The percentage of imported passenger cars in the mix of new cars sold in South Africa last year dropped year-on-year for the first time since 1999.

According to KPMG data, in 1999, 25% of all new cars sold locally were imported, down from 26% in 1998. Imported sales then grew rapidly, to 50% of sales in 2005, 69% in 2011, and 75% in 2013.

Imported cars made up 72% of new car sales in South Africa in 2014, said KPMG South Africa Automotive Sector head Gavin Maile on Tuesday.

Speaking at the launch of the KPMG Global Auto Executive Survey in Johannesburg, he said imports dropped last year owing to steep price increases from importers compared with local manufacturers, largely brought about by the weak rand.

“I suspect that, with the rand weakening further, we will see similar pressures this year,” Maile noted.

Cars produced and sold locally [excluding bakkies], reached 123 000 units in 2014, with imported cars at a total of 318 000 units.

KPMG forecast imported cars to reach a level of 325 000 units in 2015, and locally built cars to sell at a level of around 130 00 units.

Total new vehicle production, including bakkies and vehicles for the export market, reached 566 083 units in 2014, with exports at 276 873 units.

The KPMG forecast for 2015 was for local production to number 627 500 units in 2015, with exports jumping to 321 500 units.

Maile said these figures were dependent on South African plants being open for around 50 weeks a year, and not closed down by load-shedding or labour action.

Toyota was the number one vehicle producer in 2014, at 142 739 units, followed by Volkswagen at 113 677 units, and Ford at 76 373 units.

Toyota was also the country’s top exporter, at 64 789 units, followed by BMW at 60 234 units, and Volkswagen at 54 618 units.

South Africa’s top export destination was the UK, at 57 739 units. Inside Africa it was Algeria, at 15 356 units – almost half that of the 30 000 units exported to the North African country last year.

South Africa sold 644 523 new vehicles in 2014, with passenger car sales at 439 000 units, bakkies and minibuses at 174 000 units, and the truck market at 32 000 units.

While Maile’s presentation showed sales for 2015 inching up to around 667 000 units, he said on Tuesday that this did not take into account the drastic weakening of the rand to over R13 to the dollar in recent days, “which would have an impact”.

He believed the South African new vehicle market might, in the end, be slightly down in 2015 compared with 2014.