Parliament on Wednesday, 2 July Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) puts the crash bill at R186-billion a year – about 2.8% of GDP – well above the global average for middle-income states. Statistics SA shows about 6,423 road deaths were officially recorded in 2019 on death certificates. However, the RTMC State of Road Safety 2023 and international data estimate the real annual toll closer to between 11,883 and 12,000. For context, that places South African road fatalities (25 per 100,000) at levels worse than countries such as Botswana (~18 per 100,000), the UK (~3 per 100,000) and only slightly better than Mozambique (~31 per 100,000). 'We will never have accurate stats of how many accidents are caused by unroadworthy vehicles … we cannot even quantify the cost,' says the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse's (Outa's) Rudie Heyneke, one of the lead authors of a 2025 report on corruption allegations at vehicle testing stations (VTS). The Stats SA record confirms the 25-39 age group bears the brunt – a direct drain on households, employers and the tax base, let alone the human cost. Heyneke makes this point clear: 'It's not a direct expense, but it's my money, it's your money, that goes into financing that ambulance, that hospital. It's a huge cost to the country.' Why is this happening? Law, tests and stations The National Road Traffic Act of 1996, Regulation 138 and SANS 10047/10216 make it clear: every car must pass a physical inspection at change of ownership, with annual tests for taxis and trucks, and semi-annual for buses. 'Passenger vehicles must be tested only with the change of ownership … so you can think that there's a lot more that can go wrong' says Heyneke. Many of the vehicles on the road today might fail a roadworthiness inspection, and requiring more frequent checks would indeed make our roads safer. However, even when Certificate of Roadworthiness (CoR) checks are required, the answer is not that simple. Second testing The problem, as Heyneke explains, is that many testing centres are vehicles for corruption. For example, if your vehicle fails a test in Gauteng, you can skip repairs or buy a pass in Limpopo or North West, a process enabled by a loophole in the way we manage vehicle roadworthiness fraud has become such an issue that Minister Creecy requested a probe be launched by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). The National Traffic Information System (NaTIS) does not log failed test data or block a second pass, even if a pass is registered on the system within minutes after failing in another province. The RTMC was not able to provide data on the number of fraudulent CoRs logged and voided in response to written questions by Daily Maverick and referred our queries to the Department of Transport. The department had not responded to any of Daily Maverick's questions by the time of publication almost a week later. Outa's 2025 probe shows dozens of cross-border 'pass buys' every month, heavily used by taxis, buses and mine trucks. Stats SA data show only 54% of Gauteng's road deaths happen where the victim lives – mirroring the same cross-border test routes. 'Your car dies in Gauteng, but it's born 'safe' in Limpopo – that's the scam.' Private stations, public conflict Since the 1990s, private vehicle testing stations have multiplied to boost capacity – but oversight has fallen by the wayside. Limpopo now issues far more CoRs than its national fleet share of about 6% would justify, according to Outa data. Many station owners are also fleet operators, second-hand dealers or local politicians – an obvious conflict. The SIU's investigation falls under Proclamation 191 of 2024, signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, covering officials, owners and syndicates. Unsafe roads, bad cars, a perfect storm The 2025 Africa Status Report on Road Safety shows South Africa's roads often lack lighting, signage and routine repair – add that to our decaying fleet plus fraud guarantees failures. Many 'driver error' fatalities are actually mechanical failures – worn brakes, broken steering, bald tyres that never saw a real inspection lane. Stats SA shows 27% of victims die in hospital and 13% are dead on arrival – strained public health infrastructure means that weak trauma care and rescue make the damage worse. International data confirm countries enforcing periodic inspections cut fatality rates by half or more. The WHO's Global Status Report on Road Safety of 2023 shows that countries with more frequent mandatory public roadworthiness inspections, which are centrally logged, consistently see fewer road fatalities over time, particularly with regard to mechanical failure-based crashes. The UK mandates annual testing, while Japan and Germany mandate biannual roadworthiness tests – and the numbers all demonstrate the clear efficacy in reducing crashes and fatalities. There has been a welcome decrease in road fatalities this year, with Easter weekend being notably calmer, with a 45.6% change since last year. 'We commend all those who played a role in this outcome,' said Automobile Association (AA) CEO Bobby Ramagwede in a statement earlier this year noting the improvement. 'Through coordinated efforts, we are finally beginning to see measurable improvements in road safety.' DM What this means for you The SIU's large-scale investigation is now live – asset freezes, possible criminal charges could see the light of day to investigate vehicle trading centres and a decline in the number of roadworthy certificates that are improperly issued. Outa hopes to host a national roundtable later this year with the ministry, SIU, fleet groups, taxi councils and VTS owners to push fixes. The fixes are not rocket science, according to Outa's Heyneke: Enforce periodic testing for older cars – the law already allows it; Upgrade NaTIS with a national block: fail once, no second pass without repairs; and Mandate photo and video evidence for every test, meaning no false paperwork. Until the loopholes close, every fake CoR is potentially a road crash tax that's quietly draining nearly 3% of South Africa's GDP – but until paper matches metal, we're paying in blood and billions. DM
