The Potential for Regional Value Chains in the Automotive Sector: Can SADC Learn from the ASEAN Experience?

This research paper explores the potential for establishing regional automotive value chains within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) by drawing lessons from the ASEAN Industrial Cooperation (AICO) scheme. It analyzes the current state of the automotive sector in Southern Africa, the barriers to integration, and potential strategies for enhancing regional competitiveness.

• South Africa dominates the automotive sector in the SADC region, which has limited regional integration primarily to the export of vehicles and components from South Africa to other member states. However, there is a trend of South African firms moving the production of specific components to other Southern African Customs Union (SACU) countries.
• Several factors hinder the competitiveness and integration of the SADC automotive industry, including insufficient market demand for new vehicles to achieve economies of scale, infrastructure bottlenecks, labour market constraints, and low levels of local value addition that impede the enforcement of SACU and SADC Rules of Origin and the Common Effective Preferential Tariff.
• To improve regional automotive integration, South Africa and private investors can provide technology and skill transfers to increase labour competitiveness and support small and medium enterprises in entering value chains. South Africa can also provide guidance to other SADC nations on developing competitive assembly and component operations.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2016). The Potential for Regional Value Chains in the Automotive Sector: Can SADC Learn from the ASEAN Experience? https://saiia.org.za/research/the-potential-for-regional-value-chains-in-the-automotive-sector-can-sadc-learn-from-the-asean-experience/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. The Potential for Regional Value Chains in the Automotive Sector: Can SADC Learn from the ASEAN Experience? 2016. https://saiia.org.za/research/the-potential-for-regional-value-chains-in-the-automotive-sector-can-sadc-learn-from-the-asean-experience/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=The Potential for Regional Value Chains in the Automotive Sector: Can SADC Learn from the ASEAN Experience? |date=17 June 2016 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/the-potential-for-regional-value-chains-in-the-automotive-sector-can-sadc-learn-from-the-asean-experience/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2016potential, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{The Potential for Regional Value Chains in the Automotive Sector: Can SADC Learn from the ASEAN Experience?}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2016}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/the-potential-for-regional-value-chains-in-the-automotive-sector-can-sadc-learn-from-the-asean-experience/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }