South Africa will host the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) and its member national standards bodies of ARSO Technical Committee 59 – Automotive Technology and Engineering. The four-day event includes the participation of technical experts from the automotive industry across the African member national standards bodies.
“The African landscape for automotive requirements is changing rapidly as the demand for fuel efficient and low carbon emissions grows. South Africa is leading the continent with 931 new fully electric vehicles (EVs) sold in South Africa during 2023, a new record for the segment. Continental growth is expected to increase as the SABS is at an advanced stage of offering a certification scheme for components of electric vehicles”, says Lungelo Ntobongwana, Acting CEO of the SABS, at the opening of the Technical Committee Meeting that focuses on the Automotive Sector.
ARSO Technical Committee 59: Automotive Technology and Engineering is being held in Gauteng from 4-8 March 2024, with the objective of reaching consensus on the adoption of international standards and harmonisation of standards for the region in support of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). ARSO boasts a membership of 42 countries, representing 77% of the continent with more than 80 ARSO TCs that cover many industrial sectors of standardisation.
Ntobongwana explained that the SABS is an important thought leader in Standardisation at ARSO and actively participates in policy, governance and technical forums to ensure harmonisation and collaboration in implementing standards that support industrialization opportunities. Africa, which is rich in natural resources is also ideally placed to take advantage of secondary markets, for example in the provision of manganese for batteries, solar technology to enable the use of electric vehicles and in developing technology that can customise vehicles for continental terrains.
Dr. Hermogene Nsengimana, Secretary General of the ARSO said during his address, that the established Strategy for the African Automotive Manufacturing Sector within the framework of the AfCFTA) highlights the need to take into consideration harmonized standards in tackling the challenge of imported vehicles, regional value chains, and the long-term goal of establishing a Common External Tariff for the sector. As per this strategy, ARSO, the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) and Afreximbank are members of the AfCFTA Automotive Task Force and will oversee, guide and implement the strategy.
Seventy-three (73) African harmonised standards have been published and have been made available for use by the African automotive industry by ARSO and its Member States and stakeholders which include: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe, The Tripartite Transport and Transit Facilitation Programme (TTTFP) and AAAM.
