BusinessLive reports that the motor industry is waiting to hear the terms under which it will be allowed to resume manufacturing from the end of this week.
On Saturday, after intense industry lobbying, trade & industry minister Ebrahim Patel reversed the government’s earlier decision that vehicle and components manufacturers should not be among sectors allowed to resume production from 1 May once the lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19 is downgraded from level 5 to level 4. One proviso is that no more than 50% of employees may be on site at once. Tim Abbott of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa) said this may not be practical for all companies and other issues also needed clarification before companies could make firm decisions on how to resume work. Even when rules are clear, manufacturing is unlikely to get going immediately from 1 May. Teams will need at least the weekend to prepare machinery and production lines. Even then, vehicle companies will have to wait for components from their suppliers. Abbott still hopes the government will reconsider its decision to keep motor dealerships closed. Mark Dommisse of the National Automobile Dealers Association said dealers were likely to start laying off employees from mid-May if they were unable to open for business.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by David Furlonger at BusinessLive
- Read too, Auto industry could take over a year to recover, says TransUnion Auto Information Solutions, at Moneyweb
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