Motor industry continues to surprise itself

Vehicle sales continue to power ahead,
despite monthly predictions of a slowdown.
September sales across all segments
of the industry registered “surprisingly
strong gains,” according to the National
Association of Automobile Manufacturers
of South Africa (Naamsa).
“The latest sales figures exceeded
industry expectations and were cause for
optimism. The new car market for 2011
was likely to show an improvement of
about 15%, in volume terms, on the 2010
figures,” it adds.
Exports of South African-produced
motor vehicles during September 2011
at 25 933 units were 106.9% on last
September’s 12 534 units, which were
affected by industry-wide industrial action.
So far, the industry seems to have
avoided the effects of the “double dip”
recession in the West.
“The direction of the global economy
remains uncertain, and international
financial markets are characterised by
extreme volatility and turbulence. This
could impact on future export sales.
However, at this stage, there are no
indications of cutbacks in export orders,”
says Naamsa.