In Pictures South Africa Celebrated 100 Years Of Building Cars In 2024: Here's How The Industry Evolved

Companies that build cars in South Africa have a great deal to celebrate at present, but soon they may not.

Mzansis vehicle manufacturing industry turned 100 this year, something that was celebrated with much jubilation at the SA Auto Week hosted in October by Naamsa - The Automotive Business Council.

The industry has much to be proud of, with 632,972 shiny new vehicles leaving local factories in 2023, of which 63 were shipped abroad to make up 15 of SAs total exports.

The industry, accounting for 5.1 of the countrys GDP, supports 116,000 jobs on the manufacturing side alone, and close to 400,000 on the retail and repair side.

'The automotive industry is widely regarded as one of the industrial policy success stories of South Africas democratic era, Naamsa says of the industry that exported a record 399,594 vehicles in 2023.