PUSH FOR 60% LOCAL CONTENT

SOUTH Africa is likely to adopt new plans for the country’s car industry in December, which aim to increase the local content of assembled cars to 60 percent by 2035 from around 38 percent now, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said yesterday. The new plan, which will come into effect in 2021, seeks to provide stability for one of South Africa’s main manufacturing sectors, where carmakers have invested billions of dollars to upgrade factories to supply the export market from Africa’s biggest car making hub. The so-called auto masterplan aims to bolster competitiveness and expand vehicle production in South Africa to 1 percent of global output. It marks the latest incentive package the government is offering to component and carmakers including Ford, Toyota, BMW and Volkswagen. Davies said the new plan would try to get more local companies involved in the making of vehicle parts. He did not want to divulge details of the new plan before it went before the Cabinet, but he said it would be anchored on the existing auto sector incentive package that ends in 2020. | Reuters