Pretoria - South Africa has been ranked 7th on the list of global countries that increased car production after the decline of the Covid-19 pandemic.
World auto production saw a significant decline in 2019, decreasing more than 5% for the year. The year 2020 continued to see a decline in car production because of the economic crisis that began during the pandemic.
GoShorty decided to take a closer look at the top car-producing countries of the world, now that the economic impact of the pandemic has had somewhat of a chance to recover.
It looked at a wide range of factors across Europe and beyond, from annual car production figures and numbers compared to previous years, to the number of people employed in the automotive industry.
South Africa impressively landed on the 7th spot, producing 239 267 cars, 259 820 commercial vehicles, totalling 499 087. This was a 12% change between 2020 and 2021.
However, Argentina saw the highest percentage increase in car manufacturing in 2021 compared to 2020, at a rate of 69%.
Argentina's motor vehicle production was reported at 434 753 units in December 2021. This records an increase from the previous number of 257 187 units for December 2020.
Indonesia had the second highest increase in car production in 2021 compared to 2020, at an increase of 63%. As well as being the fourth most populous country in the world,
India was the country that had the third-highest increase in car production in 2021 compared to the previous year, at an increase of 30%. Although India’s change in variation in car manufacturing is substantially less than in Indonesia and Argentina, the automotive sector is benefiting from a host of improvements.
These include global supply-chain rebalancing and government incentives to increase exports.
South Africa, being the only African country on the list can celebrate the milestones and its promises for further economic growth, job opportunities and infrastructure development.
Earlier in February, President Cyril Ramaphosa hailed a R15.8 billion investment by Ford Motor Company to modernise its Silverton assembly plant and create 1 200 jobs despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy.
He was visiting the facility with Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel, former Gauteng Premier David Makhura and Tshwane mayor Randall Williams.
Ford International Markets group director of operations Andrea Cavallaro would reveal that, that was the biggest investment in the carmaker’s 97-year history in South Africa.
It represented one of the largest ever investments in the South African automotive industry, boosting Ford’s production capability and creating the 1 200 new jobs at the plant and an estimated 10 000 new jobs across the company’s local supplier network.
Pretoria News