By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile delivered the keynote address at the South African Automotive Week taking place at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Gauteng.
This year’s SA Auto Week is taking place under the theme “Reimagining The Future Together – Driving an industry of the future, today”.
The event was attended by automotive industry leaders from around the world, as well as from African nations interested in advancing and expanding their domestic auto sectors.
Despite the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic and global supply chain disruptions, the South African automotive manufacturing sector still remains a significant contributor to the local economy.
Mashatile noted the importance of collaboration between the local sector and government with regard to growth in local manufacturing, highlighting the need for policies that incentivise industry participants to produce vehicles in the domestic market.
“The performance of the South African automotive industry is contingent upon a strategic collaboration between the sector and government in order to foster growth, and create employment as they advance industry, particularly in the realm of manufacturing.”
To this end, Mashatile noted that BMW would be investing an additional R4.2-billion to manufacture a plug-in hybrid version of the next-generation X3 sport activity vehicle for 2024 at its Rosslyn manufacturing plant, in Gauteng. The Rosslyn plant will be the only manufacturing hub globally to produce the hybrid vehicles.
“This is a very important step for the country and we must continue creating favourable conditions to attract more investments and opportunities such as this in our country,” he said.
Mashatile argued that facilitating a fair and equitable energy transition required broadening the scope of local manufacturing, including value addition and components for new-energy vehicles (NEVs), while sustaining jobs and creating more employment opportunities. He said the transition to NEVs was inevitable.
Mashatile also emphasised the importance of supporting upskilling initiatives to enable South Africa to develop and manufacture vehicles locally and address the issue of unemployment facing the country.
“Attaining a prosperous South Africa is indeed the responsibility of all of us. We must continue to strengthen these partnerships and advance towards a nation that is embedded in social compacts for the greater good . . . We are continuing on this journey with you, and I’m convinced that we will succeed.
Watch Live in the video below:
Video Courtesy of GCIS.