Stitched leather seat exports were up in most markets last year

Pretoria, Gauteng, SA – Automotive Business Council (NAAMSA) executive manager Dr Norman Lamprecht’s annual Automotive Export Manual – the 2023 edition is the 17th – is a comprehensive picture, not just of the SA motor industry’s exports, but of its structure, health, plans and predictions.

The leather component, which is described as stitched leather seats/parts, is among 31 categories of components listed in the report. The others are air conditioners, alarm systems, automotive glass, automotive tooling, axles, batteries, body parts / panels, brake parts, car radios, catalytic converters, clutches / shaft couplings, engines, engine parts, filters, gaskets, gauges/instruments/parts, gear boxes, ignition/starting equipment, jacks, lighting equipment / parts, radiators / parts, road wheels / parts, seats, seat belts, shock absorbers/suspension parts, silencers / exhausts, springs, steering wheels/columns/boxes, transmission shafts, and wiring harnesses.

The South African automotive industry is made up of 7 OEMs – BMW, Ford, Isuzu, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen – as well as 12 manufacturers/exporters of trucks and buses, and about 500 automotive component suppliers.
The report illustrates why government sets so much store by the sector, as these extracts illustrate:
“As the largest manufacturing sector in the country’s economy, a substantial 21,7% of value addition within the domestic manufacturing output was derived from vehicle and automotive component manufacturing in 2022, while the broader automotive industry’s contribution to the GDP comprised 4,9% (2,9% manufacturing and 2,0% retail).”

“The export value of vehicles and automotive components increased by R19,8 billion, or 9,5%, from the R207,5 billion in 2021 to a record R227,3 billion in 2022, comprising 12,4% of total South African exports. Vehicle exports increased by 53 765 units to 351 785 units in 2022, up from 298 020 units exported in 2021, while the vehicle export value increased by R18,7 billion from the R138,3 billion in 2021 to R157,0 billion in 2022. Automotive component exports reflected an increase of R1,1 billion from R69,2 billion in 2021 to a record R70,3 billion in 2022. The number of domestic automotive industry export destinations in 2022 comprised 152 countries, similar to 2021, with the export value more than doubling in the case of 29 of these countries from 2021 to 2022.”

In this report, we list only stitched leather seats, seats and seat belts:

South Africa’s top automotive export destinations in the3 EU are, in order, Germany, Belgium, UK, Spain, Czech Republic, France, Netherlands, Hungary, Poland and Italy.

South Africa’s top automotive export destinations in Africa are, in order, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo, eSwatini, Kenya, Lesotho and Kenya.

South Africa’s top automotive export destinations in North America are, in order, United States, Mexico and Canada.

South Africa’s top automotive export destinations in South and Central America are, in order, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.

Trade with Asia 2022
In trade with Thailand, South Africa imported stitched leather seats/parts worth R462.6 million and exported seat belts worth R6.5 million.
In trade with Japan, South Africa exported stitched leather seats/parts worth R1.9 million and imported stitched leather seats/parts worth R175.3 million.
In trade with India, South Africa exported stitched leather seats/parts worth R1.3 million.