IOL News
5 hours ago
- IOL News
RTMC reports 15 fatalities in weekend crashes, warns against reckless driving
The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has urged motorists to exercise caution and show respect on the roads following a devastating weekend of accidents that claimed fifteen lives in head-on collisions. Image: City of Cape Town The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has raised alarm over a devastating weekend on South African roads, during which fifteen people lost their lives in three separate crashes since Thursday. Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) spokesperson Simon Zwane says that the corporation is deeply concerned about the high number of road fatalities this weekend. Reckless and negligent driving is suspected in all three incidents, as each involved a head-on collision. The most recent crash occurred on Sunday night, on the N18 approximately 40km from Mahikeng to Setlagole in the Ngaka Modire Molema District, North West Province. Two vehicles collided head-on, killing four people at the scene. The body of one of the victims was discovered when fire emergency vehicles were booked into the South African Police Service pound for safekeeping. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ On Friday, five people lost their lives in the same province when four vehicles were involved in a multiple car crash on the N4 between Swartruggens and Groot Marico. 'It is alleged that one vehicle collided with another. Two other vehicles also crashed into each other at the scene,' said Zwane. On Thursday, five more people, including a toddler, died when a light delivery vehicle that was being chased by the police crashed head-on into another light delivery vehicle travelling in the opposite direction on the N18 in Hartswater, Northern Cape. 'The RTMC reiterates its call to motorists to exercise caution on the roads and show respect to each other and to law enforcement officers,' Zwane said. IOL News
The Citizen
6 hours ago
- The Citizen
SASSA reassures beneficiaries amid grant reviews
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has reassured grant recipients that no social grants have been suspended. This follows public concerns regarding the agency's current beneficiary review process. SASSA CEO Themba Matlou said the reviews are routine and legally required, aimed at verifying continued eligibility – particularly in cases where beneficiaries may have additional income sources not previously disclosed. 'This review is not a punitive measure. It is meant to ensure continued eligibility and prevent misuse of public funds. This comes after the agency collaborated with registered credit bureaux and flagged approximately 210 000 social grant beneficiaries for receiving additional incomes not disclosed,' Matlou said. According to him, the Social Assistance Act requires applicants to declare all income streams when applying for grants, and to report any changes in financial circumstances thereafter. ALSO READ: Mpumalanga SASSA warns of scam He emphasised that failure to do so may result in corrective action. 'The review of social grants helps identify beneficiaries who may no longer qualify due to changes in financial, medical or legal circumstances. 'SASSA uses the review process to verify that grants are not paid to deceased individuals or those who have relocated without updating their records. In some cases, reviews uncover individuals listed on other payroll systems – public or private – while still receiving grants.' ALSO READ: All gold Sassa cards to replaced with black Postbank cards Some payments may be temporarily delayed if a beneficiary does not respond to a review request or fails to submit updated documentation in time. 'However, no grants have been suspended. Efforts are also under way to improve capacity at SASSA offices to manage the high volumes of in-person visits,' Matlou added. Beneficiaries contacted for a review are encouraged to visit their nearest SASSA office with the following documents: • Valid South African ID (13-digit barcoded ID or smart card) • Proof of income (payslips, pension slips, or affidavit if unemployed) • Bank statements for the last three months (for all active accounts) • Proof of residence (utility bill or letter from a local authority) • Medical referral report (for disability or care-dependency grants) • Marriage certificate or divorce decree, if applicable • Death certificate for a spouse or dependant, if applicable • Any relevant supporting documents, including birth certificates and school attendance records for child-related grants If a beneficiary is bedridden or immobile, a procurator can be appointed to assist. SASSA encourages beneficiaries in such circumstances to contact their local office to arrange this. The agency is working towards automating the review process to reduce queues and improve convenience. Plans are under way to launch online self-service options, which would allow beneficiaries to digitally update their information and submit supporting documents. SASSA urges all affected individuals to respond promptly to any official communication. Failure to comply may result in delays to future payments and, in some cases, suspension or legal action. Matlou reiterated that the process is about protecting public funds and ensuring that support reaches those who truly need it. For any queries or to confirm their review status, beneficiaries should visit or contact their nearest SASSA office. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
