A war of words has erupted in the automotive industry over cheap imports, local production and thousands of lost jobs.
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.
Unions at odds over rising Chinese car imports
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.
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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.
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.
Mabaso’s utterances ‘nothing less than a sabotage’
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.
He cautioned Mabasa about his “shocking” statement, saying his words were never uttered anywhere else, neither by business, labour, nor the government.
“We cannot immediately say what drives this dangerous narrative, but it is our view that the real reason and interest behind such a statement won’t be confidential forever,” Jim said.
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“To present the growing flood of imported vehicles – particularly from China – as fantastic and a needed wake-up call South Africa, and its vehicle assemblers, should simply accept.
“The cost of competition is a huge problem and Numsa rejects this ill-informed view with the contempt it deserves.”
The union said the statement undermined the common position and the clarion call by industry leadership and unions on what is to be done to address the reality of a job-loss bloodbath.
Numsa cited plant closures due to imports being dumped into local market
It cited plant closures due to imports being dumped into the local market, particularly from India and China.
Jim voiced concern the industry was facing an existential crisis, with workers permanently exposed to many social ills and miseries stemming from retrenchments and unemployment.
Naamsa’s statement aggravated the situation as it came on the heels of recent reports that vehicle sales in SA over the past year had achieved record levels, according to Numsa.
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The fact the industry was retrenching clearly meant the numbers were based on imports and not locally manufactured vehicles.
“To have the CEO of Naamsa celebrating this crisis is not only irritating but provocative. Clearly, he is out of depth with what is happening in the industry,” Jim said.
Numsa cited figures showing in 2018, both China’s and India’s imports were less than 1%. But in 2025, the two countries imports were approximately 26%.
Crisis led to closure of big, small, and medium-sized companies
It said the crisis had led to the closure of big, small, and medium-sized companies, especially in the auto and component supplier value chains.
“We are under siege from the cancer of job losses, where it is estimated that not less than 700 component jobs may be lost.
“We have on record 13 automotive value-chain [components] plant closures over the past 24 months, wiping out the jobs of 4 500 skilled workers.”
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Jim said the auto sector component value chain was badly hit. More cars are displaced by imports, which has a direct knockon effect on job losses and plant closures in the sector.
Numsa said at the end of the year, South Africa experienced the closure of the Goodyear tyre firm in the Eastern Cape, resulting in the loss of 900 jobs.
ZF Lifete, which supplies steering wheels, seatbelts and airbags, is on the verge of closure apparently because of the imports pouring into the country.