By Andile Africa, CEO, Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC)
As South Africa enters Transport Month, we have an opportunity to look beyond the vehicles on our roads and consider the wider economic system that makes mobility possible.
The automotive industry is about far more than the vehicles we drive. It connects manufacturing, logistics, technology, skills, investment and a broad network of businesses that contribute to South Africa’s economy.
For Gauteng, this relationship is particularly important. Our province sits at the centre of South Africa’s economic activity, with a manufacturing and services base that depends on the efficient movement of people, components, vehicles and goods. For the automotive sector, transport and logistics are not peripheral considerations; they are part of the production system itself.
The scale of the industry demonstrates why this matters. According to the 2026 Automotive Trade Manual published by naamsa, South Africa’s automotive industry generated a record R291 billion in vehicle and component exports in 2025, representing 15.6% of total national exports. The industry also contributed 5.2% to GDP and accounted for 23.8% of domestic manufacturing value addition.
These figures represent far more than vehicles leaving assembly plants. They reflect a network of component manufacturers, logistics providers, engineering companies, technology businesses, dealerships, aftermarket enterprises, skills providers and people participating across a complex value chain.
This is why the automotive industry must increasingly be viewed as an important part of our industrial competitiveness.
The Automotive Supplier Park in Rosslyn is one example of this ecosystem in practice, bringing component manufacturers and suppliers into proximity with vehicle manufacturers and creating an environment where supply-chain efficiency and industrial capability intersect.
But physical proximity alone is not enough. To remain competitive, our automotive industry must continue investing in the capabilities that allow businesses to improve productivity, adopt new technologies, meet global standards and respond to changing markets.
This is where institutions such as AIDC have a role to play. Through supplier and enterprise development, skills development, manufacturing capability, township automotive hubs and business improvement support, our focus is on strengthening the businesses and capabilities that form part of the wider automotive ecosystem.
At the same time, the industry itself is changing. New energy vehicles, electrification, automation, artificial intelligence and connected technologies are reshaping the automotive value chain.
The question is therefore not only what vehicles South Africans will drive in the future, but also what we will manufacture, what we can localise, which businesses will participate in emerging value chains and whether our workforce has the skills required for these technologies.
For South Africa, the opportunity lies in building an automotive ecosystem that is competitive, technologically capable, inclusive and able to create meaningful participation across the value chain.
The future of mobility will be shaped not only by the vehicles on our roads, but by the industries, businesses, skills and people behind them.