The final meeting of the "Research to Support the African Automotive Industry:
On January 24, 2022, the African Association of Auto Companies and JICA collaborated to give a webcast on distribution chain and mobility reform in the wake of COVID-19. (AAAM). Nearly 400 people signed up for the conference, with attendees coming from more than 20 different African countries as well as other places. Legislators from various national governmental bodies, private automakers, local and regional business associations, multilateral organisations, and development partners were among the attendees.
Innovations CASE
The African Continental Free Trade Association, according to AAAM, represents the biggest opportunity in the global automotive industry (AfCFTA). Africa needs to industrialise right immediately, which necessitates bold leadership, deliberate action, and carefully thought-out national policies. Important variables affecting the industry include the COVID-19 outbreak, CASE (Connected, Automation, Distributed, and Electrical) advances, and reducing emissions policies.
Adoption of new technology
Following that, the research team presented the study's early findings, which included the state of the local industry. The group then came up with four vision goals for the sector, including improved European cooperation, shipping lines from North and South Africa attempting to implement cutting-edge innovations (like sustainable energy vehicles), the creation of regional hubs for assembly processes in the remaining Sub-Saharan Africa, and upstream transformation via end formalisation and cutting-edge transport networks.
Importance of scale economies in manufacturing
Themba Khumalo, the main industrial growth advisor for the AfCFTA Administration, noted that the ongoing work to design Origin Rules that enable industrialization and value chain expansion is moving forward. He also discussed the opportunities that a single, united economy with 1.3 billion people can provide for the car sector.
Estimated increase in new vehicle sales
According to Mr. Dave Coffey, if ambitious nations are to raise new vehicle sales from approximately one million before COVID-19 to five million at least over the course of the next fifteen years, they must have a clear route to success and growth. The construction of a "global coalition" made up of players from the entire region and its regions is required under the Pan-African Automotive Pact's major development path.
A critical role for the private sector
Isuzu East Africa's managing director, Ms. Rita Kavashe, discussed the growth of forthcoming assembly hubs. She stressed the need of the government industry collaborating with the federal government to come up with solutions, such as restricting the import of used automobiles, as well as the role that auto financing has in boosting consumer demand. Dr. Markus Thill, Director of Bosch Africa, highlighted the prospects for formalisation and jobs in the automotive aftermarket, noting that the region must service at least fifty million vehicles annually. Given the extensive usage of subpar, frequently low-quality parts, this is especially true.
Innovative mobility services
The chief executive of Toyota Tsusho Group's Mobility 54 Invested capital, Takeshi Watanabe, made reference to the trying to cut mobility services or innovations that offer opportunities in Africa, particularly if automatization can be used to overperform conventional alternatives and start producing employment for people, services, and quality enhancement. He gave an example utilising Kenya's Sendy trading platform to show how to achieve it.
Locally based supply chains
After the panellists answered concerns raised by the audience and spoke about the importance of phased and synchronised policy initiatives in the areas of trade laws and supply chain localization, Mr. Toru Homma, Special Advisor on Private Industry Advancement from JICA, who supervised the Study and partially mediated the event, managed to bring the seminar to a close.
The conversation was one of the opening events of this year's 8th Tokyo World Congress on African Development (TICAD8). The Summary Report for the Research for the Development of the African Automobile Sector will eventually be available on the JICA website.
