
SA Auto Week to take place in Eastern Cape during October
Despite potential headwinds, South Africa’s automotive industry remains committed to long-term growth and resilience.
- Industry News
- 2 April 2025
It might not be Formula One, but a round of the electric Formula E World Championship is scheduled to take place in South Africa and will be held in Cape Town on 26 February next year.
The announcement was made this week by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) in Geneva following a scheduled meeting to approve the Season 8 calendar by Formula E Operations. As the founding partner to e-Movement, Jaguar South Africa supported the bid to host the first Formula E event in Cape Town.
Richard Gouverneur, Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover South Africa, said: “This is a historic first for our country, and Jaguar South Africa is ecstatic to have been part of the team to secure Formula E for South Africa.
Iain Banner, Chairman of e-Movement (Pty) Ltd (the promoters of the Cape Town leg of the World Championship), said: “We are delighted and honoured to be included on the calendar after two years of bidding to make this dream a reality.”
The Cape Town round will be the first FIA World Championship single-seater race in South Africa since the 1993 South African Grand Prix.
Jaguar Racing Team Director, James Barclay, said: “On a personal level, having grown up in South Africa, I’m incredibly excited to be racing in my home country with the team. For Jaguar, the announcement is most welcome as South Africa is an important market.”
Cape Town Mayor, Dan Plato, said: “Cape Town is pleased to be chosen as one of the cities to participate in the Formula E tournament. The event will unlock major investment, job creation and tourism potential through identifying Cape Town as the racing destination on the African continent.”
Despite potential headwinds, South Africa’s automotive industry remains committed to long-term growth and resilience.
South African consumers demonstrated a strong appetite for new passenger vehicles in March, according to figures released by the Automotive Business Council (naamsa).
Just a few days after its official introduction to the South African market, the TopGear SA team, in a convoy of Nissan Navara Warriors, has embarked on a record-breaking expedition into South Africa’s most extreme hinterland.