The newly branded naamsa Automotive Trade Manual publication is the official source of all the key automotive data in South Africa and the apex automotive publication in the country. The five-month project for the 2025 publication began in December 2024 and will be released formally to the media and industry stakeholders during the first week of May 2025.

The annual publication is widely distributed nationally and internationally. The trade data and information contained therein serves as a reference to domestic and international industry decision-makers, government stakeholders, all public libraries (including the Parliamentary library as per the ISBN requirements), Embassies, association counterparts and their members globally, as well as international customers through various national and international automotive events. The publication also serves as the topmost tool to promote the South African automotive industry’s world class capabilities to an international audience. The publication has a life span of at least one year as the wealth of market intelligence is used by decision-makers, analysts, government departments, academia and various other stakeholders on a regular basis until such time that the next publication with new official data is released.

The 2025 publication, as well as the previous 18 publications since 2007, will again provide a comprehensive guide on the export and import performance of the South African automotive industry under the Automotive Production Development Programme (APDP) and APDP2 in line with the South African Automotive Masterplan (SAAM) 2021-2035 objectives. In addition to key data such as the automotive industry’s contribution to the South African economy, the aim of the publication is mainly to identify and report on the major automotive export destinations, the major countries of origin, the main automotive export trade blocs, the most important automotive products being exported and imported, the top growth markets and products, as well as the impact of the trade arrangements enjoyed by South Africa on automotive trade patterns.

Considering the wide national and international audience of several million readers, the professional level of the audience, the significant lifespan of the publication, and the high level of interest in the South African automotive industry in line with the inevitable transition to new energy vehicles, having a presence in such a high-profile publication would provide an immense value proposition as well as exposure to business opportunities to companies and organisations in the automotive and associated sectors of the economy.   

Relevant organisations are encouraged to secure advertising space in the publication, which also includes an invitation to the media launch. Further, a placement on naamsa’s website and electronic distribution of the publication would begin immediately after the media release, providing more exposure to organisation in the automotive sector.