Analysing the effect of Covid-19 and fuel price on the South African motor vehicles export
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The manufacturing sector is vital in the South African economy, especially in international trade. Nonetheless, the covid-19 and fuel price fluctuations have convulsed both global and domestic production and trade. This study analsed how an increase in new cases of covid-19 and fuel price shocks affected motor vehicles export in South Africa. The assessment used monthly time series from March 2020 to March 2022. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and error correction models assisted in determining both long-run and short-run relationships among variables. The results suggested an inverse relationship between new covid-19 cases, fuel prices and motor vehicle exports in both the long and short run. This study recommends introducing new vehicle models that are fuel efficiency, tax and levy reduction on fuel to reduce the effect of the high fuel price of vehicles export. Increasing awareness, precaution and encouraging vaccination could assist in lowering COVID-19 infection.