The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) warns that there is a likelihood of further near-term global supply chain disruptions to new vehicles in South Africa.<\/p>\n
According to the association, supply disruptions may stem from the rapid re-opening of the Chinese economy, resulting in surging Covid-19 infections.<\/p>\n
In late December, TopAuto<\/a><\/strong> reported that the world’s No.1 automaker Toyota said that its outlook for 2023 remains uncertain due to a persistent shortage of semiconductors and spikes in Covid cases in China.<\/p>\n Chip and other auto part shortages continue to plague the industry, and the rapid expansion of Covid cases throughout China will present additional difficulties, reported TopAuto.<\/p>\n Naamsa found that over the course of December 2022, Toyota remained the most in-demand car brand for South Africans despite its Durban factory suffering from severe flooding.<\/p>\n Over the last month of 2022, 11,250 units of Toyota vehicles were sold, followed by 5,331 Volkswagens and 3,058 Suzuki, reported Naamsa.<\/p>\n Looking back on domestic vehicle sales in 2022, Naamsa said that just as pandemic-induced disruptions seemed to subside in early 2022, the Russian invasion of Ukraine dealt a further blow to business and consumer confidence globally and in South Africa.<\/p>\n “The geopolitical conflict in Ukraine resulted in further supply chain disruptions and have inflated prices and the availability of strategic products and inputs.”<\/p>\n Naamsa did, however, note that despite the myriad of negative economic pressures and ongoing stock supply shortages, the new vehicle market continued to outperform expectations over the last year.<\/p>\n Positive growth in new vehicle market sales was also based on the consumer trend of South Africans buying less expensive and smaller cars, usually SUVs or crossovers.<\/p>\n In October of last year, the CEO of Right to Repair, Kate Elliot, added that the cost of living crisis is driving up the risk of poor road safety<\/a><\/strong> as consumers also opt for older cars but fail to maintain them.<\/p>\n According to Elliott, cash-strapped consumers frequently bring in their outdated vehicles for maintenance.<\/p>\n