How many cars were built in South Africa between July and September

Between July and September of 2022, the South African car manufacturing industry produced a total of 149,554 units reflecting a massive 49.2% increase in output compared to the same period in 2021.

Of these vehicles, 97,689 models were shipped to overseas markets, a gain in exports of 92.2%, with the bulk of these shipments – 73% – going to Europe, according to Naamsa’s third-quarter business review.

Major brands with South African manufacturing operations include Toyota, which produces the Hilux, Hiace, Fortuner, Corolla Cross, and Corolla Quest at its Durban factory, VW, which builds the Polo and Polo Vivo at its Kariega plant, BMW, which makes the X3 in Rosslyn, Mercedes-Benz, which churns out the C-Class Sedan in East London, and Ford, which assembles the Ranger in Silverton.

Other automakers which also put together cars in the country include Isuzu, Mahindra, and Nissan.

The below table details the number of vehicles built in South Africa per sector from 2018 to Q3 2022:

Efficiency on the rise once more

Efficiency in the industry also started picking up again during the third quarter of this year in relation to the second quarter, with manufacturers utilising higher levels of their maximum production capacity.

This follows major setbacks brought about by flooding in KwaZulu-Natal earlier in 2022 that saw the Toyota Prospecton plant suspending operations for months on end, as well as component shortages that negatively affected the different companies to different extents.

On average, the passenger car factories utilised 72.1% of their total production capacity between July and September, significantly more than the 61.1% from April to June when the aftermath of the flooding and parts issues was felt the most.

The below table details the average motor vehicle manufacturing industry capacity utilisation levels by sector from 2018 to Q3 2022:

Healthy sales

The increase in vehicle manufacturing also corresponds with the rise in new-vehicle sales as component hiccups start easing and markets around the world emerge from their respective Covid-19 lockdowns.

Aggregate purchases across all vehicle segments in South Africa jumped a not-insignificant 8.7% year-on-year, from a total of 40,240 units in Q3 2021 to 43,730 in Q3 2022.

“The strong performance of the third quarter of 2022 compared with the third quarter 2021 should be viewed in the light of the impact of the adverse economic disruptions and the cyberattack on Transnet’s operations at the time,” said Naamsa.

“Compared with the second quarter of 2022, the new vehicle market recovered from the impact of the severe floods in KwaZulu-Natal on vehicle production and sales as well as the consequent  logistics challenges at the Durban port.”

The below table details the new-vehicle sales per sector in South Africa for Q3 2022:

Employees in the industry

The number of employees in the domestic vehicle-building industry saw a consistent uptick in the third quarter of 2022, too.

In the new-vehicle manufacturing sector, comprising the major as well as specialist commercial vehicle and bus brands, the total number of workers grew from 34,076 at the end of July to 34,300 at the end of September

Year on year, these figures reflect an increase of 690 jobs.

In terms of independent vehicle importers, as of 30 September 2022, a head count of 7,711 shows an increase of 31 positions over the preceding quarter.

The below table details the number of employees in the domestic manufacturing industry during Q3 2022: