New minister to address NAAMSA Conference

Minister of Trade and Industry, Ebrahim Patel

This year’s conference under the theme, Reimagining the future together, is hosted at the back of the multi-sectoral adoption of the South African Automotive Masterplan - 2035, which President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke about during his State of the Nation Address recently. Minister Patel will open the Conference and share his thoughts on how Government, the private sector and other social partners can collaborate differently to embrace innovation as an indispensable catalyst for prosperity and sustainable growth. He will talk about Government’s readiness as an enabler to drive the required change in providing policy framework and policy certainty in order for the automotive industry to thrive.

The conference programme is structured to accommodate keynote presentations by NAAMSA President, Andrew Kirby, who will address the subject of how localisation and transformation will create joint prosperity and unlock growth in South Africa. Douglas Comrie, Managing Director of B&M Analysts, will give his views on whether the current Automotive Masterplan is robust enough to insulate further changes.

There is also an international speaker, Mr Bruno Grippay, Nissan’s Regional Director Africa-Middle East-India for Connected Cars and Intelligent Mobility coordination. He will make a significant contribution to the overall conference theme of Reimagining the Future Together as he paints a picture of the manner in which the future of global mobility is changing the way we view transport, as well as the adaptations required by consumers and the motor industry, both global and regional.

The international keynote address will be followed by a panel discussion which will look at the readiness of the South African automotive industry to lead the innovation charge. The panel will be hosted by Mike Vincent, a Director of Deloitte. Panel members will be Bruno Grippay, Mkhululi Mlota, Chief Director Auto Desk at the DTI, Hiten Parmar, a Director of uYilo e-Mobility; Craig Parker, Research Director and Associate Fellow of Frost and Sullivan and George Mienie, CEO of AutoTrader.

The final two speakers will be Ghana Msibi, Executive Head of the Motor Division of WesBank, and Mike Mabasa, the CEO of NAAMSA. Msibi will talk about the consumer of tomorrow, the impact of changing buying behaviour and the role of dealerships, while Mabasa will discuss the automotive industry roadmap for the future.

The conference, which also offers ideal networking opportunities, will run from 8.30am to 1.30pm, then it will be followed by a light lunch.

Approximately 400 delegates are expected to attend this year's conference, representing OEMs; vehicle importers and distributors; bus and truck companies, component manufacturing firms, vehicle funding and insurance companies, government and other automotive regulatory authorities; automotive supply chain and logistics organisations as well as automotive service providers, researchers and consultants.

The conference is organised by Messe Frankfurt South Africa in association with the Innovation Group and AutoTrader.

BOOK NOW: There is limited seating for this important conference which is “must attend” for those involved in all aspects of the South African motor industry. You can book online by going to: https://eventsrsvp.co.za/eventlogic/paylogic/pay.aspx?refno=Naam

To view the full conference programme:

https://festivalofmotoring.za.messefrankfurt.com/johannesburg/en/Conferences.html

For any visitor related queries, please contact:

Amanda Dube | Marketing Manager
moc.trufknarfessem.az@ebud.adnamA | +27 (0) 10 599 6170