The phrase both companies used this week was level playing field. Volkswagen put it to President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday night, at a dinner marking 75 years of building cars at Kariega. Ford put it in a corporate manifesto the next morning. The ask sounds vague until you notice that Ford named the document it wants rewritten.
The programme they actually want changed
It is the second phase of the Automotive Production and Development Programme, the scheme that decides what support each manufacturer gets. Ford asked that it be written so companies putting capital and jobs into the country are not left at a structural disadvantage to companies that only ship cars in. Neale Hill, who runs Ford's Africa operations, framed it as policy conditions that let local manufacturers compete fairly against importers.
Volkswagen made the case from the factory floor. Kariega is the only plant in the world still building the Polo, and it exports the car to 38 countries. It employs about 3 600 people and supports 1 440 suppliers. Chair Martina Biene told Ramaphosa the industry needs decisive policy action and greater responsiveness to concerns it has raised repeatedly.
One number explains the urgency. Chinese brands took more than 19% of new passenger and light commercial vehicle sales in the first quarter of 2026, on TransUnion's count, which is close to one in five cars sold here. Toyota made the same argument in July, standing next to R10.4 billion of new investment in the Hilux.
The duty and the agreement, one week apart
The trade regulator spent the week in a different conversation. Itac announced on Tuesday that it had renewed a cooperation agreement with the trade remedies bureau of China's commerce ministry, signed in Beijing on 26 August, covering shared information on dumping, subsidies, safeguards and ways around existing duties. The day before, the same commission imposed provisional duties of up to 28.11% on Chinese colour-coated steel, on an application from ArcelorMittal South Africa and Safal Steel. Both of those are its job.
What the carmakers want is not Itac's to give. Ramaphosa told the dinner that the automotive masterplan and the wider policy framework are under review, and that discussions are underway between industry, unions and government. He said the work would be concluded as a priority, without saying when. Volkswagen starts building the Tengo at Kariega inside 100 days.
