South Africa Automotive Steel Market Outlook

the south african automotive steel market is forecast to experience positive growth over the forecast period between 2018 and 2032. this growth is largely driven by increased demand from the region’s automotive sector. this is in turn supported by increased production and consumption levels of automotive vehicles as well as increased investment in the country’s automotive infrastructure. the south african automotive market is largely dominated by the production of the light vehicle segment. this segment is driven by a growing consumer demand for these vehicles in the region, particularly in the mid- to upper-income brackets. automotive steel is needed to manufacture these vehicles and thus this in turn is anticipated to contribute to increased steel demand. furthermore, south africa is increasing its focus on the development of transport infrastructure, which requires the use of a vast array of steel products. to meet this increased demand, the automotive steel market needs to increase its production capacity in south africa. the steel industry has traditionally met this need by importing steel from abroad, meaning that domestic production levels have been lower than the demand. there has however been a considerable recent push to increase the production capacity of the south african automotive steel market. this is largely due to increased government support for the industry, which includes measures such as increased tax credits for businesses and the development of special economic zones. in terms of the competitive landscape of the south african automotive steel market, the market is divided into two main segments. the first of these is the domestic producers of automotive steel. this segment is largely comprised of companies such as arcelormittal and leeco steel. the second segment is that of international producers of automotive steel. this segment primarily consists of companies, such as nippon steel corporation and posco, which are based outside south africa. ultimately, the outlook for the south african automotive steel market is positive, driven largely by increased demand from the domestic automotive industry. the market is expected to experience increased local production of steel as well as both domestic and international competition in the industry. this should ensure that the south african automotive steel market grows to meet the demands of industry both over the short and long term.