| #WeAreNAACAM: On Friday evening, 17 April 2026, NAACAM CEO, Renai Moothilal was interviewed on The Money Show (702/ Cape Talk) regarding Mahindra’s feasibility study for Completely Knocked Down (CKD) manufacturing in South Africa. In the interview, Renai welcomed Mahindra’s advanced investigation to move its Durban-area plant from Semi-Knocked Down (SKD) to full CKD, noting “A CKD plant tends to support eight jobs for every one that you find in an SKD plant. So, it is positive that they take on this particular model where they will have more assembly here and probably skills transfer as well.” This study comes as Mahindra continues its strong market momentum, selling 18,097 vehicles in 2025, a 40% surge year-on-year, cementing its position as one of the fastest-growing brands in the country. Renai emphasised that shifting to deeper local manufacturing brings real economic benefits: more jobs, skills development, technology transfer, and stronger opportunities for local component suppliers. He also addressed the broader industry shift, noting that new entrants such as Chery and BAIC investing in local production offers the opportunity to expand the supplier base, create multi-customer scale, and make the entire South African automotive industry more competitive and efficient, if localisation is prioritised. NAACAM is encouraged by these developments and will continue engaging with Mahindra and other OEMs to accelerate local content, supplier development, and job-creating investment in line with the South African Automotive Master Plan. #DrivingLocalisation #AutomotiveIndustry |
