South Africa has a well-established car manufacturing industry that’s more than a century old. It has proven to be one of the most resilient sectors of our economy.
Since the first assembly plants were established in the Eastern Cape in the 1920s, the automotive industry has grown to become the largest manufacturing sector in the country. South Africa’s role in global vehicle manufacturing has expanded and grown.
Car companies like Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have plants here that produce vehicles for the local market and for export to many other countries in the world.
A number of these companies continue to expand their investments in our country. The sector currently supports more than 115 000 direct manufacturing jobs and more than 500 000 across the value chain. It contributes some 5.3% to GDP.
However, the industry is under growing pressure. The introduction of stricter vehicle emissions regulations in leading export destinations such as the EU, as well as new tariffs from the US, are expected to have a significant impact.
With exports currently accounting for two-thirds of local vehicle production, it is critical that we strengthen the sector to not only overcome current headwinds, but to ensure its long-term sustainability.
Last week, I attended the launch of BMW’s new X3 plug-in hybrid at the company’s Rosslyn plant in Tshwane. South Africa is the exclusive global production site for this model. The shift from internal combustion engines (ICE) towards hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) in a number of markets means that green mobility is becoming increasingly important for automotive manufacturers.
Welcome signal
The latest investment by BMW, following their pledge at our South Africa Investment Conference in 2023, is a welcome signal to investors that South Africa remains a favourable place to do business. Government is working to ensure there is an enabling regulatory and policy environment to support the growth of this burgeoning industrial activity.
Our five South Africa investment conferences, where we invited companies to make investment pledges that are translated into actual investments, is an important platform for companies to declare their investment intention to South Africa and demonstrate that South Africa is an investable market.
Watch | We visit South Africa’s first off-grid EV charging station
Government support to the car manufacturing industry through the Automotive Production and Development Programme will position South Africa as a key global manufacturing base for vehicles of the future.
This isn’t just critical to the sustainability of the sector, but to growing the workforce and skills of the future.
BMW, for example, has a training academy that focuses on competencies such as EV assembly and robotics. The company is also a founding partner of the Youth Employment Service, which was established between government and the private sector to create work experience opportunities for young people.
This initiative introduces young people into the world of work for a year of experience and training. Often, if they meet the standards of the participating company, they stand a good chance of being absorbed as employees of the company. BMW’s participation in this programme has supported more than 3 500 young people with training and work placements across all nine provinces.
We have invited more companies to participate in the Youth Employment Service programme as broadly as BMW has done.
We are working to ensure that more production takes place locally, creating more employment. To do this, we must upskill our workforce and facilitate the creation of new companies across the value chain.
As such, we welcome initiatives by the sector to support skills development through initiatives such as the Centre of Excellence at the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone. This centre has an artisan training academy, an incubation hub, and a science, technology, engineering and mathematics programme for high school learners.
There are also several industry-driven training initiatives focusing on technical and artisanal skills, and deepening collaboration between government departments, vocational colleges and companies to grow a new skills pipeline.
Protecting existing jobs in the sector is paramount, particularly in light of the looming US tariffs. The need to diversify our export base has become all the greater. We are committed to working with the sector to expand its continental footprint, building on the already strong growth of exports to the SADC region and leveraging the trade relationships that exist.
Read: South Africa needs to stop taxing EVs unfairly: Mercedes-Benz CEO
Amid these challenges, South Africa’s automotive industry is making the investments needed to build resilience, protect jobs and lead the way into a new era of green mobility.
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- The author, Cyril Ramaphosa, is president of South Africa
