Eastern Cape Business 2017 edition
The 2017 edition of Eastern Cape Business is the 10th issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2006, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to the Eastern Cape Province. The Eastern Cape enjoys an abundance of natural and human resources, as well as established industrial infrastructure that drives the economy of the province. This includes three ports and two industrial development zones which are home to a wide range of manufacturers and exporters. The 2017 edition includes an in-depth look at the province’s two Industrial Development Zones, a focus on skills development and investment climate information from the Nelson Mandela Business Chamber and the Border-Kei Chamber of Business.
The 2017 edition of Eastern Cape Business is the 10th issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2006, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to the Eastern Cape Province. The Eastern Cape enjoys an abundance of natural and human resources, as well as established industrial infrastructure that drives the economy of the province. This includes three ports and two industrial development zones which are home to a wide range of manufacturers and exporters.
The 2017 edition includes an in-depth look at the province’s two Industrial Development Zones, a focus on skills development and investment climate information from the Nelson Mandela Business Chamber and the Border-Kei Chamber of Business.
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OVERVIEW<br />
Automotive<br />
Vehicles and components anchor manufacturing in the <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>.<br />
SECTOR INSIGHT<br />
A Chinese OEM is part of an<br />
R11-billion investment.<br />
• 10 000 C-Class Mercedes-<br />
Benzes left East London<br />
Port in the month of<br />
August 2016.<br />
Recent investments by Chinese state-owned enterprises have<br />
boosted the <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>’s automotive sector. Already home<br />
to some of the biggest brands in original equipment manufacturing<br />
(OEM) and automotive components in Volkswagen,<br />
Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, Ford, Goodyear, Continental Tyre<br />
SA, Bridgestone and Shatterprufe, the addition of First Automotive<br />
Works (FAW) and Beijing Automobile International Corporation (BAIC)<br />
confirms the province’s premier standing in this sector.<br />
FAW’s R600-million assembly plant can now be seen as having<br />
tested the waters because BAIC followed in 2016 with one of the<br />
biggest foreign investments in recent years. BAIC is taking a 65%<br />
stake in an R11-billion joint venture with the Industrial Development<br />
Corporation at the Coega Industrial Development Zone. BAIC is a<br />
Chinese state-owned enterprise with several brands. The intention<br />
is to start production on the 85 000m² site in 2018 and the target is<br />
annual production of 100 000 cars, bakkies and sports utility vehicles.<br />
About 2 500 jobs are expected to be created. The Coega IDZ is run<br />
by the Coega Development Corporation.<br />
Companies like BAIC and FAW may well be positioning themselves<br />
to push into Africa, not only for selling vehicles but for sending<br />
automotive parts and partly assembled kits further north. A<br />
new pan-African organisation has been established to promote<br />
the auto industry on the continent,<br />
the African Association<br />
of Automotive Manufacturers<br />
(AAAM).<br />
The <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> manufactures<br />
half of the country’s passenger<br />
vehicles and provides<br />
51% of South Africa’s vehicle exports.<br />
The sector accounts for<br />
over 40 000 formal sector jobs<br />
in the <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>.<br />
The South Africa automotive<br />
sector makes up about 7% of<br />
South Africa’s gross domestic<br />
product and is responsible for<br />
approximately 12% of the country’s<br />
manufacturing exports.<br />
In 2014 South Africa exported<br />
276 404 vehicles and in 2015 a new<br />
record was achieved, 338 802.<br />
The total value of this (together<br />
with automotive parts exported)<br />
amounted to R151-billion. Total<br />
production in South Africa in<br />
2016 was expected to reach<br />
640 000 units.<br />
In 2015, Mercedes-Benz South<br />
Africa built its millionth vehicle<br />
EASTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2017</strong><br />
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