(4 minutes read)
· South Africa imported more vehicles from India beating the COVID-19 lockdowns blues and overall global declines in vehicle sales in 2020
· More than 90% of the selling vehicles in 2020 in Africa were South African-built passenger cars and light commercial vehicles
· The Mahindra Pik Up, the Indian brand has been a clear preference in this regard
South Africa imported more vehicles from India beating the COVID-19 lockdowns blues and overall global declines in vehicle sales in 2020. This information is contained in the Automotive Export Manual report released by the Automotive Industry Export Council of South Africa.
South Africa imported 87,953 units imported from India in 2020. That works out to 43.2 per cent of total passenger cars and light commercial vehicles imported by the country. India is fast emerging as a destination for sourcing hubs for entry-level and small vehicles. Volkswagen’s Polo Vivo was the only vehicle in the entry level category manufactured locally in South Africa as of 2020.
More than 90% of the selling vehicles in 2020 in Africa were South African-built passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. South Africans like to drive pickups, which have both commercial and leisure vehicle applications, than passenger cars.
This was good news for Rajesh Gupta, CEO of Mahindra SA, the local subsidiary of the Indian automotive manufacturer. The Mahindra Pik Up, the Indian brand has been a clear preference in this regard. South Africa is a perfect springboard for Indian products into the rest of the continent. Triggered by this, the bilateral trade has been increasing in the recent days including in the automotive sector. The Pik Up models of Mahindra are assembled locally and exported to countries in the Southern African Development Community.
However, the Covid -19 has cast its shadows in the vehicle sector in South Africa. The country’s vehicle exports declined by a massive 115,804 units to 271,288 units in 2020, from the record 387,092 vehicles exported in 2019. The export value realization declined by R26.8 billion from the R148.0 billion in 2019 to R121.2 billion in 2020. The report is optimistic about the exports in the current year driven by the confidence that the onslaught of the pandemic may bottom out soon thanks to some of the tight measures being taken by the government.
