Johannesburg- The government has set its sights on forging partnerships with key stakeholders in the automotive sector in a bid to enhance support towards transformation in the industry.
Acting deputy director-general of industrial financing at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) Susan Mangole said there was less participation by black-owned enterprises and black industrialists in the automotive sector, and this could be changed with more collaborations that could aid further participation.
“The DTIC’s support for the automotive sector during the period from April 2016 to August 2021 includes 147 enterprises that were approved for R13.4-billion with projected investment of more than R46-billion. And 7 971 jobs were created and 124 579 jobs retained,” she said.
“It is important to note that of the 147 enterprises, 11 of these approvals were black industrialists and small and medium enterprises that are majority black-owned. It is against this background that we say more collaborations that will see an increase in the participation of black-owned, majority black-owned enterprises and black
industrialists in the automotive sector are needed,” she added.
Mangole made the remarks during a function dubbed Access to Financing for the Local Automotive Component Manufacturers organised by the department in collaboration with the Automotive Industry Transformation Fund (AITF).
The R6-billion AITF is meant to enhance compliance by local automotive component manufacturers who are participating in the value chains of the seven multinational automotive manufacturers in the country, namely BMW, Ford, Isuzu, Nissan, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen.
South Africa’s automative industry is said to contribute 7.5% to the country’s economy and employs more than 110 000 people in the vehicle and component manufacturing sectors.
Mangole said the government remained committed to further support the investment and development of the automotive sector in line with the reimagined industrial strategy and automotive master plan.
The master plan aims to increase average local content of cars manufactured in South Africa from 40% to 60%.
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