Foreign and local investment in the South African Motor Industry 1924–1992

Abstract

Abstract Capital investment is the lifeblood of industry — without investors willing to finance manufacturing capacity, South Africa would not have a motor sector. As a key element in South Africa's economic history, however, research into patterns of investment across and within specific sectors has been woefully neglected. This paper explores the history of investment and disinvestment in the South African motor industry over the last 70 years — from an outlay of £11 000 for the first vehicle assembly plant in 1924, to today's investment of well over R5 billion by the assemblers alone. 1 State Archives (Pretoria), Department of Commerce and Industry, (HEN) 60/2/1 pt 1, H. Stockelbach, Director, Ford SA, to Secretary, Board of Trade and Industry (BTI), 11/2/25; Naamsa presentation to the National Bargaining Forum, April 1991: Slide 18 The essay describes the sources, scale and motivation behind investment and disinvestment in both the assembly and components manufacturing sectors. This encompasses private investment by overseas and local firms, as well as financing by the government-owned Industrial Development Corporation. While the paper purports to cover the entire history of the industry's development, the bulk of the attention is focused on the post-1960 era, as the period in which investment in the industry has grown most rapidly. It should be noted that the paper merely scratches the surface of this vast and many-layered topic. A much more thorough excavation of individual sectors and companies is required to provide a fuller understanding of South Africa's largest secondary industry, and of the country's role in the international economy.