Aerial view of new cars unloaded from the BYD Changzhou ship at the Zarate Port on the Parana River in Zarate, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina taken on January 19, 2026. Concerns are growing over SA’s automotive sector with the flood of cheap vehicle imports. (Photo by Tomas CUESTA / AFP) Tensions are mounting in the automotive sector as employers and unions grapple with the impact of cheap Chinese imports flooding the local market, resulting in the loss of close to 5 000 jobs over the past two years.
At the same time, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) appealed to the industry to speak with one voice with unions against cheap imports. They said they must demand imports are built in plants in South Africa instead of having the goods dumped in the country. The union pointed fingers at China and India as culprits.
But a war of words that has erupted between Numsa and the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa) has seemingly aggravated any semblance of unity over their common challenge. The boiling point comes as the automotive industry faces a contradictory situation: ongoing retrenchments, while last year’s strong car sales figures suggest a positive outlook for this year. The bone of contention was a statement issued by Naamsa CEO Mikel Mabasa, in which he said Chinese imports are “fantastic”– a wake-up call SA and its vehicle assemblers should simply accept.
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This prompted an angry response from Numsa, which lambasted Mabaso, calling his statement the “worst adventurism” and a “reflection of extreme opportunism”. The union said the cost of competition is a huge problem and Numsa rejected Mabaso’s “ill-informed view” with the contempt it deserves and accused him of celebrating the industry’s crisis. Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim said Mabaso’s utterances were “nothing less than a sabotage” of the already distressed automotive industry. It demanded an explanation of the statement from the industry leadership.
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