Auto industry escapes major power-related fall-out

ALTHOUGH THE lack of
electric power has hit the
SA motor vehicle industry,
the impact at vehicle
production level has been
“relatively negligible”,
according to Nico
Vermeulen, director of the
National Association of
Automobile Manufacturers
of SA (Naamsa).
Not that the industry
has got off scot-free, he
added.
“Clearly, it’s disruptive,
cost raising and has
a negative effect on
production.
“But the impact on the
assembly plants has been
quite minimal up to now.”
Much of this, he
suggested, has been
because of a good
relationship between
vehicle builders and the
municipal electricity
suppliers in Port Elizabeth,
East London, Durban and
Pretoria.
However, the industry
remains vulnerable, and
is also exposed to power
outages at component
suppliers’ factories.
As part of its battle
against the problem, the
motor industry has already
implemented efficient
energy-saving projects,
Vermeulen added.
“In the last two years
we have met with Eskom,
and most of the motor
vehicle companies have
introduced power-saving
programmes.”
And, as this article was
being written, Naamsa
had another meeting with
Eskom on its diary.
“What we are looking
for is some detail of what
Eskom has planned in its
usage reduction campaign,
and what the motor
industry can proactively
do to help.”