Progress in automotive industry transition to APDP

The technical work for the completion of the transition from the Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP) to the Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP) in 2013 has largely been completed, Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies said this week when he launched the revised three-year rolling Industrial Policy Action Plan.
“The sector has demonstrated an unequivocal vote of confidence in South African capabilities and policy in the form of over R15bn in recent investment commitments from both assemblers and component suppliers, much of which is already under way,” he said.
“This has been accompanied by large increases in vehicle assembly volumes and localisation of componentry. Even as policy is being finalised to broaden our interventions into the Medium and Heavy Commercial vehicle segments, significant investment interest and commitments have already been attracted including a recent $100m commitment in a joint truck and car assembly facility.”
In the clothing and textile industry there has also been significant progress, he said. “We recognised that the Duty Credit Certificate Programme was not working and moved decisively to replace it with an industry upgrading incentive in 2009: the Clothing Textile Competitiveness Programme (CTCP).
“This has resulted in significant competitiveness improvements and brought manufacturers and retailers closer together to take advantage of the proximity, quality and flexibility that domestic manufacturers now offer,” he said. “Despite the fact that implementation of the CTCP overlapped with the global economic crisis the programme managed to arrest employment losses in the sector by 2010, with a modest increase in employment seen in 2011.”