Automotive industry in South Africa

South Africa is traditionally the leader in Africa of the automotive industry and now produces more than half a million annually of all types of automobiles. While domestic development of trucks and military vehicles exists, cars built under license of foreign brands are the mainstay.

The modern automotive industry in South Africa was launched in 1995 and has since provided a large amount of exports. It has motivated global motor vehicle manufacturers to grant production contracts to South African factories. South Africa has been engaged in the assembly of motor vehicles and light truck models since the 1920s, with the country's main international manufacturers being:

These manufacturers are all concentrated in the Provinces of Eastern Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. With the Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP) doubling in size between 1994 and 2012. it continues to grow and in recent history it has seen its successor Automotive Production and Development Program (APDP) enforce new aims, hoping to achieve local production of 1.2 million vehicles annually by 2020.

Volkswagen have had a factory in Eastern Cape since the early 1950s, which now employs around 6,000 people and produces 120,000 vehicles per year, of which 40,000 are exported to fellow African countries. The Volkswagen group holds a market share of approximately 22.1% in South Africa.

BMW caters for 5,000 employees in South Africa and manufactures around 55,000 a year, the BMW Rosslyn Plant in Gauteng was founded in 1968 and plays an important role in the production of equipment used in vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz manufacturing plant was founded in South Africa, Eastern Cape around 1954 and produced 55,900 vehicles in 2010 and in the same year the local market saw Mercedes-Benz sell 25,400 cars and 6,100 trucks.

MAN has been present in Africa since 1968 and positions itself well in South Africa, maintaining two plants and a "spares" depot, employing 393 citizens who produce around 2,500 vehicles annually find that they sell almost entirely on the Southern Africa markets.

Nissan also have a plant in Rosslyn, manufacturing mostly bakkies.

The early days of the South African motoring industry were focused on British makers and, to a lesser degree, American makers. Volkswagen was also a long-term presence, being particularly popular with those Afrikaners who were unwilling to buy a British car. By the late 1970s, Japanese producers had gained a foothold and British makers were being pushed out. In the late seventies, Sigma Motors had planned to merge with British Leyland, known as Leykor locally - when this merger failed, Leyland had to scramble to create an all-new dealer network in only a month. Leyland's South African presence never recovered.

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Wikipedia