President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed strong confidence in South Africa's automotive industry, stating it is making crucial investments to build resilience and lead the transition to green mobility despite mounting global pressures.
In his weekly newsletter this week, Ramaphosa emphasized protecting existing automotive jobs as paramount, particularly with looming US tariffs threatening the sector. He stressed the urgent need to diversify export markets, committing to work with industry players to expand their continental presence and leverage existing trade relationships within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
The sector's economic impact is substantial, supporting more than 115 000 direct manufacturing jobs and over 500 000 positions across the value chain, while contributing approximately 5.3% to the country's GDP. Currently, exports account for around two-thirds of local vehicle production.
However, Ramaphosa acknowledged significant challenges ahead, including new emissions regulations in key markets like the European Union and fresh USA tariffs. The global shift from internal combustion engines toward hybrid and electric vehicles has made green mobility increasingly critical for manufacturers.
The recent launch of BMW's new X3 plug-in hybrid at the company's Rosslyn plant in Tshwane highlighted this transition. South Africa serves as the exclusive global production site for this model, representing what Ramaphosa called "a welcome signal to investors that South Africa remains a favourable place to do business."
Many forward-thinking individuals propose that autonomous vehicles will improve road safety as problematic driver behaviour, which contributes to 90% plus crashes, will be eliminated. A recent incident may cause some to doubt this, however.
South Africa’s vehicle market has seen a steady influx of emerging brands, alongside continued expansion from established players.
Motorists travelling over the Easter period can expect heavy traffic across South Africa’s road network, with authorities warning that routes to Limpopo will come under particular pressure as thousands of pilgrims make their way to Moria.
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You can't buy happiness but you can buy cars and that's kind of the same thing.
Unknown
Many forward-thinking individuals propose that autonomous vehicles will improve road safety as problematic driver behaviour, which contributes to 90% plus crashes, will be eliminated. A recent incident may cause some to doubt this, however.
South Africa’s vehicle market has seen a steady influx of emerging brands, alongside continued expansion from established players.
Motorists travelling over the Easter period can expect heavy traffic across South Africa’s road network, with authorities warning that routes to Limpopo will come under particular pressure as thousands of pilgrims make their way to Moria.
