South Africa's automotive industry plans to inject around R4.7 Billion new production facilities, and research and development this year, nearly double what was spent in 2009. This is according to NAAMSA first quarter review of business conditions in the sector, which was released on Monday.

NAAMSA said that projections for capital expenditure (CAPEX) by the seven major vehicle manufacturers stand at R4.624 Billion, compared to R2.468 Billion spent last year. Most of this money is intended for boosting local content, exports and production facilities.

"The decline in CAPEX during 2009 was in part due to the impact of the global financial and economic crises," said NAAMSA, in a statement. The organisation believes that the jump in planned CAPEX is thanks to various incentives for local component manufacturing in the impending industrial policy plan for the sector - the Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP). So far, Ford, BMW and Volkswagen have announced investment plans, with a collective value of R9 Billion, which they will roll out over the next few years.

Employment levels in this sector have risen by 4% during the first quarter of the year to 31 357 jobs. Further, most car manufacturers in the country reverted to a normal production week. Prior to that many vehicle makers had cut shifts due to low demand in the automotive sector in 2009 - Fin24.com.