The South African motor industry would face increasing challenges to attract foreign investment, a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Automotive Group has found.
The South African motor industry would face increasing challenges to attract foreign investment, a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Automotive Group has found.
Michael Weidokal, an analyst at Autofacts, a division of the company’s Global Automotive Group told that the automotive industry “needed to take urgent action” if it was to continue its growth as a global source for vehicle components, materials and assembled vehicles.
Weidokal said the industry’s achievements thus far under the Motor Industry Development Programme “had been remarkable”.
“South Africa has established international credibility for its ability to supply products reliably to required-quality levels and at competitive prices,” Weidokal said. “South Africa heads for another record year for automotive exports, but there is serious competition emerging for a share of global automotive investment funding.”
His comments follow a study by international analysts at Autofacts on the global impact of the developing motor industries in China, Russia, Poland and other emerging nations in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.
The study found that Chinese, East European and Latin American automotive manufactures and component suppliers were all attempting to generate income from export programmes – and this at a time when global motor industry faced overcapacity problems.
The roles of assemblers, who controlled global car brands, and their suppliers, who controlled much of the technology to build new-generation vehicles, were changing drastically, the report said.
