The African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) has announced that 2026 will be its year of “progressive development through collaboration,” building on what it describes as a successful period of partnership-building in 2025.
Chief Operating Officer Victoria Backhaus-Jerling stated that the coming year would be focused on turning momentum into measurable outcomes. “Through our collective efforts, we have strengthened partnerships across the value chain,” she said. “Now is the time to translate that foundation into tangible progress for the continent’s automotive industrialisation.”
A key focus will be expanding AAAM’s continental footprint, bolstered by the establishment of its North Africa office in 2025. The office is intended to enhance engagement with regional stakeholders and reinforce North Africa’s role within the broader African automotive value chain.
The association has outlined eight strategic priorities for the year ahead. Top among them is unlocking intra-African trade by supporting the ratification and implementation of the automotive Rules of Origin under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). This follows the expected formal adoption by Heads of State in February of a 40% African originating content threshold—a milestone that would allow automotive products to begin trading under the AfCFTA framework. AAAM will work closely with Afreximbank, the AfCFTA Secretariat and African governments to guide members through the new trading environment.
Further priorities include accelerating automotive policy implementation in key markets such as Egypt, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria and Ethiopia, as well as engaging newer markets like Angola. “Policy certainty remains the foundation of sustainable industrialisation,” Backhaus-Jerling emphasised.
On the manufacturing front, AAAM aims to secure at least five concrete component manufacturing investments in Africa through targeted matchmaking and feasibility studies. The association will also advance sustainability initiatives, promoting re-manufacturing, alternative powertrains, micromobility solutions and supportive legislation for New Energy Vehicles.
Other focal points include enhancing automotive data and market intelligence across the continent, scaling up skills development through executive short courses, and fostering mineral beneficiation to connect Africa’s mining sector with local automotive manufacturing. As a strategic partner to the 2026 Mining Indaba, AAAM plans to help build a more integrated pan-African value chain.
Finally, the association reaffirmed its commitment to affordable mobility, noting continued collaboration with vehicle asset-financing stakeholders to develop accessible and sustainable transport solutions.
“All these initiatives are driven by a single commitment,” Backhaus-Jerling concluded, “to deliver greater impact for our members, strengthen collaboration, and deepen the partnerships that will accelerate sustainable industrial growth across Africa.”
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