A weak Rand doesn’t hurt everyone – look at South Africa’s vehicle exports

By Miles Downard

South Africa’s economy is looking quite sick at the moment; lacklustre growth, low commodity prices etc. The political situation doesn’t help either, as outsiders are bombarded with news of ever escalating bribery and corruptions in all levels of government.

The result is an ever weakening Rand and downgrades from rating agencies, the knock on effect of which hurts every household in the country.

Now there might not seem to be much of a silver lining here, but trust me there is. Local vehicle manufacturers are benefiting hugely from the weak Rand.

As the infographic below details, exports for September 2015 are up 25% from August, and 14% year-on-year. That’s the kind of growth that is just unheard of at the moment.

A word to optimists: ignore the rest of the infographic, it paints a very bleak picture of the local economy.

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