Steenhuisen wants R107.5 billion in car parts made here as artisan numbers fall

South Africa imported roughly R107.5 billion worth of replacement vehicle parts in 2025, and the deputy minister of trade, industry and competition wants more of them made here.

John Steenhuisen put that number to industry leaders at the Automechanika Johannesburg 2026 CEO Breakfast at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, where he argued that localising replacement parts is the clearest jobs opportunity in the automotive aftermarket. “Every additional percentage point of localisation in replacement parts represents jobs created, industrial capability strengthened, foreign exchange retained, and value added within South Africa,” he said.

The sector’s scale, as he presented it: about R933 billion traded in 2025, a R202.6 billion contribution to GDP, more than 310,000 jobs supported, roughly 70% of automotive employment, across more than 23,000 businesses, mostly small and medium-sized enterprises. “These are not peripheral activities. They are central to South Africa’s economic resilience, industrial capability, and mobility,” Steenhuisen said.

The case for local production rests on the age of the national fleet. South Africa has about 13 million vehicles on its roads, averaging almost 11 years old, with 76% outside their warranty periods. Older cars need more parts, and Steenhuisen told the breakfast that domestic manufacturing of replacement parts is where that demand should be met.

He also used the platform to press two policy levers. The ongoing review of the Automotive Production and Development Programme, APDP2, should look at the whole automotive value chain rather than vehicle manufacturing alone, extending to the businesses that keep vehicles running through their operational lives. And the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, is an opening to expand South African exports of replacement parts, remanufactured components and specialised automotive services. South Africa, he said, has the engineering expertise, distribution networks and industrial capability to become a leading automotive aftermarket hub for Africa.

The skills picture he set out is less comfortable. South Africa has approximately 31% fewer qualified automotive artisans than in 2009, even as apprenticeship numbers rise. Steenhuisen called for closer work between government, industry and training institutions to prepare young South Africans for electric vehicles, advanced diagnostics and artificial intelligence-enabled systems.

He attached a second cost to the sector’s performance, telling the breakfast that road crashes cost South Africa almost R200 billion in 2025, equivalent to roughly 2.8% of GDP, and pointing to vehicle maintenance as part of the road safety argument.

His closing instruction was about delivery rather than intent. “South Africa must move from investment announcements to practical implementation,” he said, and “Localisation must extend beyond the factory gate. It must include the businesses that keep South Africans moving every day.”

The document this report is drawn from is SAnews’s summary of the address, published on 28 October 2026, not a transcript of the speech or a policy paper. No implementation plan, funding commitment or deadline accompanied the remarks in that record. The APDP2 review he referenced is under way, but the summary gives no date for its conclusion.

The source is SAnews (South African Government News Agency): https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/steenhuisen-calls-greater-localisation-investment-and-job-creation