Industrial action in South Africa left its exports of vehicles down 75.1% in September.
South African auto industry trade association Naamsa also reported that there was some recovery in October as manufacturers resumed and normalised vehicle production from about the middle of the month. October export sales showed a decline of 15.1%.
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Overall domestic vehicle sales declined by 2.9% in volume terms compared to the corresponding month last year.
Naamsa said that its original industry projection for 2013 of vehicle exports of 336,000 units was likely to be revised downwards to about 290 000 units for the year. It added that the momentum of vehicle exports should however improve in 2014 as export programmes are ramped up and ”particularly exports of light commercial vehicles were expected to increase substantially in the new year”.
Naamsa also said that the prevailing low interest rate environment should “lend some support to the domestic market together with replacement demand, the highly competitive trading environment, attractive incentives and high technology new model introductions”.
Export sales, it added, “would remain a function of the performance and direction of global markets with some regions notably North America, Africa and Asia offering above average growth opportunities”.
See also: Industrial strife in South Africa
