Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau has called for closer cooperation between African countries to grow the continent’s car industry. He said more automotive investment would help create jobs and expand trade.
Tau spoke on Friday at the Africa Automotive Investment Forum in El-Alamein, Egypt. The forum was hosted by Afreximbank at the Rixos Hotel Alamein, on the sidelines of the first Alamein Africa Forum.
“Africa still accounts for a small share of global automotive production, but the continent has strong foundations to build on,” Tau said.
According to SAnews, Africa has produced about 1.23 million vehicles in total. This is about 1.3% of the world’s vehicle production.
South Africa produced about 618,077 vehicles in 2025. Morocco reported reaching one million vehicles in production in December 2025. The two countries made more than 91% of Africa’s vehicles.
Tau said governments, banks, carmakers, suppliers and investors must work together. He said they should build projects that can attract funding and make regional supply chains stronger.
He also said the African Continental Free Trade Area should be used to grow trade between African countries and support industry.
The government said the AfCFTA Automotive Fund is expected to help local production and supplier networks. The fund is backed by a US$1 billion Afreximbank facility for local content. The longer term goal is to make between four million and five million vehicles in Africa by 2035. This includes new energy vehicles and their parts.
Tau also spoke about a proposed car industry pact between the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and Egypt. He said the idea of automotive pacts in Africa has been discussed for some time, including by the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers.
“SACU sees value in exploring structured partnerships with major African economies such as Egypt to strengthen developmental integration and expand intra-African trade,” Tau said.
He said SACU has also looked at possible pacts with Algeria. According to Tau, a pact with Egypt could help factories produce at a larger scale. He said it could also stop countries from making small numbers of the same competing models.
Tau said the pact could increase trade in new vehicles and parts between African countries. He said it could also help local suppliers grow.
He said Egypt is an important partner because it has one of Africa’s largest economies. He added that it has a large home market and links Africa to the Middle East and Europe.
Tau said that under the South African Automotive Master Plan 2035, government and industry are working to raise production and local content. He said the plan also aims to bring in more black-owned and women-owned firms.
He said South Africa wants investment in the assembly of passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, buses and trucks. He added that South African firms are ready to invest in other African markets. This includes parts, dealerships, logistics, charging stations and battery supply chains.
Tau is part of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s delegation to the 8th African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting. Ramaphosa is set to lead the Southern African Development Community’s participation at the meeting on Sunday.
Source: this article is based on reporting by SAnews.gov.za. Image: GCIS via SAnews.gov.za. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Business desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Anelisa Nkuna covers business and money news for Tzaneen Voice. Anelisa reports on the rand, fuel prices, interest rates, jobs, Eskom, Transnet, farming and company results. The aim is simple: explain what the numbers mean for household budgets, small businesses and workers in South Africa.