Located at the southern tip of the African continent, South Africa is the second largest economy in the continent.
The manufacturing sector is key to the country’s economy.
In recent years, the South African government has sought to boost re-industrialization with investment from advanced global manufacturers.
In 2014, Transnet Engineering, a division of the South African National Railway Company, bought 359 electric locomotives from China’s CRRC Corporation, the world’s largest supplier of rail transit equipment. The first batch of 40 locomotives were designed and manufactured in China. According to the agreement, the key components of the remaining 319 locomotives will be manufactured in South Africa in the future.
Besides transferring technologies to local manufacturers, one of the largest automotive companies in China, First Automotive Works (FAW) opened its new production operation in the Coega industrial development zone of Nelson Mandela Bay in 2014. The production capacity of this plant is 5,000 trucks per year. The Deputy CEO of FAW in South Africa, Hao Jianyu said that his company also plans to build an automotive industry chain in the years to come.
