Although South African domestic vehicle sales appear to be turning the corner, albeit slowly, export sales are showing a worrying decline.
According to Naamsa, just 25,461 vehicles were exported from SA in July, which is a 33.2% decline versus the same month last year.
Although that comparison is off a high base, the year-to-date trend is concerning, with local exports from January to July 2024 being 13.5% below the corresponding period in 2023.
Naamsa attributes the decline to adverse weather conditions during July as well as declining sales to Europe, which is the country’s largest export market.
This is likely due to weak economic conditions in that region, with the Eurozone GDP having grown by just 0.3% during the second quarter of 2024, while Germany’s GDP contracted by 0.1%.
“The direction and performance of vehicle exports for the balance of 2024 will remain linked to central banks’ gradual monetary easing in major markets,” Naamsa said.
South Africa’s top automotive export in July was the Mercedes C-Class, with 7,400 examples of the East London built luxury sedan being shipped abroad.
It was followed by the BMW X3 (6,300 units), Ford Ranger (5,440), Volkswagen Polo (3,735), Toyota Hilux (1,268), Isuzu D-Max (364), Toyota Corolla Cross (324) and Nissan Navara (287).
The Volkswagen Polo, which was the country’s top export in the first quarter of 2024 with a monthly average of 8,089 units, has seen a considerable decline in recent months, with May and June having seen respective figures of 2,912 and 3,352. This could be temporary however as the Kariega plant in the Eastern Cape is poised to become the world’s sole supplier of Polo hatchbacks.
Although the Mercedes C-Class is currently the country’s top export, it has also seen a slow reduction in demand in recent years, and in June the company announced that it planned to reduce its workforce by 700 workers as a result of declining international demand for sedans.
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