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South Africa ranked in Top 10 of most improved vehicle-building nations
Out of the almost 500 000 vehicles produced last year, more than half were commercial vehicles.
South Africa’s automotive industry has once been recognised globally. Image: iStock
Despite a challenging two years, South Africa’s automotive industry has ranked within the top ten best-performing vehicle assembly countries for 2021.
According to a new survey by UK-based insurance firm, goshorty.com.uk, South Africa placed seventh on the list of countries that shows the biggest increase in vehicle production compared to 2020, surprisingly ahead of Brazil, Portugal and Austria.
Out of the 499 087 vehicles manufactured on local soil twelve months ago, 259 820 were commercial vehicles – a figure that places South Africa fourth behind Brazil (540 402), India (768 017) and unsurprisingly, Thailand (1 091 015) on the list of most improved commercial vehicle manufacturing nations.
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At the other end of the scale, Slovenia rated as the country with the worst vehicle output of the year with a 32% decrease to 95 797, followed by Canada (1 115 002: -19%), Uzbekistan (241 649: -15%), Germany (3 096 165: -12%) and Serbia (21 109: -9%).
Somewhat predictably, China kept its place as the country where most vehicles are produced with 26 082 220 units, ahead of the United States (9 167 214), Japan (7,846,955), India (4 399 112) and South Korea (3 462 404).
In terms of a country’s employment based on the automotive industry, Slovenia ranked first with 16.2% ahead of Romania (15.2%) and the Czech Republic (13.8%), while Greece and Cyprus were found to be the countries least dependent on the automotive with 0.5%, along with Croatia (0.9%).
Countries with the highest increases in vehicle production:
| Rank | Country | Cars Produced | Commercial Vehicles Produced | Total Produced (2021) | % change variation 2020/2021 |
| 1 | Argentina | 184 106 | 250 647 | 434 753 | 69% |
| 2 | Indonesia | 889 756 | 232 211 | 1 121 967 | 63% |
| 3 | India | 3 631 095 | 768 017 | 4 399 112 | 30% |
| 4 | Kazakhstan | 80 679 | 11 738 | 92 417 | 24% |
| 5 | Morocco | 338 339 | 64 668 | 403 007 | 23% |
| 6 | Thailand | 594 690 | 1 091 015 | 1 685 705 | 18% |
| 7 | South Africa | 239 267 | 259 820 | 499 087 | 12% |
| 7 | Brazil | 1 707 851 | 540 402 | 2 248 253 | 12% |
| 9 | Portugal | 229 221 | 60 733 | 289 954 | 10% |
| 10 | Austria | 124 700 | 12 000 | 136 700 | 9% |
Biggest car producers in the world
| Rank | Country | Cars Produced | Commercial Vehicles Produced | Total Produced 2021 |
| 1 | China | 21 407 962 | 4 674 258 | 26 082 220 |
| 2 | United States | 1 563 060 | 7 604 154 | 9 167 214 |
| 3 | Japan | 6 619 242 | 1 227 713 | 7 846 955 |
| 4 | India | 3 631 095 | 768 017 | 4 399 112 |
| 5 | South Korea | 3 162 727 | 299 677 | 3 462 404 |
| 6 | Germany | 3 096 165 | 212 527 | 3 308 692 |
| 7 | Mexico | 708 242 | 2 437 411 | 3 145 653 |
| 8 | Brazil | 1 707 851 | 540 402 | 2 248 253 |
| 9 | Spain | 1 662 174 | 435 959 | 2 098 133 |
| 10 | Thailand | 594 690 | 1 091 015 | 1 685 705 |
Additional findings of the survey can be found at goshorty.co.uk.
