Global automotive CEOs upbeat about 2011

It is not only South Africa’s auto industry that is fired up about sales in 2011. Nine out of 10 automotive CEOs surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in the fourth quarter of 2010 were confident that growth was on the rise in 2011. In its comment on the South African market issued in February, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) said: “Factoring in the expected improvement in domestic sales together with further substantial anticipated growth in exports, domestic production of motor vehicles in South Africa during 2011 was expected to rise from the approximately 472 000 vehicles produced in 2010 to about 555 000 units in 2011 – an increase in vehicle production of about 17.5%”. Exports are expected to exceed 300 000 units (up from 239 456 vehicles exported in 2010) – an improvement of over 25%. CEOs interviewed for the PwC study predict that about 80% of global growth from 2010 to 2017 will come from emerging markets, with China accounting for 34% of that. China is now the largest automotive market, and there are already more automotive assembly plants in China than anywhere else in the world. Rick Hanna, PwC global automotive leader, says the survey results indicate that innovation across the supply chain is critical to meeting consumer demands. “Today the supply chain is more diverse than the industry has seen in the past. The supply base and partnerships have expanded to include battery makers, technology companies and energy companies to advance the development of electric vehicles and the infrastructures to support future demand and the technology platforms inside today’s vehicles.”