Car industry: Assurance of policy certainty

SOUTH Africa expects car manufacturers to maintain “significant” investment in the country, supported by government incentives and programmes, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (dti). “Over the last two years we’ve had R6 billion of investments,” dti deputy director general Garth Strachan said last week. “We are confident that in the next two years we’ll match that.” A review of South Africa’s Automotive Production and Development Programme, which offers benefits and incentives to manufacturers including Toyota, BMW and Mercedes- Benz, had entered a final round of consultations with car makers andwas”fairly close” to completion, Strachan said. The government was committed to providing policy certainty given the importance of the car industry, he said. – Bloomberg