While new vehicle sales in the domestic market experienced an impressive surge reaching new heights for the decade, the export industry was plagued with contraction. Here are South Africa’s Top 5 exporters for the month of October.
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The domestic South African passenger vehicle market is surging ahead with its best month since 2019 but that seems to be where the good news ends. Naamsa reported that export sales decreased by 17 324 units, or 42.6%, to 23 342 units in October 2024 compared to the 40 666 vehicles exported in October 2023. The overall October 2024 exports sales at 23 342 units reflected a massive decrease which now means that for the first 10 months of the year, vehicle exports are now 23.1% below the corresponding period in 2023.
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A brief look at the top 5 shows that Toyota was the only automaker to increase output during the month, while Ford nearly halved its numbers. BMW’s plant Rosslyn does appear fully operational with production of the all-new X3 generation underway.
Top 5 Exporters for October 2024
- Mercedes-Benz – 7 700 (unchanged from 7 700)
- Toyota – 4 827 (up from 2 031)
- Ford – 4 477 (down from 8 603)
- BMW – 2 800 (up from 1)
- Volkswagen – 2 015 (down from 2 449)
Related: Top 5 Exporters – September 2024
Speculation as to the decreases are credited to declining export demand to Europe as the domestic automotive industry’s top export region, accounting for three out of every four vehicle exports. Growth in the European Union stood at 0.3% after three quarters of 2024 with Germany projected to end 2024 with a 0.2% contraction. A model change by a major local OEM, stricter emissions regulations in the region as well as an influx of cheaper electric vehicles from China all impacted vehicle exports to the region in 2024. An easing of monetary policy in key export markets could see the vehicle export momentum turn positive again over the medium term.
