Europe to the rescue of SA vehicle manufacturers
Exports have become the lifeblood of SA vehicle manufacturers. Despite precarious domestic demand, assembly plants areworking at close to capacity
A spike in demand for SA-built vehicles in Europe and Asia has mitigated the fallout from plunging local sales and a collapse in markets across Africa. Exports to Europe have more than doubled since 2012, propelling the local industry to near-record production in 2016. With Asian demand growing more than 80% over the same period, exports themselves set records last year and are expected to do even better in 2017. They will need to. Despite a growing sense that the SA market for new vehicles is bottoming out, more than three years of falling sales have knocked a big hole in local demand. Between 2013 and 2016, the new-car market dropped from 450,296 to 361,404 and the overall new-vehicle market from 649,216 to 547,174. Cars are expected to do fractionally worse in 2017 but a recovery in commercial vehicles could drag the combined number above last year’s level. It could have been a lot worse. Initial industry response to SA’s credit downgrading — and President Jacob Zuma’s firing of ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.