16 April 2024 – The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber and NAACAM have signed a historic memorandum of understanding (MOU) to advance and support the automotive components industry in Nelson Mandela Bay, through advocacy and lobbying initiatives, and to develop initiatives that support their respective member’s mandates and strategic objectives.
Both parties have agreed to collaborate on key projects and initiatives focusing on logistics; electricity reliability, critical infrastructure, information sharing, South Africa’s transition to new energy vehicles (NEVs) and stakeholder management.
NAACAM will participate in the Chamber’s Local Economy Reinvention Think Tank to collaborate with various engineers and innovators from a range of different companies and stakeholders. These efforts are directed at identifying opportunities across six different workstreams to retain and grow investment and employment within the local manufacturing sector.
The focus on logistics will see both parties jointly work in building a stronger component industry participation in developing and supporting initiatives to improve port, rail and road infrastructure and efficiencies across key logistics nodes. This will also involve promoting the revival of the North-South Rail Corridor in order to improve logistics efficiencies in ferrying cargo between the Bay’s two ports and Gauteng.
They will also collaborate and work jointly to support initiatives on future growth trends impacting the automotive sector including those of new energy vehicles and green-hydrogen based applications.
A key component involves deep information sharing between the parties to ensure a flow of information and relevant data that can be utilised and leveraged in the best interests of the automotive component industry, including appraising one another of developments impacting upon the sector, NAACAM chief executive officer Renai Moothilal said.
“With the automotive manufacturing sector globally now focused on transitioning to new energy vehicle production, the partnership seeks to jointly promote and advocate for a sustainable transition to NEVs production whilst ensuring producers who have typically been anchored in internal combustion type products are supported with a clear, decisive and a predictable policy environment which prioritises the value coming out of automotive components manufacturers,” Moothilal said.
The partnership will place a strong emphasis on stakeholder engagement by developing a robust engagement strategy to lobby and drive public advocacy and strengthen partnerships with key stakeholders, including collaborating and supporting thought leadership platforms or events that showcase and celebrate the automotive component industry in South Africa.
Business Chamber Chief Executive Denise van Huyssteen said that almost half of the country’s automotive supply chain production emanated from the Eastern Cape, and most of it is located in Nelson Mandela Bay, making the Metro a strategic automotive hub in the country. As such, most businesses in the region whether directly automotive related or not, benefit directly or indirectly from the automotive sector.
“The signing of this MOU underpins the importance of collaboration between both parties to advance our goal of providing a strategic direction in furthering the growth of the components sector in order to position it for the major changes being introduced from global markets in order to project jobs and retain investment. This is critically important as our metro’s economy is centered around manufacturing, and the logistics sector which represents one of the highest cost areas for business,” Van Huyssteen said.
The Eastern Cape accounts for more than 53% of South African produced vehicles which are exported globally. This makes the region a major player in the vehicle manufacturing sector and as such, this partnership will help solidify its position through targeted and strategic interventions towards positively impacting the localisation, transformation and supplier development environment in South Africa, in tandem with its support for future investments in the local economy.
“By working together the Chamber and Nacaam will leverage their strengths in support of a unified vision. It becomes more important for all relevant stakeholders to collaborate in decision making especially in the current economic environment to find suitable solutions to protect investments and jobs. Furthermore, this also allows for all concerned to find innovative ways of repositioning the sector to become more agile and competitive,” Van Huyssteen said.