Vehicle exports took a beating in September as the knock-on effects of July’s riots combined with semiconductor shortages and plant closures slowed production.
From 28,390 vehicles in September 2020, exports tumbled 57% this September to 12,202. At the end of June 2021 SA’s motor industry had exported 66% more vehicles than in the first half of 2020.
July’s riots, accompanied by cyberattacks on state transport operator Transnet, which affected port activities, forced the temporary closure of some plants and contributed to shortages of imported components and inability to deliver finished vehicles for export. Some companies say inward and outbound supply chains are still not back to normal.
Two big exporters, Ford SA and Mercedes-Benz SA, are also coming out of temporary production halts. Ford, which exports two-thirds of its production, closed its Tshwane assembly plant for several weeks in July and August to prepare for the introduction of a new Ranger bakkie, while Mercedes-Benz — which sells more than 90% of its cars to foreign buyers — has been gradually returning to full production after launching its new C-Class in June.
Local sales, however, continued their recovery in September. Figures released on Friday by the Automotive Business Council show the motor industry sold 43,180 new cars and commercial vehicles to SA customers in September. That was 15.8% more than the 37,237 sold in September 2020. In the year to date, aggregate sales stands at 345,172 — 30.1% up from 2020’s 265,247.
New car sales in September improved 30.5% year on year — rising from 22,643 to 29,538. Sales of light commercial vehicles, mainly bakkies, fell 10.9% in September from a year earlier, influenced by Ford’s shutdown.
The Automotive Business Council’s CEO Mike Mabasa said the rental industry played a big part in last month’s overall market recovery, accounting for 16.8% of car sales and 12.4% of the total market. While short of historic highs, the share is a big recovery from near-zero sales at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and reflects growing confidence in demand for tourism and business travel.
Mabasa said of the domestic market: “Many Covid-19 disruptive elements remain in play and prevailing market conditions have been hampered by higher logistics costs and supply chain disruptions, such as the global semiconductor shortages impacting on the availability of certain models.”
Mark Dommisse, chair of the National Automobile Dealers Association, said more brands were feeling the effects of the shortage. “There is (vehicle) stock but not in the best model mix, which is affecting dealers’ ability to supply models the customers want,” he said.
WesBank marketing head Lebogang Gaoaketse said the SA Reserve Bank’s latest decision to hold interest rates at rock-bottom levels “will continue to provide stimulus to the market”.
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.