Inside South Africa's Auto Industry: How APDP Keeps SA Building Cars

South Africa''s automotive manufacturing industry — built over 60 years around plants in Uitenhage, Rosslyn, Silverton, Prospecton and East London — survives and thrives because of a carefully constructed government support programme. The Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP), introduced in 2013 to replace the earlier Motor Industry Development Programme, provides volume-based production incentives to manufacturers who meet specified local content thresholds. **How APDP Works** Manufacturers earn Production Incentive credits based on manufactured vehicle volumes. These credits can be used to offset import duties on components — allowing manufacturers to source specific components globally (where quality or scale advantages exist) while maintaining local assembly. **The Numbers** South Africa assembles approximately 650,000 vehicles per year and exports approximately 380,000 of these globally. Total automotive exports generate approximately R140 billion annually — the single largest manufacturing export category. **The Manufacturers** Toyota: Prospecton (Durban) — Hilux, Corolla Quest, Fortuner Volkswagen: Uitenhage (Eastern Cape) — Polo Vivo, Polo (some) Ford: Silverton (Pretoria) — Ranger BMW: Rosslyn (Pretoria) — 3 Series, X3 Isuzu: Struandale (Port Elizabeth) — D-Max, MU-X, commercial vehicles Mercedes-Benz: East London — C-Class (ended production 2022) **Post-2022 APDP Phase 2** The current APDP Phase 2 runs to 2035, providing manufacturers with investment security. The additional EV requirements — manufacturers must begin transitioning toward EV production by 2030 — set the framework for SA''s automotive EV future.