Car imports expected to inch lower from record 2013 levels

12th March 2014

By: Irma Venter

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

Font size: - +

Passenger car imports could fall in 2014, after reaching an all-time high in 2013, at 337 000 units.

Imports made up 9% of all passenger cars sold in South Africa in 1995 (22 000 units), climbing to 26% in 2000, 50% in 2005, 66% in 2010, and 75% last year.

“Last year 75 out of 100 cars sold in South Africa were imported,” says KPMG Africa automotive sector head Gavin Maile.

This year, however, the figure is expected to drop marginally, to 74% of all cars sold in South Africa, or 335 000 units, as rand weakness continues, increasing the price of imported vehicles, while import duties have also now stabilised at 25%, dropping sharply from 71% in 1995.

South Africans bought 115 000 locally made passenger cars in 2013, according to KPMG and National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) data, down from 215 000 in 2006, and 234 000 units in 1995.

These figures, however, do not include one-ton and half-ton bakkie sales, with four one-ton bakkie brands produced in South Africa, as well as two half-ton pickups.

South Africans bought around 155 000 locally made bakkies in 2013.

Naamsa director Nico Vermeulen says is it difficult to answer the question of which types of vehicles should be produced in South Africa to increase local production volumes.

“The market and the consumer decide, but there is a realisation in the industry that mobility in South Africa is important. This means we also need affordable products for the emerging middle class, which implies the need for affordable entry-level vehicles.”

South African vehicle producers currently manufacture the Spark entry-level vehicle locally, as well as the Polo Vivo, with a large volume of vehicles in the entry-level segment currently imported from India, such as the Ford Figo and Toyota Etios.

In total, South Africa produced 545 913 units in 2013 for the local and export markets. Exports made up 276 378 vehicles of this total.

Exports increased from 4% of production in 1995 (15 764 units), to 51% in 2013.

South African vehicle production is expected to increase to 609 000 units in 2014, with exports at 331 400 units of this number.

Toyota was South Africa’s top vehicle producer in 2013, with 151 231 units, followed by Volkswagen at 106 610 units. BMW came in third, at 66 087 units, with Ford in fourth place, at 57 032 units.

Toyota was also the top exporter, at 80 109 units in 2013, with BMW overtaking Volkswagen for second spot, at 54 197 units, notes Maile. Volkswagen took third spot, with 52 098 units.

The US was South Africa’s top export destination outside Africa in 2013, at 63 459 units, followed by the UK, at 40 763 units, and Japan at 24 869 units.


Top export destinations in Africa were Algeria, at number one, at 29 917 units, and Nigeria, at 11 704 units. Angola was South Africa’s third biggest African vehicle export market, at 7 570 units.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION