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Johannesburg - The time is ripe for the local motor industry to exceed the record exports it achieved in 2008.
According to figures from the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa), vehicle exports during the global economic downturn in 2009 were almost 40% down, to 174 947 vehicles.
They recovered well last year and improved about 37% to 239 456 units.
Naamsa reckons that the industry could export 301 000 vehicles this year, 5.9% more than the 2008 record.
Econometrics economist Tony Twine said the global economic recovery had been the main reason for the improvement in vehicle exports.
He reckoned a further recovery in exports would largely depend on the sustainability of the global economic recovery.
Twine said that since export contracts were negotiated in advance, it was easier to make a relatively accurate forecast of export numbers than, for instance, of domestic sales. Of the vehicles manufactured locally last year more than half had been exported.
Leo Kok from Toyota South Africa Motors said export played an essential role in a South African motor manufacturer’s business.
The local market, he said, was not big enough to absorb all the manufacturing capacity and any plant needed the benefits of scale.
South African manufacturers therefore had to export to ensure they produced enough vehicles to achieve the necessary cost and profit targets.
Kok added that exports also gave Toyota access to new technology and ensured that its quality was up to global standards.
He said Toyota’s exports kept the company part of the international supply chain and, as such, ensured the company’s relevance.
Toyota’s Prospecton plant in Durban has an annual production capacity of 220 000 vehicles.
According to Kok last year Toyota sold 100 963 units locally, some being imported models.
In order to operate the plant viably, he said, it was essential to export vehicles.
General Motors South Africa’s communication manager Denise van Huyssteen said that export contracts not only provided benefits of scale.
They also provided a meaningful contribution to attaining the target of 50 000 units a year set by government’s Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP) for the motor industry.
The aim of the APDP is to promote production, increase local content and create jobs.
- Sake24
For business news in Afrikaans, go to Sake24.com.
According to figures from the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa), vehicle exports during the global economic downturn in 2009 were almost 40% down, to 174 947 vehicles.
They recovered well last year and improved about 37% to 239 456 units.
Naamsa reckons that the industry could export 301 000 vehicles this year, 5.9% more than the 2008 record.
Econometrics economist Tony Twine said the global economic recovery had been the main reason for the improvement in vehicle exports.
He reckoned a further recovery in exports would largely depend on the sustainability of the global economic recovery.
Twine said that since export contracts were negotiated in advance, it was easier to make a relatively accurate forecast of export numbers than, for instance, of domestic sales. Of the vehicles manufactured locally last year more than half had been exported.
Leo Kok from Toyota South Africa Motors said export played an essential role in a South African motor manufacturer’s business.
The local market, he said, was not big enough to absorb all the manufacturing capacity and any plant needed the benefits of scale.
South African manufacturers therefore had to export to ensure they produced enough vehicles to achieve the necessary cost and profit targets.
Kok added that exports also gave Toyota access to new technology and ensured that its quality was up to global standards.
He said Toyota’s exports kept the company part of the international supply chain and, as such, ensured the company’s relevance.
Toyota’s Prospecton plant in Durban has an annual production capacity of 220 000 vehicles.
According to Kok last year Toyota sold 100 963 units locally, some being imported models.
In order to operate the plant viably, he said, it was essential to export vehicles.
General Motors South Africa’s communication manager Denise van Huyssteen said that export contracts not only provided benefits of scale.
They also provided a meaningful contribution to attaining the target of 50 000 units a year set by government’s Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP) for the motor industry.
The aim of the APDP is to promote production, increase local content and create jobs.
- Sake24
For business news in Afrikaans, go to Sake24.com.
