AUTOMOTIVE POLICY
Thriving motor industry is ‘a crucial growth driver’
Industry executives are in talks with the Department of Trade and Industry about the next phase of automotive policy
The loss of its motor industry would cost SA at least 660,000 jobs and R84.5bn in wages, reduce GDP by more than R210bn and widen the country’s trade deficit by R40bn, says Econometrix MD Rob Jeffrey. He was speaking in Johannesburg on Thursday at a motor industry briefing organised by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa). Econometrix recently completed a report on the motor industry’s contribution to the broader economy. Industry executives are in talks with the Department of Trade and Industry about the next phase of automotive policy after the current Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP) expires in 2020. Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies wants negotiators to map out a framework to 2035 and to consider including trucks, buses and motorcycles in a policy that, until now, has been limited to cars and light commercial vehicles. Naamsa president Mike Whitfield, who is also MD of Nissan SA, hoped the department would finalise its po...
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