MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

Backed by Global Experience and Local Support

Johannesburg, South Africa: Behind every successful business is a vehicle that keeps it moving. And for South African entrepreneurs and fleet owners, every rand saved can create another opportunity to grow. That’s where DFSK is making its mark.

Established in 2003, DFSK brings more than 20 years of automotive experience, a presence in over 70 countries and regions, and more than 500,000 vehicles exported worldwide.

DFSK may be a relatively new name to South Africans, but it’s certainly no newcomer to the automotive world.

With its K01 compact bakkie, C35 Panel Van and versatile C35 Crew Bus, DFSK South Africa is making practical commercial vehicles more accessible to entrepreneurs, growing businesses and fleet operators.

And affordability doesn’t stop at the purchase price. Its OEM-approved LPG conversion initiative grants qualifying customers an opportunity to reduce fuel outlays without sacrificing the flexibility of petrol.

Global strength. Local confidence.

DFSK South Africa knows that peace of mind matters just as much as price.

With monthly parts container shipments, a dedicated parts operation in Kempton Park and a reported 90% first-pick parts availability rate, the company is investing in dependable aftersales support and a growing dealership network.

“South African businesses deserve affordable vehicles without undermining quality, practicality or aftersales support,” says Gina Giani, Managing Director of DFSK South Africa.

“We’re not simply selling vehicles. We’re helping entrepreneurs build businesses, fleet owners control costs, and customers move forward with confidence.”

Backed by international automotive skill and a commitment to local customer support, DFSK is bringing a fresh choice to South African roads.

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Top Star Drive-In: Destroyed by What Created it

However, the very thing that created the Top Star eventually destroyed it. Because the early miners had used crude methods, the Ferreira Dump—and dozens of others like it—still contained significant traces of gold. As the price of gold rose and new chemical extraction technologies (like the carbon-in-pulp process) made it profitable to “mine the waste,” the ground beneath the Top Star became more valuable than the cinema itself. In 2006, despite fierce opposition from heritage groups who argued that the dump and the drive-in were culturally significant landmarks, the projectors were turned off for the last time.

The reclamation of the dump was a staggering industrial feat. Starting in 2008, mining giant DRDGold used high-pressure water cannons to “monitor” the dump, turning 5 million tons of solid earth back into a liquid slurry. This slurry was then piped 40 kilometers across the province to a processing plant in Brakpan. By 2011, the “mountain” had completely vanished. The 50-meter-high plateau that had dominated the southern skyline for a century was reduced to a flat, dusty crater.

The disappearance of the Top Star is a poignant symbol of Johannesburg’s “extractive” nature. It is a city that consumes itself to stay alive; even its historical landmarks are subject to the fluctuating price of minerals on the London and New York stock exchanges. Today, if you drive along the M2, there is an empty space in the sky where the Top Star used to be. While the reclamation removed a source of toxic dust and “acid mine drainage,” it also erased a piece of the city’s collective memory. The land where the gold-flecked mountain once stood is now being rehabilitated for light industrial use, proving that in eGoli, even the horizon is for sale if there’s enough gold hidden inside it.