NEW-VEHICLE EXPORTS
October is spanner in the works for 2017 target
The local car market is on track to exceed expectations after midyear jitters
New-vehicle exports may miss their 2017 target after a miserable October in which shipments were hurt by Durban’s deadly storms, and Volkswagen SA cut production of its best-selling Polo car. The local market, however, is on track to exceed expectations after midyear jitters that prompted fears of a sales meltdown. At 28,229, October’s exports were 8.3% lower than a year earlier but, more significantly, 22% behind September 2017, when 36,341 South African-made vehicles left the country. Durban’s weather had a big say in the export slump. Fierce winds and flooding caused the harbour, SA’s main export gateway, to operate at reduced capacity for several days. For the same reason, production at Toyota SA’s nearby Prospecton assembly plant was affected. October exports of 3,611 vehicles, almost exclusively Hilux bakkies, were more than 30% down on September’s 5,205. Volkswagen’s drop was even more dramatic. It fell 60% from 5,464 to 2,177. In October, the company’s Uitenhage plant, in th...
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