The parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition has called for “deeper localisation, job creation and meaningful transformation” in South Africa’s automotive industry.

This follows Tuesday’s assessment of the progress made on the targets set out in the South African Automotive Masterplan 2035 (SAAM 2035).

The committee heard from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic), as well as several roleplayers in the local automotive manufacturing industry, on the health of the sector as it battles increasing competition from China and India.

The industry indicated that it was unlikely to meet any of the targets set in SAAM 2035.

Of particular concern is that local content levels remain stagnant at around 40%, limiting the industry’s ability to create more jobs and grow the presence of domestic component suppliers.

The masterplan’s goals include expanding the industry by increasing the local parts content in locally assembled vehicles, improving the industry’s global competitiveness, deepening value addition, and transforming ownership and participation across the value chain.

A key goal of the plan is to double employment in the automotive sector by 2035. Instead, the industry has been shedding job opportunities.

Committee chairperson Mzwandile Masina emphasises the strategic importance of the automotive industry to South Africa’s economy as the country’s biggest manufacturing sector.

He notes that many of the challenges raised by industry stakeholders cut across the mandates of the dtic, National Treasury and the Department of Transport.

He says the committee will compile a report which will be submitted to the National Assembly, and it will also make recommendations to Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau, informed by the inputs received during the parliamentary engagement.

“Local public procurement must be leveraged to support domestic vehicle production, improve economies of scale and expand the range of components produced locally,” he adds.