BRICS Collaboration Key to South Africa’s Green Mobility Future — MEC Lebogang Maile at NEV Summit 2025

Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Lebogang Maile, opened Day 1 of the New Energy Vehicle (NEV) Summit 2025 with a keynote address linking South Africa’s automotive transformation to global cooperation — particularly within BRICS nations. Maile emphasized that partnerships through BRICS can help South Africa access the technology, investment, and skills needed to develop a sustainable and competitive new energy vehicle industry. The MEC noted that as global markets transition to electric mobility, collaboration across the BRICS bloc will be critical to reducing dependence on Western trade, diversifying export markets, and driving local industrialisation. “South Africa’s future in the automotive sector must be aligned with the global shift toward cleaner technologies — and BRICS provides a platform for shared innovation and production partnerships,” Maile said. Addressing delegates, Maile highlighted the urgent challenges facing South Africa’s auto industry — from U.S. trade tariffs to factory closures and job losses in regions such as East London and Gqeberha. He warned that U.S. tariffs under Section 232 have led to an 82% decline in vehicle exports and threaten over 110,000 direct jobs in the sector. However, Maile framed these challenges as an opportunity to pivot towards new energy vehicle production, positioning South Africa as a regional hub for electric mobility. He outlined a series of national and provincial interventions — including the 150% tax rebate for NEV manufacturers starting in March 2026 and over R1 billion allocated for local NEV and battery production. Maile also underscored Gauteng’s commitment to mineral beneficiation and battery manufacturing, citing the OR Tambo-based Jewellery Manufacturing Precinct as a model for value addition that could extend into green energy technologies. “We must move beyond being exporters of raw materials to producers of value-added products that create jobs and retain wealth locally,” he said. Highlighting the environmental dimension, Maile noted that new energy vehicles could help tackle Johannesburg’s air pollution crisis, which causes over 5,000 premature deaths annually, while offering cheaper, cleaner transport solutions. He concluded by linking new energy vehicles to South Africa’s energy security agenda, noting that Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technology could support grid stability by turning vehicles into mobile power storage units. “By investing in new energy vehicles, we are not only future-proofing our automotive sector but also reaffirming its central role in South Africa’s green economic transition,” Maile stated. The NEV Summit 2025, hosted at Gallagher Convention Centre, brings together government, industry, labour, and academia to chart a roadmap for South Africa’s transition to electric mobility — and explore how BRICS cooperation can accelerate the shift toward a cleaner, more resilient automotive future. Read his full address below.
October 23, 2025

KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT THE NEW ENERGY VEHICLES (NEV) SUMMIT 2025

22 OCTOBER 2025

GALLAGHER CONVENTION CENTRE

 

 

Programme Director;

CEO of the Automotive Industry Development Centre, Mr Andile Africa;

Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Honourable Dada Morero;

Secretary General of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, Mr Irvin Jim;

Representative of TopTec Batteries, Ms Xianglan Hu;

CEO of the National Association of Automotive Components and Allied Manufacturers, Ms Renai Moothilal;

The board and management of theAutomotive Industry Development Centre;

Leaders of business, labour,civil society and academia;

Members of the media;

Ladies and gentlemen

 

 

It is an honour to stand before you this afternoon on this occasion of the New Energy Vehicles Summit. This summit takes place during Transport Month which has defined, as some of its key areas, emphasis on the move towards safer, smarter,and more environmentally friendly transport solutions, as well as connecting the role of transport in growing the economy, creating jobs, and providing access to work, education, and entertainment. 

 

The discussion on the importance of New Energy Vehicles is taking place at a critical time in South Africa where the future of the automotive industry is at the centre of national discourse. The South African automotive industry is facing a tough operating environment, heightened by the imposition of a unilateral 30 percent reciprocal trade tariff by the government of the United States - which has consistently been South Africa’s second-largest trading partner and key export destination for SA-manufactured vehicles. On the manufacturing side, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) also face mounting challenges.

 

South Africa’s automotive sector is particularly vulnerable to the 25 percent sectoral tariff imposed under Section 232 of the United States Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which specifically targets automotive exports. The South African automotive industry is a cornerstone of the economy and contributes 22.6 percent to total domestic manufacturing output. It also directly supports over 110 000 formal sector jobs – a significant number in an economy that is battling with the creation of sustainable employment.

 

As was correctly asserted by the Automotive Business Council a few months ago, the tariffs,and the broader uncertainty in our trade relations with the United States, strike at the heart of South Africa’s industrialisation agenda and threaten future investment in high-value manufacturing. Consider that Mercedes Benz in East London exports at least 90 percent of its vehicles to the United States. The devastating consequences for the East London Special Economic Zone (SEZ) are thus evident.

 

Tariffs have had a severe impact on South Africa's automotive industry, leading to a sharp dropin exports to the United States, job losses, company closures, and reduced GDP contribution of the automotive sector. As things stand, vehicle exports to the United States have fallen drastically, with one report noting an 82 percent drop in the first half of 2025 compared to the previous year. 

 

The industry has also experienced lay offs and job losses, with thousands of positions under threat due to companies losing contracts and reducing production. At least 12 company closures have been linked to these pressures, impacting the component manufacturing sector and its over 80 000 employees. 

