BMW revs up vehicle export figures

CLIVE EMDON SA VEHICLE exports to the US rose by 106% year-on-year for the nine-month period Jan-Sept 2006 to $418-million (R3bn) compared with $203-million (R1.45bn) for the same period in 2005. However, in the first nine months of 2004, South Africa recorded vehicle exports of $432-million (R3.08bn) to the US. Nico Vermeulen, director of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa), attributes the slump in 2005 to a phase-out by BMW of its previous-generation 3-Series vehicle, while the recovery was due to the introduction of the new model left-hand-drive 3-Series. BMW exports to the US in the past three years were: 15 226 in 2004, 3 897 (2005), and 4 049 (2006). Vermeulen said Daimler-Chrysler’s new C-Class model, which is due come off the Eastern Cape assembly line from the second half of 2007, could also well find its way into the US market and expand the value of vehicle exports further. According to Naamsa figures a total of 179 859 South African vehicles were exported internationally in 2006. Of these 98% were cars and light pickups and included: 48 863 Toyota LCVs (27%), 38 207 BMW cars (21%), 36 071 Volkswagen cars (20%), 24 527 Daimler Chrysler cars (13.6%) and 19 497 Ford cars (10.8%).