Zimbabwe is banning the importation of vehicles older than 10 years to protect and revive its car manufacturing industry which has been decimated by the importation of cheaper used cars..
Industry and Commerce Minister Nqozitha Ndlovu said that the motor industry sold aout 20 000 vehicles a year and employed more than 70 000 in the1990 but employment has dropped by 80%.
He said that Willowvale Motor Industries which once employed about 2 000 workers is now down to 10.
Asked whether people would be able to afford locally assembled cars, Ndlovu said: “Our intention is clear. It is to protect the local industry but more importantly to protect our people. We have inadvertently become a dumping site. When you go around our country and you see vehicles that are broken down or are beyond any use, it is because we were allowing vehicles to come here without any restrictions…
“We will be able in the short-term to have a local assembly of private cars that will be in the range of between USD10 and USD18 000, with the finance institutions coming on board to allow for payment terms.
“We believe that this offers our consumers whom we think cannot afford better payment terms than the raw deal that we are getting. More importantly, we are bringing jobs back home. We are expanding especially on the value chains, where some of the components will progressively be localised. That is why we think that it is very important that we restrict the vehicles that are coming into the country and ten years is still very concessional and as we move forward, we will be considering even reducing this.”
Q & A:
HON. BONDA asked the Minister of Industry and Commerce to appraise the House on the importation ban for 10-year second-hand vehicles at a time when the local motor manufacturing industry is not fully functional to meet the local demand.
THE MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE (HON. N. M. NDLOVU): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Before I present my response, for indulgence, I have a request. I realise on the Order Paper that there are more questions for the Ministry from Numbers 60, 61 and 62. I do not know if it is possible that I respond to this one and also to the other three or wait until we get there.
I am responding to the question asked by Hon. Bonda specifically to do with the ban on the importation of vehicles older than 10 years. Allow me to thank Hon. Bonda for raising an important question. I will start by highlighting that the automotive industry, as long as it is the cornerstone of Zimbabwe’s manufacturing sector and the economy at large- in recent years, the motor industry has faced several challenges which have resulted in the sector operating at below 5% capacity utilisation levels. From 90% peak levels during the first decade of our independence, the major challenges facing the sector include among others, heightened competition from imported used vehicles and lack of consistent demand and shifting consumer preferences.
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