Business Monitor's View on Automotives Logistics in Africa
(PRWEB UK) 12 August 2013 -- The growth opportunities for carmakers in Sub-Saharan Africa have made it one of the key regions of focus for the industry, particularly as growth in developed states, and even some of the more mature emerging markets (EMs), begins to wane. With this in mind, Business Monitor has evaluated the region's top markets (excluding the relatively well developed South Africa), not only from an autos demand perspective, but also taking into account the business environment and the logistical challenges faced by companies targeting these frontier markets.
The emergence of a middle class, albeit on a smaller scale to the more developed EMs, has paved the way for increased car ownership in Africa. Evaluating the region's markets on a very basic level, the correlation between per capita income and vehicle ownership is particularly striking as Business Monitor note the Sub- Saharan African countries with the highest per capita incomes also have among the highest vehicle ownership rates.
This in itself is not a measure to be taken in isolation, however, as in many of the countries under review, the income and indeed car ownership, are not equally distributed. Some markets, for example, may have a healthy new car market, but if it is limited to a small wealthy elite, and government fleet sales, the potential volume of the market is restricted. For sales potential, however, there are stand-out markets such as Angola, Ghana and Nigeria.
On the more positive side, where personal spending is limited, there may still be opportunities in the commercial vehicle segment. Resource-rich countries in particular are an attractive target for companies supplying heavy-duty vehicles to mining companies, while an uptick in infrastructure spending also generates demand for trucks and heavy vehicles. Infrastructure projects also have the added side-effect of improving conditions for driving vehicles, which in itself can contribute to increased car ownership.
James Hampton, Business Monitor International, http://www.businessmonitor.com, +44 2030096464, [email protected]
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