KEY FEATURES: FIRST QUARTER 2024
- 2024 marks the centenary celebration of vehicle manufacturing in South Africa when domestic assembly operations began with the iconic Model T Ford on 19 January 1924;
- First quarter 2024 aggregate industry employment as at 31st March 2024 totalled 33,374 reflecting a decline of 5 jobs compared to the 33,379 industry head count as at the end of December 2023;
- Aggregate new vehicle sales during the first quarter 2024 recorded a decline of 5,6% compared to the corresponding quarter 2023 and a marginal increase of 0,2% compared to the fourth quarter 2023;
- New energy vehicle [NEV] sales by 15 industry brands increased by 82,7% from 1,665 units in the first quarter 2023 to 3,042 units in the first quarter 2024.;
- Average industry capacity utilisation levels during the first quarter 2024 reflected the ongoing supply chain disruptions caused by port congestion and delays on vehicle production while the ongoing global semi-conductor shortage impacted OEMs differently;
- Aggregate capital expenditure by the major light vehicle manufacturers in 2023 amounted to R5,2 billion, linked to new generation model investments;
- South African vehicle production market share increased from 0,65% in 2022 to 0,67% in 2023, but its global vehicle production ranking remained at 22nd.
- First quarter 2024 domestic vehicle production reflected a decline of 2,2% compared to the corresponding quarter 2023 linked to a constraint domestic new vehicle market along with lower vehicle exports;
- Vehicle exports lost momentum and declined by 3,7% from the first quarter 2023 to the first quarter 2024, following the record export performance of 399,594 vehicles exported in 2023;
- The naamsa CEOs Confidence Index, as an in-house leading business confidence indicator of current and future developments in the domestic automotive industry, reflects the sentiment expressed by the naamsa CEOs for the first quarter 2024 compared to the first quarter 2023 as well as automotive business conditions and the country’s economy in general for the next 6 months.