SA Automotive week will push Asian brands

ED RICHARDSON ASIAN VEHICLE and component exports to Africa will receive a boost during the first South African Automotive Week (SAAW), to be held in Port Elizabeth from October 3-7. “Asian companies are making strong inroads into the South African market, and see this as a gateway to expansion into the rest of the continent,” says Andrew Binning of Inkanyezi Event Organisers, which is organising the automotive week. He says the success of Asian brands can be seen in growing sales figures, as reported by the National Automobile Association of South Africa (Naamsa) and independent analysts. “Brands such as Tata, Hyundai, Sangyong, Mahindra and most recently Chana, have shown significant growth, over the past few years. That is in addition to the well-established Japanese marques such as Toyota, Mazda and Suzuki,” he says. SAAW will provide a showcase for these brands to the rest of the African market, according to Binning. Opportunities and challenges facing exporters into Africa will be discussed during various conferences to be held as part of SAAW.