South Africa’s automotive component exports grew by 47% in value last year to about $US1.8 billion, figures released by the Automotive Industry Export Council show, writes Dave Cumming.

Catalytic converters dominated at $0.8 billion, virtually double the figure for the previous year but there was growth in 23 of 31 categories of components.

Industry spokesmen have attributed the excellent performance to the rand#;s weak value and incentives created by the government’s Motor Industries Development Programme.

There were also spin-offs from vehicle exports by global manufacturers, whose South African operations were increasingly integrated into their international component supply networks.