Labour stability in South Africa was not a Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) issue, or even an automotive industry issue, but a “country discussion”, said Ford Motor Company (FMC) Europe, Middle East and Africa president Stephen Odell on Wednesday.

Odell said Ford was closely following evolving labour relations in South Africa, especially as the US manufacturer mulled further investment in assembly capacity in Africa and the Middle East.

Ford in 2013 restructured its business units, with a new Africa and Middle East division set to report regional results from this year.

Ford was currently determining what vehicles could be build in the region, what products were already built here and what existing and future products could be sold here successfully.

It was no clear-cut decision that any new assembly opportunities would be coming South Africa’s way.

Odell said Ford was being courted by a number of countries looking to attract vehicle assembly to their shores.

He added that all business planning required a stable environment. While FMC aimed to “pay people fairly”, it also expected the labour force to “manage itself in a predictable way”.

He said it was problematic that the three strikes affecting the South African automotive industry happened one after the other last year, namely at vehicle assemblers, component manufacturers and in the logistics sector.

It was also “of concern” that the first point of departure for the unions was “dispute, rather than discussion”.

“But, this is a South African discussion, not a Ford discussion.”

Odell said FMC would have to take South Africa’s labour situation into account when considering possible additional production opportunities at the FMCSA plant.

He confirmed that it was possible to source more vehicles from the FMCSA plant in Silverton, “if we chose to do so”.

“We are determined to be a substantial player in Africa,” he added.

NEXT GROWTH OPPORTUNITY
Ford identified the next growth opportunity for the automotive industry as Africa and the Middle East, said Odell.

South Africa was the second biggest market for Ford in the region, with Saudi-Arabia number one.

Ford sales in the newly formed region reached 200 000 new vehicles last year, with Ford Middle East and Africa president Jim Benintende expecting it to grow to 220 000 units in 2014.

Within this business unit, FMCSA currently produced the Ranger pickup for the local and export markets.

FMCSA president and CEO Jeff Nemeth said FMCSA produced around 63 000 Rangers in 2013, a number which was expected to grow by 15% to 20% in 2014.

Around 65% of production was exported, also into Africa.

Ford sales in South Africa increased 40% in 2013 over 2012, and was up more than 20% for the three months of 2014 over the same period last year.

Nemeth said it was important for FMCSA to continuously improve its competitiveness, productivity and quality, in order to “be top of mind when the [Ford] board made a decision to invest”.

He welcomed the labour indaba scheduled for mid-2014, noting that it could hopefully kickstart a focus on creating “a collaborative environment” between business, labour and government.