A successful African motor industry could meet everyone’s market needs.
The production line at BMW’s plant in Rosslyn, Gauteng. Picture: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg
Ashit Shah, a director of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, says consumers have more basic requirements. A typical Kenyan car buyer, he says, wants a simple vehicle that can carry passengers during the week and goods at weekends. AAAM is spearheading a movement to develop a pan-African motor industry consisting of interlinked, regional manufacturing centres in East, West, North and Southern Africa. The idea is that one country in each region would be the vehicle manufacturing “hub”, with neighbours providing components, technology and support services.
Frederick Seidu, a senior trade specialist at the Cairo-based African Export-Import Bank , says this shortage of vehicles is not for want of demand. However, many African countries have not only high interest rates but also deficient banking systems where credit finance is unavailable. Coffey believes that a 5-million vehicle market will justify 20 full-scale vehicle manufacturing plants — plus components and support industries to accompany them. SA already has seven plants, with two more potentially in the offing. If sales explode, it’s hard to believe Morocco and its mainly European automotive investors, most of whom don’t manufacture in SA, wouldn’t shift their attention southwards.
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