Janette Moore – Kenton Times kentontimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kentontimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
12 March 2021 - 06:00 David Furlonger Picture: REUTERS
The dream is clear: develop a pan-African motor industry to service a new-vehicle market that will grow by 400% over the next 15 years. Multinational vehicle and components companies say they are prepared to invest billions of dollars to promote regional manufacturing hubs to service the world’s last great untapped continental market.
But there’s a hitch. Many African countries, including some of the most populous, lack credible banking systems that allow any but the wealthiest to finance the purchase of high-value goods.
So who will buy the millions of vehicles needed to justify motor companies’ investments?
by
JOHANNESBURG,
(CAJ News) – THE German automotive industry is strengthening its partnership with Africa, where it sees significant potential.
As part of the expansion of ties, the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) has partnered with the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) as part of the Partner Africa project of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The partnership-based ties between VDA and AAAM comprises cooperation with local and regional structures.
This is to help the automotive industry improve access to sometimes difficult markets.
For VDA, cooperation with Africa focuses on expanding the sustainability strategy beyond products and production to include energy sources, such as e-fuels, and digital mobility solutions.
German, African carmakers to boost cooperation
German-African auto partnership
The German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) has joined hands with AAAM, the Association of African Automotive Manufacturers, hoping to improve those stats. Every large market started out small and that s why it s important to adapt to market conditions early on, to be present at an early stage, VDA s Kurt-Christian Scheel told DW. Africa is a continent with very good growth prospects, with a potential that is still very little tapped.
China offers a promising precedent. When VW entered the Chinese market in the 1980s, very few people owned cars in the Asian country. Today, China accounts for nearly 40% of VW s global sales.