2019 NAAMSA Automotive Conference

There will be two themes for this year’s NAAMSA Automotive Conference which will be held at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit and Conference Centre in Midrand on 22 August as part of the annual Festival of Motoring presented by WesBank. The themes will be linked under the overall slogan Reimagining the Future Together.

“This is a must-attend event for all those involved in the automotive industry in South Africa as we have drawn up a programme of varied topics covering all major aspects of the industry led by top-level speakers, including international experts,” explained Mike Mabasa, the recently-appointed Executive Director and CEO of NAAMSA.

This popular event, which was fully subscribed last year, will once again have the backing of the Innovation Group and AutoTrader.

The first theme that the speakers will address will be: Embracing innovation as an indispensable catalyst for prosperity and sustainable growth. This session will interrogate how best the industry can use the Automotive Masterplan, which is planned to run from 2021 to 2035 and aims to increase localisation, double production, and employment.

The speakers at the conference will look at how the various members of the industry can better collaborate to build a resilient automotive sector, creating joint prosperity and unlocking the potential for growth and development in the sector.

The second theme for this important conference will be: Automotive trends, technology, and consumer behaviour.

This session will examine the increasingly digital ecosystem and disruptive landscape in which the automotive industry finds itself. The speakers will also talk about global energy trends and the importance of clean fuels in South Africa as well as how consumer behaviour is changing and how this phenomenon is impacting the automotive industry.

The conference, which also offers an ideal networking opportunity for all players in the local motor industry, will run from 08:00 to 13:30.