SA should aim for a million cars a year

ED RICHARDSON
SOUTH AFRICA’S vehicle industry could be one of the top 10 producers in the world in as little as five years’ time if it pushes production up to 1-million units a year, says BMW SA head Ian Robertson.
He made the prediction at a recent auto conference. Increasing production to 1-million units a year meant the parent companies of local manufacturers in Europe, Japan and the US would take investing here more seriously. In an industry valued at $1-trillion globally each year, SA produced only 0,6% of 50-million vehicles, but provided a good opportunity for the country to boost its economy and raise employment.
Robertson said that while SA had made considerable progress in developing the industry over the past six years, it “could not stand still” as it would soon be competing against other developing countries for a piece of the global vehicle market.
The country had an advantage as it had sophisticated vehicle manufacturing and customer bases, even as other developing countries were still trying to develop a motor industry.
SA already has the capacity to make 1-million vehicles a year, as local manufacturers are on average only operating one shift with a little bit of overtime . If two-and-a-half shifts were worked in a six-day week, the country could easily make
1-million vehicles a year, he said.