GMSA focuses on African markets

South Africa needs to ensure that its automotive logistics chain is competitive, says department of trade and industry automotive chief director Mkhululi Mlota. He was speaking in Port Elizabeth at the launch of the Chevrolet Utility, a sub one-ton bakkie that replaces the Corsa bakkie of General Motors, which was market leader in its segment for 79 months in a row. Mlota, who was instrumental in the drawing up of the new Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP), which comes into effect in 2013, said the South African automotive industry was reliant on components imported from around the world, and was also looking at global export markets. The vision of the APDP is that the South African motor industry will produce 1.2 million vehicles in 2020, of which a large percentage will be exported. For that to happen, there also had to be a focus on productivity in order to compete against China and India, according to Mlota. General Motors South Africa (GMSA) has its eyes firmly on the sub-Saharan region, according to Edgar Lourencon, managing director of GMSA and president of GM operations in Sub-Saharan Africa. While exports of the Chevrolet Utility are expected to be limited to right-hand drive markets in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi and Mauritius, the focus is on a new Isuzu one-ton bakkie, which is scheduled to be launched in “early 2013”. The company is at present evaluating options for the transport of the vehicle into African markets, according to GMSA logistics manager Sean Bricknell. At present vehicles are taken by road into neighbouring states. For the rest of the continent, “it is a whole new ball game. We are looking at road, sea and even air,” he says. South Africa’s vehicle manufacturers (OEMs) are working together to find ways to cut the logistics cost of exporting into African markets. “If we can combine volumes, we will be able to get more economic shipping rates and more frequent sailings”, says Evan Dold, GMSA vice president of global purchasing and supply chain. GMSA will also start assembly of the Spark in 2012, with Africa and the Middle East as potential export markets.