For nearly a century, South Africa has been the anchor of vehicle manufacturing on the continent.
That long-held advantage has helped sustain jobs, exports and industrial investment.
But new production figures suggest the balance has shifted, and not in South Africa’s favour.
South Africa loses top spot as Africa’s largest vehicle producer
South Africa has lost its position as Africa’s largest vehicle producer, after Morocco overtook it in annual vehicle output in 2025, Mybroadband reports.
The shift marks a significant setback for the local automotive industry, which has struggled to regain momentum amid global competition and slow growth.
Morocco reached a key milestone in early December 2025, producing one million vehicles in a single year. That represents an increase of roughly 79% from the 559 645 vehicles it manufactured during the whole of 2024.
South Africa, by comparison, has seen little movement. While the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) has not yet released final production figures for 2025, available data points to stagnation rather than growth.
Between January and November 2025, South African factories produced 554 613 vehicles, only slightly up from 548 819 over the same period in 2024.
To come close to Morocco’s output, local manufacturers would have needed to match nearly an entire year’s production in a single month.
Morocco a major manufacturing hub
Morocco’s rise is especially notable given its recent entry into the automotive space.
Just 15 years ago, the country was not exporting any vehicles at all. Since then, aggressive government support has helped turn it into a major manufacturing hub.
Tax incentives and wide-ranging free trade agreements with major markets, including the European Union, the United States and China, encouraged global carmakers such as Renault and Stellantis to establish production plants in Morocco in 2012 and 2019.
The country has also moved faster than South Africa into electric vehicle (EV) production, an area seen as critical to the future of the industry.
Morocco began producing its first EV, Opel’s Rocks-e, in 2021. South Africa has yet to manufacture a fully electric vehicle locally.
For South Africa’s vehicle manufacturing sector, the numbers highlight a growing challenge, not only keeping pace with new competitors, but adapting quickly enough to a rapidly changing global industry.
