The commercial vehicle industry in South Africa is getting to understand the opportunities in the automotive sector, such as in the autonomous vehicles space, despite various macroeconomic challenges, event organiser Messe Frankfurt South Africa MD Michael Dehn said during the Futureroad vehicle trade exhibition on May 3.

He highlighted how the commercial vehicle industry continued to be a key driver of innovation and how it boosted the overall automotive industry’s ability to contribute 4.9% to gross domestic product and keep more than 110 000 people employed.

The event included a CEOs breakfast with industry heavyweights discussing the future of the commercial vehicle aftermarket.

Drawing on data from the US, Europe and China, consultancy EY partner Duane Newman said manufacturers had to cope with regulatory pressure, macroeconomic and inflationary deterrents, evolving societal expectations and tight labour markets.

These trends in the automotive sector were forcing commercial vehicle manufacturers to introduce low-carbon emission technologies and optimise costs and capital expenditure, he added.

He highlighted that the industry required a proactive approach towards improving fleet profitability through technology, together with a focus on sustainability and collaboration to enable autonomous trucking.

Research provider S&P Global Mobility automotive insights senior research analyst Menzi Nkonyane added that challenges in truck and bus production included sluggish economic growth and currency volatility, coupled with election uncertainty, high interest rates, the impact of power supply interruptions and logistical issues.

Nkonyane elaborated that geopolitical disruptions were impacting on truck and bus shipping, with the recent conflict in the Middle East in particular necessitating the rerouting of maritime vessels and leading to increased shipping costs in the short term.

Despite these high operating costs and challenges, S&P Global Mobility forecast that the truck and bus assembly industry in South Africa would exceed 27 000 units by 2030, with factories on track to assemble 25 000 trucks and busses this year.

In line with the growth of commercial vehicle production, consultancy Frost & Sullivan Africa research director Craig Parker said the use of telematics would also increase. Telematics penetration is expected to grow from 40% to 43% by 2025 and reach 50% by 2028.

Another prevalent technology emerging in the commercial vehicle sector was video safety solutions, with the South African market having enormous potential for growth in track-and-trace and stolen vehicle recovery systems.

Dehn also drew attention to some unanswered questions in the sector, such as how companies would roll out and profit from autonomous technologies in key markets.

He said stakeholders needed to evaluate what increasing autonomous technologies would demand from IT and engineering teams.