Rising vehicle imports from China and India are placing pressure on production volumes at South Africa’s local vehicle manufacturers, with this pressure spilling over to component manufacturers, says Metair CEO Paul O’Flaherty.
Speaking at the component manufacturer’s interim results announcement for the six months ended June 30 on Wednesday, O’Flaherty noted that Metair managed a “very solid performance” despite two of its main customers showing a decline in vehicle production from peak levels.
Metair comprises of two divisions – automotive component manufacturing for original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs, or vehicles manufacturers), which represents 67% of its revenue, and aftermarket parts and retail, at 33% of the JSE-listed group’s revenue.
Metair’s OEM customers include Isuzu, Volkswagen and Mahindra, with the bulk of business, however, flowing from Toyota and Ford.
While vehicle sales had been booming in South Africa in recent months, imports had accounted for most of the growth, noted O’Flaherty, with locally built vehicles now representing under a third of the new-vehicle market – the lowest share on record.
