Mikel Mabasa, CEO of the Automotive Business Council (Naamsa), is stepping down after six and a half years in the role, the industry body said on Tuesday.
In a brief statement, Naamsa said Mabasa was leaving “to pursue personal interests outside the organisation”. It did not give a departure date or name a successor, saying further announcements about interim leadership arrangements would be made in due course.
“We thank Mikel for his dedication and leadership over the past six-and-a-half years. His impact on the organisation has been both substantive and enduring. We wish him every success in his future endeavours,” Naamsa said.
A transport economist by training, Mabasa was appointed Naamsa executive director in February 2019 before taking over as CEO. His tenure has coincided with a period of profound disruption in the global automotive industry, as manufacturers and policymakers grapple with the transition away from internal combustion engine vehicles.
Mabasa became one of the most vocal advocates for South Africa to develop a coherent new energy vehicle policy, repeatedly warning that the country’s automotive manufacturing base — its fifth-largest exporting sector — faced existential risk if it failed to adapt.
With the UK and Europe, South Africa’s biggest vehicle export markets, set to ban new internal combustion engine vehicle sales in the 2030s, he argued the country had only a narrow window to retool.
NEV framework
Under his leadership, Naamsa published a thought leadership document on NEVs in February 2023, calling for a fiscal and regulatory framework that would make South Africa a competitive location for NEV production.
He repeatedly criticised the slow pace of government policy development and pointed to Morocco — which has set a target of producing one million electric vehicles a year and has lured South African automotive engineers — as a cautionary example.
Read: The biggest untapped EV market on Earth is hiding in plain sight
Mabasa also pushed for the automotive sector to be given dedicated policy attention from government, arguing that the department of trade, industry & competition lacked the capacity to support the industry adequately. He highlighted that the sector contributes 4.3% of GDP and accounts for 17.3% of South Africa’s manufacturing output.
His departure comes as the NEV debate in South Africa reaches an inflection point.
In February, Toyota South Africa CEO Andrew Kirby warned that without urgent action on NEV policy, the country’s motoring industry faced deindustrialisation. Naamsa’s newly elected board, announced in January 2026 following the end of Billy Tom’s tenure as president, will now be tasked with finding a successor capable of carrying that policy fight forward.
Read: Toyota SA CEO: NEV inaction will cost South Africa its motoring industry
Beyond Naamsa, Mabasa has served as a council member of the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, deputy chair of the Presidential Climate Commission, and as a non-executive director of Business Unity South Africa and the Energy Council of South Africa. — (c) 2026 NewsCentral Media
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