Pan-African motor industry hoped to produce and sell 3 mil. vehicles by 2035 — AAAM

Plans for a pan-African car industry, both for production and a growing consumer market, are gradually moving beyond the talking stage and into the realms of action, with more than half of the continent’s nations likely to take part in the African-wide automotive development.

After the European car industry moved much of its production into Eastern Europe, it may now be Africa’s turn, some industry experts say, as Morocco overtook South Africa as the biggest African exporter of passenger cars in 2018, emerging as the continent’s automotive manufacturing hub. Both countries mainly make cars for foreign markets, but also for their relatively large domestic markets.

With only 44 vehicles per 1,000 people sold on average in Africa, compared with the global average of 180 and 800 in the United States, according to consulting firm McKinsey & Company, the potential for growth on the continent is huge — and this is where the master plan to develop a pan-African automotive sector comes into picture.

According to African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) CEO Dave Coffey, if all goes to plan, at least half of Africa’s 54 countries will eventually be part of an African-wide motor industry producing more than 5-million vehicles a year.

Just as Egypt has recently announced a significant investment in its fledgling car-making sector, other African countries are putting in place automotive-friendly policies that will allow them a slice of the action. Multinational car manufacturers are also setting up production plants in Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria and Rwanda, and there are also efforts to produce “homegrown” cars with several startups, such as Mobius Motors in Kenya, Kiira Motors in Uganda, while Innoson is another indigenous brand in Nigeria. The AAAM hopes African production and sales can both exceed 3-million by 2035.