 

Mr Irvin Jim, who is here with us this afternoon, knows too well the threat to communities posed by these tariffs. Communities like East London, and the broader Eastern Cape province, which are heavily dependent on the automotive sector, are at risk of economic destabilisation. Beyond job losses, NUMSA has also highlighted the risk of short-time that has been introduced at 26 companies in the Eastern Cape – many based in Gqeberha.

 

Various economists have identified three structural challenges that are currently confronting the automotive industry, specifically, navigating South Africa’s exposure to tariff barriers in the United States as outlined, the danger ofdumping, and adapting to the global shift towards new energy vehicles. But while these are real challenges with far-reaching implications, critical interventions can transform them into opportunities – particularly in relation to new energy vehicles.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, new energy vehicles are crucial for South Africa's future as they offer significant economic and environmental benefits, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering fuel costs, while supporting industrial growth and job creation through local manufacturing and infrastructure development. 

 

New energy vehicles produce significantly fewer greenhouse gases and pollutants compared to internal combustion engine vehicles, which can help in combating urban air pollution and climate change. Here in the City of Johannesburg, air pollution has already proven to have catastrophic consequences. A report by the Clean Air Fund indicates that in 2019, around 5 300 premature deaths were attributed to air pollution in Johannesburg. At the national level, air pollution related deaths, at 29 830, exceeded premature deaths caused by tuberculosis, which stood at 19 784 in the same year.

 

Air pollution produced by industrial and power plants, biomass fuels and road transport, as well as seasonal smog could damage tourism and investment prospects as the city grows.  The impact on public health is also significant, particularly as the public health system is confronted withstructural challenges that include a growing population in South Africa’s wealthiest province. Thus, the Gauteng Provincial Government views new energy vehicles as having a direct link to the prospects of our broader provincial economy.

 

The place of new energy vehicles is also clear when their lower operating costs and potentialfor industrial growth. Electricity is cheaper than petrol and diesel, and energy vehicles have fewer moving parts, reducing overall maintenance costs. Additionally, as South Africa’s automotive industry contributes over 4 percent to GDP and 12.5 percent to exports, transitioning to new energy vehicles can safeguard this sector’s global competitiveness, especially with European Union bans on internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035.

 

New energy vehicles are also key to a Just Energy Transition, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, which can help reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels that are increasingly subject to price volatility. They could position South Africa to become a hub for regional battery production and new energy vehicle technology.

 

Recognising this potential, the national government has released Green and White papers outlining plans for new energy vehicle production, infrastructure, and skills development. As a result of this intervention, a 150 percent tax rebate for new energy vehicle production starts in March 2026, with over R1 billion having recently been allocated to support local new energy vehicle and battery manufacturing.

 

Such investments in local battery production address the salient challenge that new energy vehicles pose – mainly that they are significantly more expensive than internal combustion energy vehicles due to import duties and more importantly,a lack of local battery production.

 

The national government is currently finalising a strategy to secure supply chains for critical minerals like cobalt, lithium, and nickel, which are essential for battery production. This is part of a larger plan to beneficiate these materialslocally instead of exporting raw forms. This is in alignment with the Gauteng Province’s mineral beneficiation strategy that focuses on adding value toraw materials by transforming them into higher-value products, with a key role in refining precious and base metals. 

 

We are aiming to leverage the province’s economic strength and infrastructure, including special economic zones, to support industries like diamond and gold processing, as wellas the manufacturing of components for renewable energy technologies such asbatteries and catalytic converters, contributing to the green energy transition.

 

Just a few months ago, we launched the Jewellery Manufacturing Precinct, located in the OR Tambo Special Economic Zone near OR Tambo International Airport. The JMP is Africa's first such facility, designed to process and add value to minerals extracted in South Africa by bringing together companies for diamond cutting, polishing,and jewellery manufacturing, aiming to boost exports and create job.

 

Developing local battery manufacturing capacity for new energy vehicles, and mineral beneficiation broadly, will address our economic diversification, ensuring that we move beyond raw material extraction to create a more value-added mineral economy and to retain more wealth within the province and the country broadly.

 

Further more, such interventions will address skills gaps through partnerships with universities and other institutions to ensure a qualified workforce for research,development, and skilled manufacturing. At the heart of our strategic approach is developing and strengthening public-private partnerships, which must necessarily be central to the engagements at this important summit.

 

Programme Director,I wish to conclude by drawing the link between new energy vehicles and the ongoing challenge of energy security in South Africa and especially in Gauteng,which is the nerve-centre of the regional economy as well as its manufacturing hub. New energy vehicle technology, particularly Vehicle-to-Everything, can play a crucial role in helping to stabilise the grid by allowing energy vehicles toact as distributed energy storage units. This is especially beneficial in urban areas with unreliable power.

 

We have witnessed the devastating effects of energy insecurity to households and businesses alike, and the impact on the national economy has been severe. By investing in new energy vehicles, we have the opportunity to turn the tide while also reaffirming the importance of the auto industry to South Africa's economy. 

 

Thank you.

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