JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -- South Africa's vehicle manufacturing sector is set for record sales in 2006, boosting new job creation, but sales growth should ease in coming months due to higher interest rates, an industry body said on Tuesday.

Vehicle production is one of the biggest industries in South Africa's manufacturing sector, which accounts for some 17 percent of gross domestic product. The car industry is forecast to produce about 620,000 vehicles this year, with about 190,000 units of those destined for export.

Monthly new vehicle sales have been at record levels this year, supported by strong economic growth and robust consumer spending. Growth has slowed in the past few months in part due to interest rate hikes totaling 150 basis points since June.

Total sales for the first 10 months of the year are at 541,982 vehicles, 15.6 percent higher than in the same period last year.

"The exceptional domestic sales performance ... will ensure another outstanding and record year for the South African new vehicle manufacturing industry, with both domestic sales and production achieving all-time highs," the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers (NAAMSA) said.

But it added in its third quarter review that sales should start to consolidate on the back of recent interest rate hikes, and expected future ones, relatively high energy and fuel costs and modest upward pressure in car prices.

South Africa's central bank is widely expected to hike its repo rate by another half percentage point to 9.0 percent when its policy committee meets next week.

"The expected tighter monetary circumstances and less favorable general economic conditions, coupled with the possibility of slightly higher vehicle prices, are likely to reinforce consolidation in rates of growth in the market," NAAMSA director Nico Vermeulen said.

He said the industry had created 1,055 jobs -- growth of 2.8 percent -- in the third quarter, largely due to increased production on the back of the higher sales and a ramping up of major vehicle export programs.

Exports hit 129,600 units in the first nine months of the year, 34.8 percent higher than in the same period in 2005, and are projected to rise by another 20 percent in 2007.