South Africa's auto makers are struggling to build cars because a strike in components manufacturing has choked off the supply of parts, industry officials said on Wednesday.
More than 30,000 workers at major auto makers including Ford, Nissan and General Motors returned to work this month after a strike for higher wages.
This cost the industry two billion dollars in lost output revenue over four weeks.
But workers in the automotive parts and retail industry represented by the main manufacturing union, NUMSA, are on strike.
South Africa's auto makers are struggling to build cars because a strike in components manufacturing has choked off the supply of parts, industry officials said on Wednesday.
More than 30,000 workers at major auto makers including Ford, Nissan and General Motors returned to work this month after a strike for higher wages.
This cost the industry two billion dollars in lost output revenue over four weeks.
But workers in the automotive parts and retail industry represented by the main manufacturing union, NUMSA, are on strike.
This resulted in shutting down the supply of key parts and components used to assemble autos.
The industry accounts for six per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Africa's largest economy and 12 per cent of its exports.
“The impact has been huge, massive.
“We are only producing 85 cars instead of the normal 345 cars a day," said Guy Kilfoil, a spokesman for German auto maker BMW.
The BMW plant would not be able to make up the lost production, he said.
It lost 7,900 vehicles from the auto workers' strike and expects to lose another 2,300 by the end of this week because of the shortage of parts.
NUMSA has been pushing for double-digit wage hikes and better shift allowances, demands the Retail Motor Industry Organisation has said it would struggle to meet.
Nevertheless, apart from the auto sector, strikes in South Africa this year have been relatively short-lived and less violent than some analysts had feared.
South Africa's economy is recovering from a wave of violent mines strikes last year.
Workers in the gold industry went back to work this month after a three-day stoppage.
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