Vehicle exports expected to accelerate

ED RICHARDSON
EXPORTS OF motor vehicles from South Africa are expected to accelerate, according to the 2006 annual report of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa). “From 2006, industry new vehicle exports are expected to grow significantly as a number of major export programmes are implemented, rising by over 43 500 vehicles or about 31%,” it says. During 2005, the SA automotive industry exported passenger cars and commercial vehicles to 80 countries around the world. Vehicle exports doubled from 1999 to 2003 and this trend is set to continue between 2004 and 2007. In rand terms, 2005 exports reached
R22 billion (2004: R17,5 billion). This put South Africa’s share of global production at 0.79%, which is 12.85% higher than the 2004 level of 0.7%.