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Africa’s mineral resources give the continent an important stake in the future of automotive manufacturing. As vehicle technologies change, the opportunity is to connect those resources to the production of materials, components and vehicles within Africa.

Doing so would allow the continent to capture more of the economic value associated with its minerals and build manufacturing capabilities that can support jobs and exports.

South Africa offers a starting point. Its established automotive industry, supplier base and mineral resources provide a foundation for participation in new energy vehicle (NEV) supply chains. The challenge is to translate that foundation into investment in local production, supported by regional partnerships and the infrastructure manufacturers need to compete.

The relationship between mining and automotive manufacturing is already well established. South Africa’s platinum-group metals (PGMs) are used extensively in catalytic converters for internal combustion engines (ICE) and hybrid vehicles. The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources estimates that the country supplied 70% of global mined platinum in 2023. This illustrates the scale of South Africa’s contribution to automotive technology and the importance of preparing for changes in demand.

Electrification changes the mineral mix. Lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite are important inputs for batteries, while copper and aluminium support vehicle electrification and the associated charging and electricity infrastructure. PGMs also have a role in hydrogen fuel cell applications, creating a further potential avenue for South Africa’s mineral and manufacturing industries.

Africa therefore has several routes into the changing automotive value chain. Their commercial prospects will differ, but the common task is to connect mineral availability with the processing and manufacturing capabilities required by vehicle producers. Resource endowments alone do not establish a competitive component industry.

Building on the existing automotive base

South Africa is approaching this transition with an established production and export platform. In 2025, the country produced 618,077 vehicles, while automotive exports, including vehicles and components, reached R291 billion. These activities provide an industrial base from which to pursue new opportunities as global vehicle production changes.

The need to deepen that base remains clear. Local content was around 38% in 2025, well below the South African Automotive Masterplan’s ambition of 60% by 2035 and 2025 interim target of 48%. The transition to NEVs offers two distinct, yet important opportunities to increase local content. On the one hand, while much of the world places sole focus on NEVs, ICE vehicles still attract significant demand, particularly within Africa – this creates a clear pathway for South Africa to onshore and localise legacy ICE componentry to satisfy this demand. 

On the other hand, the NEV transition presents an opportunity for the country to move into higher value and technology component production – something that remains limited in the current sector. This second opportunity is heavily underpinned by South Africa’s and the broader SADC region’s mineral endowments.

Research undertaken through the Automotive Supply Chain Competitiveness Initiative (ASCCI) has identified opportunities in batteries, electric motors, power electronics, high-voltage wiring harnesses, fuel cells and thermal management systems. The significance of these opportunities lies in their connection to capabilities already present in the automotive supplier industry, as well as the new capabilities that investment could develop.

Battery production, for example, encompasses more than the manufacture of cells. It includes materials, modules and packs, battery management systems, cooling systems and casings. This creates several possible entry points for local manufacturers.

Electric motors, power electronics and high-voltage wiring harnesses offer further opportunities to connect South Africa’s minerals and materials, metal processing, engineering and automotive capabilities with the requirements of electrified vehicles. Fuel-cell technologies provide another potential application for the country’s PGMs, which are used as catalysts in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Each opportunity requires a clear assessment of demand, production capability and competitiveness.

Connecting regional resources to manufacturing

South Africa does not need every mineral required for an electric vehicle battery within its borders to participate in the value chain. Regional cooperation can connect its manufacturing capabilities with complementary mineral resources elsewhere in Africa. Copper and cobalt from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia, for example, can form part of a broader regional proposition alongside South Africa’s mineral and industrial base. The Democratic Republic of the Congo accounted for an estimated 75% of global mined cobalt production in 2024, illustrating the region’s significance to battery supply chains. 

Identified regional opportunities include spherical graphite in East Africa, high-purity manganese sulphate in South Africa and Gabon, and purified phosphoric acid in Morocco. These illustrate the range of potential activities across the continent and the scope to develop complementary production capabilities.

The objective should be to build regional value chains in which countries participate according to their resources, industrial capabilities and access to markets. South Africa, and other assembly hubs like Kenya, Morocco and Egypt can contribute established automotive and industrial capabilities, while other countries can participate at different stages. This approach would connect mining and processing more closely to manufacturing without requiring every country to reproduce the entire vehicle assembly value chain.

For South Africa, the opportunity is to position itself as a downstream manufacturing hub within that regional network. Chemical processing, automotive components, battery systems and vehicle manufacturing can connect mineral inputs to finished products. Engineering, logistics and established export markets are part of the same proposition. These capabilities need to be developed together if regional supply chains are to attract sustained investment.

Turning opportunity into investment and jobs

The timing of investment matters. Global manufacturers are making decisions about where future NEV production and supply chains will be located. South Africa needs to secure a place in those decisions before production commitments are concentrated in competing regions. Morocco’s announced investments in lithium processing, batteries and battery components illustrate the competition for these activities within Africa itself.

The employment opportunity is also conditional. A recent NAACAM study undertaken in partnership with the International Labour Organization identified potential for direct jobs to be created or sustained in the NEV value chain by 2035. This includes the potential to create approximately 3,370 direct jobs through the localisation of high-voltage wiring harnesses, thermal management systems and hydrogen fuel cells. Realising that potential depends on OEM investment commitments and supportive policy interventions.

Projected employment should therefore be understood as an opportunity to pursue, rather than an assured outcome of mineral availability. Reliable electricity and transport infrastructure will be central to that effort. Mineral processing and manufacturing need dependable energy, while automotive production relies on consistent delivery of inputs. South Africa’s rail capacity constraints and wider logistics challenges affect the ability of mining and manufacturing businesses to serve customers competitively.

These constraints are particularly significant for automotive suppliers operating within just-in-time production systems. Investment decisions must account for the reliability of the entire supply chain, including the movement of materials between mines, processing facilities, component manufacturers and vehicle plants. Regional cooperation will deliver limited value if those connections cannot function consistently.

Skills development is equally necessary. The Automotive Masterplan identifies artisan, technical, professional and advanced management skills as requirements for global competitiveness. Suppliers entering new areas of production will need the relevant expertise alongside equipment and investment.

Supportive policy must therefore help create the conditions for manufacturing, including dependable infrastructure and the development of the required skills.

Africa’s mineral wealth provides a basis for greater participation in automotive production, but the economic outcome will depend on what is manufactured from those resources and where that manufacturing takes place. For countries like South Africa, the priority would be to connect established automotive capabilities with regional mineral supply, attract investment into commercially viable components and increase local content. 

That is how the NEV transition can contribute to a more competitive and wider spread African automotive industry whilst sustaining and growing industrial employment.