Many will remember
travelling on South
Africa’s roads 40 years
ago when traffic was
so light that one flashed lights to
say hello to oncoming vehicles on
country roads.
All that has changed, with
millions more vehicles now on the
road – and not only in South Africa.
Put all the world’s vehicle
manufacturing in one place and it
would be the sixth-largest economy
in the world.
It takes more than eight million
people to produce the parts and
assemble some 66 million vehicles a
year, according to the International
Organisation of Motor Vehicle
Manufacturers (OICA).
This is over 5% of the world’s total
manufacturing employment.
In addition to these direct
workers, about five times more
are employed indirectly in related
manufacturing and service
provision, such that an estimated
more than 50 million people earn
their living from cars, trucks, buses
and coaches.
That includes the millions
working in freight forwarding,
clearing, shipping, warehousing and
transport industries – the people
who literally keep the wheels rolling.
Global statistics are hard to
come by, but an indication of the
contribution of the auto industry to
the logistics sector is given by Ceva,
formerly known as TNT Logistics.
The company was an early entrant
in China, in 1988, and established
its first automotive logistics joint
venture, Anji-Ceva Automotive
Logistics, with SAIC Motor
Corporation in Shanghai in 2002.
The joint venture employs more
than 10 300 people, operating
25 vehicle centres, 15 regional
distribution centres and 14 parts
warehouses all over China, covering
more than 250 cities, serving 465
suppliers and 2 200 dealers.
China is now the world’s largest
auto market, with 12.3 million
new cars being sold in the first
seven months of 2013 – putting the
industry on track for sales of 20
million a year.
Even though it is dwarfed by
China, the auto sector is also one
of South Africa’s most important,
contributing at least 6% to the
country’s GDP and accounting
for almost 12% of South Africa’s
manufacturing exports – making it
the largest contributor to GDP.
According to the National
Association of Automobile
Manufacturers of South Africa,
(Naamsa), the industry’s original
equipment manufacturers employed
29 900 people at the end of June
2013.
CAPTION
SA’s auto sector contributes at least 6% to the country’s GDP.
